“A Lifetime of Student Debt? Not Likely” Many people would agree that our country’s young adults have and continue to incur a lifetime of debt by enrolling in college. It’s become an almost acceptable understanding that if you plan to attend college, you might as well expect to graduate with an enormous amount of debt. Robin Wilson, a reporter for the “Chronicle of Higher Education,” and author of “A Lifetime of Student Debt? Not Likely” suggests student loans are very real and can be life altering. Wilson states that for the 65 percent of students that graduate with debt, the average amount owed is a staggering $20,000.00. On the contrary, as many as a third of all college students will graduate with no debt at all. Some may think that $20k is an outrageous amount of debt. But if you consider what the average adult spends on their first new car, it puts things into perspective. A new 2016 Nissan Rogue SUV for $20k could be paid off in an average of 4-5 years. This is where one would argue about what …show more content…
Carneval, director of Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce agrees that going into debt until you’ll be earning more money is the way to pay for your education. “The only thing worse than borrowing is not borrowing and not going to college at all,” stated Patrick M. Callahan, president of the National Center for the Public Policy and Higher Education. Lauren J. Asher, President of the Project on Student Debt group, states that the financial risk has increased. Ms. Asher points out that more students graduate with at least $40k in student-loan debt, “People lose control of their finances, and sometimes they make choices you wish they hadn’t made.” Darla M. Horn, an organizer of the student-loan-debt art show in Long Island City, NY realized she hadn’t been aware of how much money she had borrowed while in college. Referring to herself as financially illiterate, she found herself “just signing the documents and faxing them
Martin and Lehren’s article “A Generation Hounded by the Soaring Cost of College” addresses the issue faced by current and former college students dealing with large amounts of debt due to student loans. The article presents the reader with stories of former college students who have either graduated or dropped out, and their struggle to pay off their student loans. The article also talks about issues such as students not being informed about high amounts of student loans and why student debts have increased. Martin and Lehren also make the issue of student debt more intimidating by giving examples of high amounts of student loans students have had. The article gives a very hard reality check to anyone reading as to how bad the problem of student debt is.
Have you ever questioned the age-old belief that everyone should go to college? Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill advocate for increased access to higher education, while emphasizing the financial disadvantage that secondary education brings. Charles Fain Lehman's "The Student Loan Trap: When Debt Delays Life" offers a cautionary tale about the consequences of excessive student loan debt, prompting a more complex examination of the value of college education and the financial realities faced by graduates. The idea of the financial struggles brought along with college is structured by Owen and Sawhill, and is further detailed by Lehman. Reading Owen and Sawhill's essay, "Should Everyone Go to College," provided me with a critical framework for approaching Lehman's essay, "The Student Loan Trap: When Debt Delays Life."
Wilson, R. (2009). A lifetime of student debt? Not likely. In G. Graff, C. Birkenstein, & R. Durst (Eds.). “They say, I say”: The moves that matter in academic writing with readings. (2nd ed.). (pp. 256-272). New York: W. W. Norton. This article examines how much debt in loans students leave college with and if it is possible to pay it off without it causing extreme distress.
An education is one of the most important tools a person can acquire. It gives them the skills and abilities to obtain a job, earn a wage, and then use that wage to better their lives and the lives of their loved ones. However, due to the seemingly exponential increase in the costs of obtaining a college degree, students are either being driven away entirely from earning a degree or taking out student loans which cripple their financial prospects well after graduation. Without question, the increasing national student loan debt is one of the most pressing economic issues the United States is dealing with, as students who are debt ridden are not able to consume and invest in the economy. Therefore, many politicians and students are calling on the government to forgive their student loan debts so that through their spending the slowly recovering economy can finally return to its pre-2008 strength.
Over the past decade, it has become evident to the students of the United States that in order to attain a well paying job they must seek a higher education. The higher education, usually a college or university, is practically required in order to succeed. To be able to attend these schools and receive a degree in a specific field it means money, and often a lot of it. For students, the need for a degree is strong, but the cost of going to college may stand in the way of a successful future. Each year the expense of college rises, resulting in the need for students to take out loans. Many students expect to immediately get a job after graduation, however, in more recent years the chances for college graduates to get a well paying job isn’t nearly as high as it used to be. Because students can no longer depend on getting a job fresh out of college, it has become harder to repay the loans. Without a steady income, these individuals have gone into debt and frequently default loans. If nothing is done to stop colleges and universities from increasing the cost of attending their school, the amount of time it takes for students to pay off their loans will become longer and longer. The extreme expenses to attend a college or university may leave a student in financial distress: which may ultimately lead to hardship in creating a living for them and affect the country’s economy.
