Student Loan Debt Crisis

Before we can go any further, we need to first define what exactly a student loan is, and what student loans can entail. A student loan is defined as “A type of loan designed to help students pay for post-secondary education and the associated fees”. Student loans are marvelous and a supportive tool for college students, but people don't realize that everything they borrow needs to be paid back with interest. Five years ago in 2012 “71%” of students graduating four-year colleges had student loans and the average indebtedness of a college graduate was “$29,400”. If you compare that to 1993 the average indebtedness of a college graduate was “$9,450” (Average Student Loan Debt, 1993-2012). In only 19 years there was a $19,950 dollar difference in the averages. Those numbers do not include the interest that the student will have to pay back over time. All of those factors are just a small part of what makes up student debt but it is good to have a general

5. Base on class statistics 83 percent out of 16 percent thinks the government should forgive student loan debt once a student has completed college and has obtain a job in the field of study.

As a mother of four, a large number of the social problems described in the text can and does directly relate to myself, as well as, my family especially regarding the matter of education. However, the problem directly affecting my family and I is the emerging social problem of rising student loan debt. Student loan debt is a problem that has begun to seep into the very mainstream of society as more and more individuals attend college, especially those with great financial needs. Personally, I am lucky to say that I do not need to borrow money to attend IRSC which has been a major blessing that has allowed me to better my education. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about my husband, who graduated from Florida State University with student loan debts around $30,000 dollars. $30,000 dollars is a relatively average amount, according the Institute for College Access and Success(TICAS) 70% of college students graduate with student loan debt, with an average of $28,950. While this amount is overall average in our society, combined with the costs of raising four children, as well as, having only one working family member who makes a relatively low salary as a school teacher, it puts significant financial strain on my family. Rising student loan debt just doesn’t affect my family and I, it affects millions of Americans, especially those who are poor and cannot afford college. Rising student loan debt is a societal problem that is hampering millions of young Americans

Here in the United States, there are many forms of consumer debt, which help contribute to the large sums of debt countless Americans find themselves faced with. Directly effecting many college students is student loan debt. Student loan debt is now the second largest form of consumer debt behind housing” declares the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (Grisales). This is due to the fact that student loan debt grew 7.1% in 2014 to $1.2 trillion (Grisales). If this statistic alone is not worrisome this next one is sure to be. The amount of debt in the housing market that helped to spark the last recession was only $1.3 trillion (Grisales). Due to the increased amount of debt required by students to attend college many students are feeling the wrath. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, “In 2014, 11.7 percent of females and 17.7 percent of males between the ages 25 and 34 were living with their parents” (Grisales). The fear of obtaining massive amounts of debt is driving the current generation of student’s to put off many future hopes and dreams. While causing them to move back home to save money. The current student loan crisis is crippling the economy and ruining the lives of American students.

Key informant interviewee Natalia Abrams, stated that “this is a time where media and politicians are talking about student loan debt but they are only focusing on policy for the new college student, but there needs to be a policy for the 43 million existing borrowers.” There are two separate policy issues that need to be analyzed in order to address the student loan debt crisis. Research shows that there is a difference among default rates based on race and socio economic status. These differences left unchecked can wreak social and economic havoc on society. While student loan debt crisis may not be a crisis for all, the danger is the growing amount of debt that a significant fraction of borrowers are currently saddled with that is preventing

Student loan debt in the United States is expanding unrestricted each year. There are 36 million Americans today, holding over $740 billion dollars in student loan debt. (U.S. 2013) The current student loan system is intended to open doors to economic prosperity for those who could not otherwise afford to go to college. Research suggests that the unintended consequence of too much available student credit is real people losing prosperity and languishing in debt for extended periods of their lives. Reducing or eliminating the availability of student loans would have a tremendous impact on improving the lives of Americans. If things continue the way they are now, American’s will soon find college, and its implied ticket to economic

