College Tuition and Student Loan Debts

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.

Another cause of this is the inability of students to pay off their loans. Nearly two-thirds of college freshmen feel concerned about how to pay for college and almost the same amount graduate with debt (Marill and O’Leary 64-66, 93). Since high tuition and loans drastically affect a person, many students feel forced to take this into consideration when making plans for their future. Many plans and dreams that high school students have become altered when reality hits them about the cost of continuing their education. Therefore, students just cannot afford higher education.

There are many different types of student loans some of which do not have to be paid until the student graduates college and some that do need to be paid during the student’s college career. Although college students are aware that they are borrowing money for college to eventually pay it back, the student loan debt takes over every other priority in the college student’s life. College students become discouraged and demotivated to go on to the next journey in their lives after they graduate college once they see the horrible student loan debt they are in. A 2002 study found that 17 percent of student loan borrowers reported their loans had a significant impact on their career plans (Baum). In addition, 52 percent of people said they either strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement that their “need to pay student loan debt is hampering my ability to further my career” (Lanza).

How does the rising cost of college tuition affect us? Every year thousands of students attend a college or university, usually of their choice, with the goal of achieving a higher education and to better their future. The cost of attending college is too high and it needs to go down; there needs to be more scholarship and grant opportunities. The high cost of attending college is a major reason that students aren’t able to achieve higher education; others take this as a challenge and it is motivation for them to work harder to achieve their goal. One might ask why would someone want to spend money to receive more education and miss out on more years of work that they could’ve performed?

College tuition has a bad name to it, and for a good reason. More students and paying parents are feeling defeated attempting to pay off loans that typically hang over a students head for a good amount of years after finishing their education and getting their degrees. While the government has attempted to try chip away at the $1.2 trillion debt that has accumulated for college students around the United States, they are no where near having a permanent solution that lets graduates get on with their life without struggling. There are a spectrum of problems that create this debt, and only a few solutions that match up with these problems. Tuition in colleges go up typically every year, both in four year and two year schools.

Web. 24 Feb. 2015. Pisani, Joseph. “A Guide to Student Loan Forgiveness and Repayment Options.” Huffington Post. 26 Sept. 2013.

The higher education system (or lack thereof) is not serving the country and its citizens. The increasing number of admission standards, exponential tuition increases, the financing of the cost through loans, and the boasting of turning students away all contribute to rising disparity between the quality of education that upper class families can afford compared to lower and middle income families. The rising costs of higher education in this country are problematic in that they fuel a disparity between economic classes. Capitulating the problem is the amount of debt college graduates have accrued at the time of graduation. The Institute for College Access and Success (2013) reported that 70% of graduates had and average of $29,400 of debt.

“Once students graduate from college, they need to be prepared to start paying back any loans they took out for school” (Mooney 49). Sad truth about going to college is being in debt and trying to get hired. Even “About 70 percent of 2015 graduates had student loan debt” (Mooney 49). Naturally the only ones who aren’t in debt are the people who can afford college, but for most it is just too expensive. Even though college is important, it is not worth the price, because it puts people in debt, which ruins students credit, is extremely overpriced and students can live without it.

This lack of financial training is ruining our country financially. People overspend due to a lack of planning ahead, revolving credit and the overuse of credit cards. These problems could be solved by requiring financial budgeting classes to anyone who has filed bankruptcy and as a graduation requirement for students in high school. There are many reasons why people overspend but the main reason is a lack of planning ahead. Statistics show that “Over forty percent of US families spend more than they earn” (Consumer).

Since the 1973-74 school year to the 2008-2009 school year, the price of attending a four-year public or private school has roughly tripled after adjusting for inflation according to College Board. (Update). The current price of college tuition leaves students with many problems in order to receive a college degree which most careers today require. Attending college is part of the “American Dream” and the freedoms that this great country offers but when students can not afford the freedoms we offer, then it becomes a problem. Most college students are left with substantial amounts of debt restricting them from further advancing in their careers after they graduate and the average family can not keep up with the rising costs of education and have to resort to finding other ways to get the desperately needed money.