Student loan debt is getting out of control!
According to the Wall Street Journal, "Americans are
borrowing more to pay for college." By the beginning of 2012, Americans
owed $904 BILLION in student loan debt which is an 8% increase from
just last year. So who is to blame for all of this student loan debt?
Are colleges to blame for this excessive student loan debt?
With
rising tuition and fees which cause the students to borrow more just so
they can stay in college and get a degree to hopefully get a "good" job
when they graduate, it is a possibility.
Or is it the government's fault for all of this student loan debt?
The
government should be increasing the amount of grants given to students
to help balance out and help the students keep up with the increasing
college costs, right?
Actually, the PARENTS are to blame for student loan debt!
When
I was in college, I encountered too many students who chose the college
they attended just because their friends were going there or the campus
looked nice or "it was far away from home." The truth of the matter is
soon-to-be college students don't really take into consideration the
cost of the college. At that age, they are just so excited to go and are
only thinking with their
emotions. The mounting student loan
debt that they sign up for each year isn't quite real yet. It just seems
like another form that they have to fill out in order to take college
classes. It doesn't get "real" until Sallie Mae sends them a paper in
the mail stating that their first student loan payment will be due 6
months after graduation and by that time it is too late. They have
acquired $30,000 or $60,000 or even $120,000 in student loan debt (not
including interest) and don't know where they are going to get the money
to pay it back with the entry-level positions that they have accepted.
Parents, you HAVE to be the ones to think logically
in this situation. Sit down with your soon-to-be-college student and
have them understand the cost of attending the college they want to go
to. Compare it to the costs of some of the other colleges that they were
accepted into as well. Have your child understand that the cost of
attending the college is for each year, not the entire 4 years. So if
you have to take out student loans in the amount of $15,000 this year,
you need to multiply that by 4 (at the very least) so their total
student loan debt will be $60,000 that they will have to pay back, not
just $15,000. Even tell them how much the monthly payments will be that
they will have to pay back so they understand and are aware. Parents,
you MUST get your child to think about the future, not just the present.
Right now, they are just signing a paper. But in the future, that
signature is going to cost them more than they ever imagined.
By: Shanice Miller, Founder of
DebtFreeCollegeGrad.com
