Higher education is a goal that the
vast majority of people strive for, knowing that the benefits it brings are
great when it comes to a prosperous lifestyle off a stable income.
However, that idea of a prosperous lifestyle is often burdened by the debts
that accumulate through all the years in college to make such a lifestyle
possible. Not everybody who goes to college has to deal with debts that
rack up around $80,000 in some cases, like one Darla M. Horn, who took responsibility recently for repaying her $80,000 in undergraduate loans, and even for medical students totaling around
$113,000. Ms Horn, in short, wanted to go to her dream college, and didn't really care about her finances in that time she attended NY College, leaving her home in a small Texas town on the Louisiana border in order to attend. A happy handful if they play their cards right may only have
around $20,000 in debt if they start out or only attend a community college.
Despite this however, the many who suffer from these massive debts far exceed the few who deal with the miniscule in comparison debts. That still doesn't change the fact that college debt from borrowing leaves many
people devastated in debt, and stuck repay said debts for many years even after
they have graduated. College education debts have grown to an absurd
level since the 90's, and the loans borrowed ruin the livelihood of many
students after they graduate. Depending
on the area of study, massive debts are understandable, such as medical or
law. However, when the major isn't in an
area of study like those two the debts that are still accumulated by some
college students become disturbingly high.
College is worth whatever it takes in order to have a successful future,
but when the debts grow to be staggering and the major isn't medical or law
related, the worth comes into question.
The modern day is a great way to describe the situation. College
today is a not the same as it was a decade or two ago. In a quote from
"A Lifetime of Student Debt? Not Likely", written by Robin Wilson,
"The average debt has more than doubled, from $9,250 in 1993 to $19,200 in
2003-4." It only took 10 years for the debt to double.
And even with that being said, that was a decade ago. This can only lead
to the conclusion that the debt is continually rising. Today requires too
much borrowed money in comparison to 1993, where the debt then didn't last as
long as the debt of today. With the debt having more than doubled since
the early 90's, it just shows how much is required to make something work
out. This leads me to another quote I
found, that I can relate to rather well, as I'm sure many other can if not
having already seen an example of. Robert A. Sevier, senior vice
president at Stamats Inc., a higher-education marketing firm in Cedar Rapids,
Iowa, states "People live outside their means." Many
people try to borrow more than they need in order to go to the college
that they've wanted to go to since they were young children. Many people
borrow $40,000 when they should only have to borrow $20,000, but because many
people desire more of their personal wants than the true needs that they should
be able to live with. Many people want to go to the big name schools,
live in a dorm or frat, and take classes that they might not necessarily
need. It all adds up, and over time the additions of many of these extras
that are not needed end up being the reason why the debts are so much higher
than they should be.
Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of FinAid, a Web site about student aid, says it
best in his quote: "Many people don't pay attention to the debt,
they want to be able to pay for the school they have wanted to go to for as
long as they can remember, and they are willing to do whatever it
takes." What he means by this is that many people worry and think
more about what's behind the doors of the college they want to go to, they
don't think about the debt that will gradually become a chain that binds them
to the school for most of their lives until the debt is fully paid. Many
people would rather go where they want to regardless what the backlash will be,
and that backlash becomes the debt the accumulates over the many years they
spend in their dream college. The debt doesn't matter to them, as long as
in the end they are where they want to be the idea of debt drops to the far
back of their mind.
In 1993, only 1.3 percent of graduation seniors had borrowed money currently
equivalent to $40,000. by 2003-4, that number had jumped to 7.7 percent. That's
more than a 5 times increase in students who needed to borrow to fund their
time in college. This proves that colleges are becoming more
expensive. With them becoming more expensive that adds on to the
possibility of higher debts that students have to deal with in their
lifetimes. Take note as well, that the last poll was taken in 2003 from
this article. What would the percentage be now? How many more
college students will be spending and borrowing in the next generation?
These loans in a quote from Lauren J. Asher, who also presented the percentages and numbers stated from 1993 to 2004 a few sentences earlier, "can ruin someone for
life." There is so much truth within this one quote that it's hard
for many people to bounce back from paying off all the loans and borrowed money
that has accumulated over time. In the
picture above, a more recent examination of the rise of costs, provided by the
article "America isn't ready for its future" by Adam Taggart, it
shows how the rise not only grew from 1993 to 2004, but an even further span of
growth, beginning from 1980 to 2010.
Where all these goods at one point use to cut even, college tuition has
skyrocketed above all other costs, providing a more visual example of how the
modern family finds it hard to afford the cost of college on its own without a
form of support such as borrowing. As
shown, the cost of college far exceeds that of the modern family income. Americas future is truly in trouble if these
numbers were to continue growing at their current rate, but how could it can
any worse you might ask?
PatrickM. Callan says: “If we go on this way for another 25 years, we won’t have an
affordable system of higher education.” In this statement, Callan's words hold
true. As to prior statistics, If the
increase noted earlier grew over the course of 20 years, take a moment to
imagine if that were to double. If the
debts of most students grew according to this prediction, college and higher
education as we know it would become unrealistically expensive. The cost for the next generation, and the
generations to follow would face hardships unlike those we face today. Said hardships faced today are already
crippling in some cases and weigh heavy on the accounts of many amongst us in
America today.
According to a young African-American student, who was not named in the article, “College is the key, as well as
hope.” His point is that in order for the newer generations to prosper in
this ever-changing world, college is the hand that guides and opens the
door for possibility. I strongly agree, as to the fact that my understanding
is that for anyone regardless whether it's me or the person sitting across the
room from me, college is what will truly aid in our progression through life as
it continually grows more difficult than it was for the generations before us. In order for college to be this key that we
can rely upon to open the door however,
it must first be molded. In order
for it to become molded the education that acts as the molder must be
affordable to those who wish to use it.
Unfortunately affordable isn't the case for many people, which is why
the vast majority borrow if they don't come from wealthy homes.
College
becomes a starting point for the lives of many who attend once the degree is
obtained. It becomes the birthplace of
many great memories and experiences that mold the lives of young adults who
fully mature into the grown members of society in the modern day. The problem is that all these factors of debt
manifest into the reason why many don't attend college. Some parents see what the bill will look like
and the idea becomes abandoned in order to save a couple thousand that they
believe could be used elsewhere. Other
people coming out of high school already have an idea of how expensive it will
be and choose not to go. This is why the
potential debt of college that many people see and ignore could become real and
thereby scare people into not wanting to go to college. The flipside of this are the people that are
oblivious to the looming debt that comes from them borrowing money in order to
attend. This is the craziness of debt,
borrowed money, and their effects on those who attend and don't attend
college. Why does it matter? This matters because of how it detours some from joining the college
masses, and also because of how it breaks the banks of those who do attend and
borrow more than they need, like the room and board as well as other factors
named earlier within the words of the paragraphs that preceded these.
Although college is a necessity for all people looking for a prosperous life,
it has shown that the debts that come as the end result for most becomes a
deterrent to not go. The thoughts of debt crushes many peoples hopes in
some instances, and repels many people away. College and higher education
provide many benefits, however the debts that many acquire are abysmal and a
terrible factor in the lives of college graduates as they gradually pay them
off over their lifetimes.
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