Student debt can socially affect a person’s life for years after graduation. Taking out thousands of dollars in loans causes a negative effect in student’s lives. In reference to Natasha Yurk Quadlin and Daniel Rudel, who has a Ph.D. in sociology and both work at Indiana State University, student loans affect persistence and completion for undergraduates. There is a correlation between how students do in their classes, the amount of time spent on their work, and the amount of time working in a job to pay off debt. Students become so stressed that they do not complete their college courses and enter their path of a new career. (Quadlin, Rudel, 2015). When students do not perform well in their classes, they tend to want to compensate for it. However, they cannot because they have to go to their jobs, to help pay off the thousands of debt that they owe and for their everyday necessities. Due to the amount of stress that they have to handle, it affects their personal health. Katrina Walsemann, in a representative study on student loans and early adult mental health, argues that “We are speculating that part of the reason that these types of loans are so stressful is the fact that you cannot defer them, they follow you for the rest of your life until you pay them off,” (Blake, 2015). It also mentions that the students with higher levels of debt incurred, have had higher levels of depressive symptoms. A college student’s overall health is

Going to college has been taught to be the next step in education after graduating high

Student debt has become a large (and growing) problem. The high levels of student debt have served to perpetuate economic inequality, minimizing the opportunity of higher education. In a speech this year, President Obama called higher education "one of the crown jewels of this country" and said it was "the single most important way to get ahead.” The long term impact of student loans have given students every reason not to want to attend college, including myself. That alone has the potential to harm colleges and universities across the country. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said student debt is one reason that people between the ages of twenty and thirty seem to be living a prolonged adolescence, or living with their parents.

It was first promulgated in 2010 that outstanding student loan in the United States exceeded that of outstanding credit card debt for the first time ever (Kristof, 2012). As of today, there is over $1.2 trillion in outstanding student loan debt, $1 trillion of which is in the form of federal student loans (Denhart, 2013). The Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 was designed to ease some of that burden and mitigate some of the real damage incurred by a lifetime of insurmountable debt.

Although the growing cost of education is certainly one of the reasons for the rising student debt, there are several others. But the relationship between lender and student borrower is troubling. Students without much of a credit score or credit history are being approved for thousands of dollars in loans by lenders who are gambling they’ll be able to pay it back after getting a college degree. The wake-up call occurs after graduation when many students realize their loan debt exceeds any annual salary they’re able to earn–if they can find a job, that is (Touryalai). According to a new Wells Fargo study, about one-third of millennials say they would have been better off working, instead of going to college and paying tuition. More than half of the 1,414 surveyed, financed their education through student loans, and many say the if they had $10,000 the “first thing” they’d do is pay down their student loan or credit card debt (Touryalai). Student borrowers are delaying major life decisions, like buying a home or car, as a result of their student loans.

Education is one of the main social institutions in today’s society. That is why it is so difficult for me to understand why it is becoming so unaffordable in the past few years. When did wanting to further education become such a burden for graduated students? There are 41 million Americans that have over $1.2 trillion dollars in student loan debt. According to the Project on Student Loan Debt, the average graduate with a bachelor’s degree pays about $350 a month on student loans for around 19 years. I cannot stress enough in how paying for college or paying off loans has become such a challenge for students who are not provided with financial aid or enough financial aid to pay for all their necessary classes. There is also the challenge in

With around 2 million high school graduates making the translation between high school and college each year, and the cost of higher education drastically increase, it is safe to say that one of the most important issues facing young Americans in the upcoming presidential election is the rising cost of a college education.

[Hook] Here is where a hook would go. [Transition/ Background] Many people think that college is the only surefire way to be successful in life. Others believe that it is a waste of time or that it is not necessary for everyone. Whatever the stance people have strong opinions on whether or not you should go to college. [Thesis] A four year college degree is not the best investment towards a successful career because it costs a lot of money and there are better alternatives.

In the United States today, the number of students graduating college with student loan debt is quite astonishing. In the article titled, “How the $1.2 Trillion College Debt Crisis Is Crippling Students, Parents And The Economy”, we will examine and break down the student loan debt crisis by the numbers. Today, almost two-third’s of students graduating college are graduating with an average of $26,000 in debt. For most students, $26,000 is a lot of money when the average annual income for a first year graduate is only in the mid $40,000 a year range. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, student loan debt has reached a new milestone, crossing the $1.2 trillion mark (Denhart, 2013, Introduction, par. 2). With student loan debt levels