The Pros And Cons Of College Loans

After graduation, students find themselves in the daunting situation of how to pay their loans. Students accept jobs they dislike, they begin to depend on their parents, or resort to dropping out (Hart). Many student find themselves unable to continue their education so they decide either to drop out or transferred to cheaper schools, such as a community college, consequently placing themselves at a disadvantage in the careers they desire to enter. In fact, per an article written by Rachel Beckstead, “those without a college degree are twice as likely to be unemployed as those with one.” Loan debts are a steadfast threat; however, it goes beyond the present

Going to college may get students an education, but may cause their parents or legal guardians to lose everything they have worked for in the process. While trying to stay up to date with their student loans, they may fall behind on all their other bills. You may even lose your home because “you cannot make your mortgage payments for fear of missing a student loan payment or two” (Beauchamp and Cooper 539). They apply so much pressure on how it is important to pay off your loans that “you struggle to make your car

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.

In the U.S. students are encouraged to earn a college degree, but the cost of an education turns many away. “Driven by the allure of a decent salary with a college degree, Americans borrowed to go to school. Outstanding student debt doubled from 2005 to 2010, and by 2012 total student debt in the U.S. economy surpassed $1 trillion” (Mian, Sufi 167). There are plenty of opportunities to obtain funds for college, including one of the most common, student loans. A student loan is defined as “a common way to fund education, specifically college and graduate school, and they provide educational opportunities that you otherwise may not be able to afford” (Barr). Student debt is at an all-time high in America. Over half of all lower income

As Young teenagers become adults and start College, one issue that doesn’t seem as a big deal at the moment for many students are student loans. Young college students who don’t have the money, don’t have enough scholarship money, or family who doesn’t have the money to pay, will apply for student loans each year. They amount the student receives can vary depending on the college and what the student has achieved academically. Though interest rates are low with subsidized being 4.29% and unsubsidized being 5.84% ("Federal Student Aid" Interest rates and Fees), student loans still have a huge effect on college students once they graduate. One college graduate’s story helps explain the struggles for most students:

Families are now aiming low when it comes to college- or are simply not going at all. Money could play a huge part in this decision- after all, the cost of college has skyrocketed over the years, and so has the amount of student loan debt. This is something even Leonhardt admits, stating that, because of this, only about 33 percent of young adults get a four-year college degree today, while another 10 percent receive a two-year degree (Leonhardt). And even though many colleges offer financial aid packages, that money may soon be cut and the cost of college will continue to grow. It is true that, in my personal experience, just because a student is awarded financial aid does not mean they have a golden ticket to University. This leaves many desperate students the only option of taking out as many loans as they think they can handle- often more than they should. Debt is not a new issue for America, but it is still a problem. Although David Autor, an M.I.T. economist, laments: “not sending [young adults] to college would be a disaster”, no one can ignore the rising rates of loan defaults, and some think it

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

It is no big secret that, in America today, most high-paying jobs require a college degree. Thomas C. Frohlich of USA Today stated that “graduating from college is a prerequisite for the vast majority of high-paying jobs”(2013). With the cost of a college degree increasing in unison with demand, few can earn a degree without the help of student loans. The American Student Assistance website reports that of the twenty million students enrolled in college, about sixty percent are attending with the help of student loans (2014). Obviously, student loan debt affects the individuals that obtain them. However, it also has severe effects upon the nation’s economy.

Many families have been left with few options due to the enormous obstacle placed before them. These problems have deterred many aspiring college graduates, some are left too afraid of the price tag associated with higher education to complete their education. And for some even begin it. Good paying careers are the major push for college education however,  "The bar is getting higher for well-paid jobs, with most requiring a college degree..." (Biola and Rodriguez 5-6 ). This leaves America's youth with a decision that should not be as hard to make as it actually is. Is the risk of staggering debt in their future really worth it when they have seen others before them struggle to find good work even with a degree? With all of the talk of high tuition up to the national level many critics have decided to add their two cents into the debate. In "Democrats' loose talk on student loans", the author points out that, "44percent of students at two- and four-year institutions do not borrow at all," (paragraph 2) While this is a factual statement, having 44% of college students not borrowing money is nothing to sneeze at. Despite the fact that the number is smaller than what one would normally expect it does not make the effect of student debt any less important or devastating in some extreme situations.  The author continues by stating, "And of those who do, 59percent borrow less than

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.

At the same time, a growing number of millennials are facing burdensome student loan debt. Rather than come out of college with pristine back-end ratios primed for a hefty mortgage, they are handcuffed by the debt that they have amassed in their early twenties. As the Pew Research Center has noted, 37 percent of people under the age of thirty have student loan debt. They contribute to the $1.3 trillion in student debt, leverage that could presumably be used for a mortgage or some other useful credit if it were not locked up already. Millennials are trying to increase their earning power by going to school so that they have the opportunity to advance economically, but it is simultaneously holding many of them back via years of extra debt—debt that is notably not going to a

Student loan debt can be an overwhelming thing to face when you first graduate from school. You have spent the previous three to seven years or all the more focusing on your future attempts and now wind up toward the finish of your scholarly street with a heap of obligation and searching for a vocation.

“College is part of the American Dream, it shouldn’t be a part of a financial nightmare for families” - Barbara Mikulski, United States Senator. Student debt is a rising issue in America; 43.3 million students are in debt at this moment, and this number increases every year. In other developed countries, education is free or low cost and works well economically. Countries like Germany, Sweden, Australia, Denmark, and France have extremely affordable college tuition, so what do these countries do to make education so affordable? What do American politicians and citizens find wrong with free or lower cost college education? How should America go about solving this issue and follow other countries footsteps? Just how bad is America’s student debt

With the average student loan debt being almost $30,000 for people fresh out of college as of 2013, it’s no wonder that many high schoolers around the country are worried about whether they will be able to pay off their student loans. Most are desperately trying to get scholarships and grants in order to try and remove the burden that is student debt off their shoulders. Others are going to cheaper, local, community colleges, whether temporarily or for their whole degree, in fear of these student loans.

Many millennials grew up during the apex of the Great Recession and saw firsthand the damage done to their parents’ retirement accounts and their own job prospects. As tuition costs have continued to rise, many millennials have been forced to take out student loans, with the average borrower taking out close to $30,000.