Throughout the history of civilization, education has been an important tool in shaping an individual as well as the society that the individual is a part of. In the older civilizations, only the elite upper class had access to education. This kept these people at the top of the social ladder, and suppressed the common people who did not have access to the same education as the nobles. We have come a long way since then, with every child having access to a free high school degree. However, there is still some inequality in this modern education system that has similarities to the old injustices. In this day and age, a college degree is a great start for a young adult starting to enter the work force. According to a study conducted by Pew …show more content…
If an aspiring college student doesn’t have the necessary funds to attend school, there is another option they could use to pay for school. Student loans are a popular choice so that the student can pay for school. While this may seem like a great option for affording school, it can be a devil in disguise for many. The New York Times reports that Americans owe over 1.4 trillion dollars in student loan debt (Kelly 1). This happens when a college student takes loans with the belief that the college degree they get will help them achieve a higher salary which will in turn will help them pay off their debt. This often isn’t the case. A student takes the loans and attends school, but does not receive the salary that they were hoping to acquire from attending school. A standard payment plan for students is to pay off their debt in ten years, but according to a study conducted by US News, the average bachelor degree holder takes twenty-one years to pay off (Bidwell 1). This is a common occurrence as well, a report conducted by The Institute for Collee Access and Success shows that in 2012, seventy-one percent of college graduates had student debt (Serrato 1). The current system that the government offers to help those struggling to afford a secondary education is a flawed program that needs restructuring. Since a college education is very hard to
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
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
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.
Student loan debt in the United States is expanding unrestricted each year. There are 36 million Americans today, holding over $740 billion dollars in student loan debt. (U.S. 2013) The current student loan system is intended to open doors to economic prosperity for those who could not otherwise afford to go to college. Research suggests that the unintended consequence of too much available student credit is real people losing prosperity and languishing in debt for extended periods of their lives. Reducing or eliminating the availability of student loans would have a tremendous impact on improving the lives of Americans. If things continue the way they are now, American’s will soon find college, and its implied ticket to economic
Post-secondary education comes at a very high price. The excitement of graduating college to land the six-figure job is soon destroyed when you realize how much debt you are in. Dreams of owning a house and starting a family is shattered by the money borrowed to provide and guarantee students a better future. Instead of waiting to land that perfect job, students are forced to work multiple jobs to help ends meet. Struggling to stay afloat, millions of students are becoming victims of one of the major economic crisis in the United States; Student debt.
It’s no secret in America that many college graduates are struggling to pay off their student loans. While looking at the statistics for how much is owed and how many college graduates are affected, it is clear that student debt is an issue and the need for a solution couldn’t be more urgent. The latest data show that across the country there are over “40 million borrowers” who share in “$1.2 trillion dollars” of student loans (Life Delayed). According to those numbers, that means that the average borrower has $30,000 dollars to pay off. With college tuition ever increasing, it is not hard to see how borrowing more money has becoming inevitable. According to Alan Greenblatt, a staff writer for NPR and CQ Researcher who focuses on
Student debt is an increasing problem in the American education system. As the times keep changing one thing becomes clearer and clearer: going to college is becoming less and less of a choice for recently graduated high school students. Unfortunately for us students that also means by the time we graduate we will have thousands of dollars in student loans to pay off when we are trying to start fresh in our new jobs. According to a story reported by the Daily News, approximately 70 percent of college students owe around 30,000 dollars by the time they graduate. This number
“On average, a college graduate with a bachelor’s degree earned $30,000 more per year than a high school graduate…” (Is College Education Worth It?). Usually that sounds grand and would also make somebody very ecstatic yet, learning the other side of the story might make you cringe. Within nine, to ten years, student debt has risen about ninety-percent since 2003. Around sixty-percent of the students that graduated in 2011, have a debt that is nearly sixty-percent of their yearly income. With debt that high, it may result in late payments (which increase
Studies suggest that fifty percent or more of new jobs that will appear in the upcoming decades will require their employees to have a postsecondary education (America’s Promise). However, the rising price of a college education is preventing many students from achieving their goal. This only adds to the number of unemployed young adults and the number of Americans living in property. People always say if you’re tired of being poor then do something about it but it is not as simple as it used to be. In the past thirty years the cost of getting a college degree has increase by 1,120 percent (Mosbergn). Not only that, but if you do manage to get a degree after you graduate you are often left paying off student loan debt. As of 2013, the amount of student loan debt to be paid off has surpassed one trillion dollars. Another reason why many student opt out of going to college is because they believe it is a waste of time. While that may not be the case for all students a recent poll showed that forty percent of college graduates are unemployed and left struggling to pay off a student loan alone with no job
Student loan debt has increasingly become an issue, not only for those who have acquired it and must deal with it, but also for the economy. To function normally in today’s society, pursuing a college education is a requirement for those who want a high paying job. With this decision, students also choose to accept the massive amounts of debt and the long-term turmoil that it inevitably leads to. Student loan debt impacts students purchasing power, which negatively impacts the economy. Currently, there is over $1.3 trillion outstanding in student loans (Rosato). Recent state disinvestment in public universities has led to tuition increases, forcing students to borrow more than ever before. As a result, over 20% of these students are denied
According to statistical data released by the Institute for College Access and Success, nearly two-thirds of the total number of students graduating from American institutions of higher learning is leaving school with some level of debt (Dwyer, Mccloud, & Hodson, 2012). As revealed by the data projections, learners who are average borrows are graduating with a debt of an upwards of $ 26,000 in debt. With the total count of the debt crossing the $ 1.3 trillion mark, the issue is alarming and needs swift action before it worsens. While the average American believes that a degree is a pathway to a successful life in America, the burden of debt combined with the lessening educational and financial returns are frustrating American graduates,
With the heavy push to secure a college degree combined with the rapidly-increasing cost of college, families are facing one of the toughest decisions of their lives: How to pay for college without being buried in student loan debt. As a college student, there’s no doubt you may end up with student debt. Almost all college students will receive some form of student loan during their college career. This year’s college graduates are leaving school with an average of $37,172 in student loans – up from $35,000 last year. Many students and families are searching for solutions to avoid becoming part of the crisis.
In the United States today, the number of students graduating college with student loan debt is quite astonishing. In the article titled, “How the $1.2 Trillion College Debt Crisis Is Crippling Students, Parents And The Economy”, we will examine and break down the student loan debt crisis by the numbers. Today, almost two-third’s of students graduating college are graduating with an average of $26,000 in debt. For most students, $26,000 is a lot of money when the average annual income for a first year graduate is only in the mid $40,000 a year range. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, student loan debt has reached a new milestone, crossing the $1.2 trillion mark (Denhart, 2013, Introduction, par. 2). With student loan debt levels
Higher education is important and many students do their best, take courses they need. When a student finally graduates college, they become so excited to apply what they have just learned in college to their chosen field. However, one problem occurs after graduation students realize that they have a high student loan. Student loans are huge in today’s society and many people try to find ways to fix student loans. Student loans can be fixed by having a financial aid to low-income students while having free tuition for other income students, having consequences for failing a class.
In 2016, an accumulation of almost 1.4 trillion dollars of student loan debt was outstanding in America (Kess). Students from all over the nation, and the world for that matter, are going to higher education without the financial ability to do so. One of the few options for financial aid available to these prospective college students is to take out student loans to pay for the high tuition of most universities and colleges. While these loans are a modality for attending higher education, they often come with strings. Along with being several thousand dollars in debt, interest also accumulates into the total amount of the owed financial total. Until these loans are repaid the interest keep accumulating and the debt grows. With debt still affecting students negatively well after they finish their higher education, the price of college tuition should be abated.