Student Loan Debt Should be Forgiven

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).

Not everyone can afford to drop down thousands of dollars and attend school for a few more years. Students who wish to receive a post-secondary education must decide whether it is the right choice for them depending on their financial standpoint, meaning that they must decide if they have the resources to further their education. As stated earlier, the cost of college is too high and it needs to be reduced to a more reasonable amount. It is expected that young adults in this day in age would want to go to college or another post-secondary education school to receive higher learning and to somewhat better their lives. While this is true ... ... middle of paper ... ...ews Calculated the 2014 Best Colleges Rankings.” US News.

Works Cited "Edfinancial Services." Understanding Your Student Loan Bill -. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2013.

An estimated 20 million Americans attend college each year, and 60% of those students borrow annually to pay for it (qtd. in asa.org, “Student Loan Debt Statistics”). Moreover, citizens continuing to pay off debt after schooling brings the overall number of student-loan-borrowers to about 40 million- with a collective 1 trillion dollars in debt (McCarthy, “10 Fun Facts About the Student Debt Crisis); a fourth of these borrowers owe over $28,000, a tenth owe over $54,000, 3.1% owe more than $100,000, “and 0.45 percent of borrowers, or 167,000 people, owe more than $200,000” (Haughwout, “Grading Student Loans”). While some view this predicament as the result of laziness or carelessness, the bulk of this substantial group are not at fault. Low wage jobs, underemployment, and high unemployment rates have forced individuals striving for 'the American dream', upward class mobility, and a greater education to choose indebtedness, often at prices they can not and will not be able to afford.

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“13 Ways College Students Waste Money and Opportunities.” Forbes. Forbes.com, 8 August 2013. Web. 24 March 2014. Pracz, Alyssa.

Web. 18 May 2014. Malcolm, Hadley. "Millennials' Ball-and-chain: Student Loan Debt." USA Today, 01 July 2013.

Reports show that college tuition has rose 439 percent between 1982 and 2007 (Student Loans). However, with the rise in tuition, comes the rise in student loans. Government loans are offered to students who otherwise would not be able to go to college, with the agreement that students will pay back the loans with interest. Therefore, the government spends $34- $45 billion on student loans (Belkin). However, due to the 18.5% unemployment rate in 2009, the US Department of Education concluded that 46.3% of loans go into default (Student Loans).

If more students are attending college, why not bring down the price for tuition if they are making more money. “The pay gap between college graduates and everyone else reached a record high last year”, according to the new data, which is based on an analysis of Labor Department statistics by the Economic Policy Institute in Washington” (Leonhardt, David). “Americans who attend a four year university and obtained a degree, made 98 percent more and hour than on average 2013 than people without a degree” (Leonhardt, David). That is great, people have really worked hard