The Effects Of Student Debt And Anxiety On Mental Health

With the cost of attending even public state schools starting at $20,000 a year, most college graduates will leave with student loan debt. This inevitable debt can already be immense and feel crushing. Credit card debt accumulated in high school is not forgiven by the bank when a student graduates to college. Why would you let your teenager needlessly make their future financial situation worse? Stress surrounding student loan debt has claimed lives. In Oklahoma, two colleges students committed suicide over their inability to pay their debts. They were found dead with their bills beside

A problem with student loan debt is that students gain more debt because they are not able to pay off the student loans within the given time which also causes them to put certain life decisions on hold. According to Sophie Quinton debt is a problem for the recent college graduates because “There’s currently no way to get rid of federal student debt other than paying off the loans. while some borrowers are paying off their debts just fine, overall they are adding debt faster than they are shedding it”(Quinton). According to Jamaal Abdul-Alim stated that a “survey - titled Student Loan Debt: Who’s Paying the Price?- revealed a number of troubling statistics about the practical ways that student loans are impacting college graduates in their everyday lives. For instance the survey found that: 49

With the ever-increasing tuition and ever-tighten federal student aid, the number of students relying on student loan to fund a college education hits a historical peak. According to a survey conducted by an independent and nonprofit organization, two-thirds of college seniors graduated with loans in 2010, and each of them carried an average of $25,250 in debt. (Reed et. al., par. 2). My research question will focus on the profound effect of education debt on American college graduates’ lives, and my thesis statement will concentrate on the view that the education policymakers should improve financial aid programs and minimize the risks and adverse consequences of student loan borrowing.

oday, society stresses the importance of postsecondary education to students due to the countless ways that an associates, bachelors, masters, or doctorate can enhance an individual future. For an individual to reach financial security in the United States’ economy it is basically mandatory that they have received a college degree. Postsecondary education will provide skills and knowledge that will prepare individuals to be successful within their career as they compete for leading positions. Overall as an individual receives a college degree they will become more likely to experience job security and financial security, and this is important to most as they hope to live a stable life. In college, students are taking as many as one hundred credit hours which contributes to most also accumulating student loan debt as they try to finance their education. Even though the completion of a postsecondary education will contribute to a graduate obtaining a respectable income it may also cause graduates to suffer from high student loan debt which will negatively impact their finances far into their adulthood. R.J. Matson created the image above to emphasize how student loan debt negatively impacts student and changes need to be made to avoid stress caused by the debt.

Owning a home, gaining employment, getting married and even having children are all milestones at risk. Accordingly, the debilitating nature of debt also threatens the mental, emotional and physical wellness of Americans. Based on a survey of roughly 1,000 student loan borrowers, Student Loan Hero (2018) reported that effects of debt on the psychological health of the participants negatively affected three main areas: quality of sleep (64.5%), physical health (>67%), and social interactions (>74%). In essence, Siege’s and the millions of others’ stories of financial hardships, psychological stress, and physical problems are the reasons why the U.S. federal government should support the cancellation of all student

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

Throughout the United States, student loans have been show to drag this economy down. Student loans have been a big problem through many of the years. It has been showing a trend and it is raising and exceeding many of the debt types each year. Many problems that students that have loans cause are, “ 20 percent of respondents indicated they cannot get a loan for other items, are unable to purchase a home, and student loan debt negatively impacts their credit. 18 percent of individuals indicated they are living paycheck to paycheck, “drowning” in debt, and have a large debt load. 13 percent indicated they have a lower quality of life and are unable to afford the extra things. 12 percent indicated they are unable to save for their retirement or their children’s education and feel less secure.” Students that have

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.

An article in The Atlantic, an online news source, talks about a person’s mental health while living with student debt. The author, Gillian B. White, pulls evidence from a 2013 study published in Anxiety, Coping and Stress, from the University of Southern California, in which states, “those with greater financial strain perceived more stress, had more symptoms of depression, anxiety, and ill-health.” This quote states that a person with more financial strain was shown to undergo more stress, and increase signs of depression, anxiety, and bad health. This statistic proves that giving a young adult a financial burden to live with for years, takes a major toll on their mental health status. Mental health is a serious issue, and shouldn’t be taken so lightly.

Student debt is a major issue, especially in the United States. It often impacts on a student education. Mostly, students from middle class family suffer from it. In the United States, the cost of tuition fee is very high, which is the most common reason behind student debt. Though there are various scholarships and federal aids for the students to help with tuition fees, most of the universities and colleges don’t cover full amount of the tuition fees, which leads the students to take loans, which causes student debt. However, there are also difference between universities and the loan system. Federal colleges and universities often have affordable tuition fees, which often don’t require students to take loans. However, tuition fees of private colleges and universities are extremely high, which don’t only require students take loans, but sometimes, the loans are even sufficient to cover all the tuition fees. Moving to the loan system, there are two types of loans; loans with interest and loans without interest. Loans without interest are usually better and affordable to take, but loans with interest are very expensive and not affordable to pay at all. And often, loan with interest is what leads to the student debt. After all, high tuition fees and loans with high interest are the reasons behind student debt and the problems with student debt are enormous. More or less, every one of the problems with student debt impacts on student education, which then impacts on a student

However, the accomplishment of attaining a college degree has become much more complicated because of many causes, one being student debt and the cost of tuition. Stephanie Owen and Isabell Sawhill states, “With tuitions rising faster than family incomes, the typical college student is now more dependent than in the past on loans, creating serious risks for the individual student…” “Federal student loans now total close to $1 trillion, larger than credit card debt or auto loans and second only to mortgage debt on household balance sheet” (212). The essence of Owen and Sawhill’s argument is that its impossible to attain a college degree without a student debt causing students to look towards a different direction or path from higher education. I agree that student debt can scare students away from furthering their education because the debt may stay alongside of you your whole lives. It is why students are not wanting to take a big risk that may create problems in their

A financial aid website Edvisors reported that the class of 2015 left school with the highest debt level in history. The average student started their careers with $35,051 in student debt. The debt level is clearly on the rise, as the average student in 2012, left school with outstanding debt of $24,301. According to XX, over 10% of borrowers have over $58,000 in debt. Furthermore, the worrying fact is that one in four borrowers end up either in delinquency or default on the

Financial aid is helping students all over the world attend college to seek the education for the job of their dreams. This financial relief can be the difference between a student being able to go to college or to not go to college. However, there is often not enough rising awareness on the negative effects student debt can have on a person, and how they can effect a student’s career choice. Students are searching everywhere for a revival from student debt. If there were only one solution for student debt, I wouldn’t be writing this because it would probably already have been resolved. There are multiple different problems students endure from debt which varies from student to student, and many solutions have been proposed yet never have been met.

What sets 2016’s graduating class apart that they are more indebted than any other class of students before (Sullivan and Towell). Student loans lead some graduates to obtain jobs lucrative jobs in specialized fields and lead others to suicide. Lack of understanding creates an air of mystery surrounding student loans that can have detrimental consequences. Being informed and investigating all available sources of aid are crucial components of managing debt. In this essay, I will argue that although student debt is often a necessity, students should be informed and aware of how to responsibly manage their debts.

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, Anxiety is the number one presenting concern among college students followed by depression (ADAA, 2016). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR,