Summary: Student Loan Debt

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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. Going to college …show more content…

On a daily basis I see students including my self-waking up at 8:00 to attend class, going to work at 3, and then working until 10 o’clock at night. Students are so concerned about trying to keep their debt down that they barley have sufficient time to study. Students are having to do this simply to pay for their education. However, covering the outrageous cost of tuition is not all that has to be paid for. What about books for 12+ credit hours? According to the University of Tennessee-Knoxville website they predict that their students will spend on average $1,598 a year just on books alone (One Stop). Beyond this number students still have to buy food and other necessitates one must have. College should be more affordable because although many states do offer some assistance it is simply not enough to make a significant difference. For example, the tuition at my University cost $12,436, while the state of Tennessee’s lottery program does offer 3,500 dollars, I am still left with a costly $8,936 to come up with (One Stop). Furthermore, since the majority of students make minimum wage it doesn’t allow students to make enough money to pay tuition alone without the student …show more content…

Even if students were provided with more aid a semester or cut tuition cost, it would help student’s finances a great deal. States should see to providing more assistance to these scholars. In addition, the government needs to discover ways to help lower the rates on student loans. According to Bob Samuels article “Why All Public Higher Education Should Be Free” he mentions that “only 30% of Americans who start college or university end up graduating…In fact, the biggest reason why students drop out of higher education is that they cannot afford the high cost of tuition” (Samuels). The graduation rate for students could potentially make an enormous jump if students could solely focus on schooling instead of focusing on how they will fund it. College should be a place where students can further their knowledge, make connections, and grow into a mature adult. It should be a place where students can focus on an education and work hard so that they may be prepared when entering the workforce. The fact of the matter is, many students cannot do this because they have to work or get loans because funding an education has put a burden on many

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