Doyle states in his article, “As of this writing, the total amount of outstanding student loan debt has been estimated at $960 billion (Kantrowitz, 2011).” Right now, there is only 7.4 billion people on earth, but not all of those people are in debt. So, massive debt with not near enough people to even cover the debt on the whole planet put this issue into perspective. Many people talk about applying for scholarships but scholarships can only cover so much of the price, and even then, the scholarships aren’t guaranteed. Now what about paying off the loans? How will that take? “First, incomes vary tremendously across different choices of majors and professions. Second, the incomes of individuals starting out in the labor market vary according to the state of the labor market at that time.” There are many different factors that go into this process. As stated in the previous paragraph, those who do both work and school are more apt to pay their debt off at a quicker pace. But, how much they make and how often they paid is another contributing factor. If the average college student is making minimum wage (part time) and is going to an in
Most people today accept the debt that comes from college. Students consider student loan debt as a “good debt.” They see other students make this mistake but follow their path anyway. Nearly 80% of college-bound students have not projected the total amount of money they will need to graduate college.
It is a norm and expectation in society today for students to pursue higher education after graduating from high school. College tuition is on the rise, and a lot of students have difficulty paying for their tuitions. To pay for their tuitions, most students have to take out loans and at the end of four years, those students end up in debt. Student loan debts are at an all time high with so many people graduating from college, and having difficulties finding jobs in their career fields, so they have difficulties paying off their student loans and, they also don’t have a full understanding of the term of the loans and their options if they are unable to repay.
Children of the twenty first century spend nearly 13 years in school, preparing for what is college, one of the only ways to achieve the so-called “American Dream”. College is the best way to start an advanced career and go further than one possibly could if college degrees were not available, allowing people to achieve their view of the American Dream; whether it be large houses, shiny cars, multiple kids, or financial comfort, college is the stepping stone to achieve the American Dream. But all great things come with a price, college dragging along debt. Students who attend college struggle to find ways to pay for it, leading to applying for student loans. These loans a great short term, paying for the schooling at the moment but eventually the money adds up
A complete college education is important because it is a way to acquire the information required to succeed in the work world. Basinger’s article gives insight to another college student encumbrance, student loan debt, by demonstrating how each is undesirable, affecting student-academic relationships negatively. The article, “Why You Might Be Paying Student Loans Until You Retire” by Sophie Quinton, demonstrates how a college student’s education is worsened by the persistent burden of student loan debt. Quinton discusses the imperfections of student loans and describes how student debt affects populace and economy negatively, worsening student-teacher relationship. Quinton continues by referring to shocking statistics on student loan debt. She mentions that almost one-fifth of Americans have student loan debt and 218 colleges have over 30 percent default rates. She then concludes her disagreement with the system of student loans by writing, “This is a program that desperately needs reform before it simply melts down--like the mortgage market did not long ago” (Quinton
Why has our generation become so immersed in debt? Student loans are a major contributing factor. 40 million Americans now hold student loan debts (The Institute). In 2014 the average student loan debt per student was $28,950 (The Institute). However these numbers are declining, student loan debt is and has been continuously rising each and every year. If a student wanted to pay off their $28,950 of debt off in 5 years they would have to pay $559.68 month. To put this in perspective, 559.68 is more than the average car payment. Even if students wanted to pay off their loan in 10 years they would still have to pay $321.40. This is 10 years of hard earned money that students will never get to see because of the cost of education.
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.
With college being a social norm and being looked at as the path or key to success, many who walk down that path, face financial nightmares. Most students face the struggles of paying for tuition, text books, food, housing, commute, etc. For this reason, a lot of students have no choice but to take out student loans in order to continue their studies and get a college degree, in hopes for a better future. To get a sense of how many people are struggling financially due to student loans and debt, the United States has an accumulated total of approximately, 1.4 trillion dollars in student loan debt. The vast amount of student debt has created many barriers in many people’s lives, which is why the government should make it easier for individuals
Essay 1 Student debt has become a huge problem in today’s world and even the next generation to come. It has been popping up more and more in presidential debates, protests, Wall Street, and the news and media. A protest broke out in New York were “93 percent of them were advocated student-loan forgiveness” (Vedder). Currently the amount of student debt is over 1.2 trillion dollars.
In that year, the number of college graduates was only 432,058 (Sourmaidis) and ever since the demand continually increased as did price. This trend allowed for the student loan crisis to occur, which is a problem we face today. As of 2016, American students have accrued a massive 1.3 trillion in student loan debt. Just 10 years ago, the nation’s balance was only $447 billion (Clements). This ever-present cumulative burden has caused many post graduate Americans to delay important life events such as marriage, homeownership and children because of this substantial encumbrance (Clements).