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Zachary Carroll
Professor: Laryssa Waldron
English 2010
10/11/2015
Student Debt
As college education becomes more and more expected in the workplace, people are
realizing that its beneficial to have a degree. This leaves college students to face the ultimate
challenge which is; where will they will get the money to finance their education? Although
there has been increased federal spending on programs to help with tuition, some students have
no other option besides getting a student loan. Once a student graduates, they are not guaranteed
a job right away. Even if they do get a job right out of college, there is no guarantee that their
salary will accommodate the student debt accrued while in college. With college tuition and
interest rates increasing, students are having to become more educated about student loans before
they go to college.
In a recent article published in Time Magazine, they examined the increase of student
loans. They stated that in the past five years the average student loan debt has risen 30% to an
average of $23,829. It also indicated that more than half of the loan accounts are in deferral
status which is only a temporary reprieve from the loan payments. (White, Student Loan Debt
Crisis: Howd We Get Here and What Happens Next?). The increase of 30% in just the last 5
years is a big deal. It says that our society is putting more emphasis on higher education so much
so that people over burden themselves with student loans.
In the article, Let's Cut College Administrative Sprawl, Instead of Raising Tuition it
gave (gives) an example of a woman who amounted so much student debt that she wouldnt be

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able to afford her debt payments with her current job. She was making around 2,300 a month
after taxes and would have had a loan repayment of $700 per month had it not been deferred due
to her being enrolled in night school. In the article, she said that she is toiling to pay for an
education she got for four years and would happily give back. Her degree is in religious and
women's studies. (Will, Let's Cut College Administrative Sprawl, Instead of Raising
Tuition.).While this is a statistic from a private university, where tuition is much more
expensive than public universities, it illustrates the problem students face when deciding how to
pay for school. They really have to decide if their degree is going to enable them to pay off their
debt comfortably or not.
The fact if the student can or cannot
afford the college degree seems to not
matter to employers these days. To be
viewed as employable, most people need
to have a college degree regardless of the
job experience they may have accrued
Izzo, Phil, Wall Street Journal, 25 OCT 2015

through the years. We also know that

depending on the degree you have, you need experience and an education. This makes it difficult
to get the career you wish as you cant start working until you have the degree but you also cant
get hired without experience. An article in the New York Times reported on degree inflation.
In the late 1970s, the median wage was 40% higher for college graduates than
for people with more than a high school degree; now the wage premium is about
80%, And its getting more expensive to get those degrees. Were pushing more
and more of the cost onto the students, Bosworth says. This year, the cost of

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tuition and fees at public four-year colleges went up nearly 5%, according the to
the College Board, even as assistance fell. The rapid growth in federal aid
which for a few years actually reduced the average net prices students paid has
ended, the group said in an October report. (White, Student Loan Debt Crisis:
Howd We Get Here and What Happens Next?).
This is also a part of the problem. Tuition increases in recent years makes it that much harder to
afford school.
With student loans now becoming the largest source of consumer debt aside from
mortgages, it is important to understand who is financing the loans. Most loans are financed by
the department of education, but businesses are staking their claim on this segment of the
economy too. The private sector of student loans are sometimes viewed as predatory with
inflated interest rates and without some of the protections that federal loans provide.
Students now are faced with issues that no others have faced. Tuition is more expensive,
a degree is more expected, and student loans are readily available with little understanding how
to repay the debt. This generation needs to understand what the risks and benefits from gaining
an education, as well as how to become more responsible with their debt.

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Citations
Campo-Flores, Arian. Why It Costs So Much. Newsweek. 142.9 (2003): 44-45. Academic
Search Premier. Web. 1 Oct. 2015.
Ehrenberg, Ronald. Tuition Rising: Why it Cost So Much. www.educause.edu. (2014).
Web. 1 Oct 2015.
Izzo, Phil. Congratulations to Class of 2014, Most Indebted Ever. www.wsj.com. (2014).
Web. 25 Oct 2015.
King, Jacqueline E. Financing a College Education: How It Works, How Its
Changing. American Council on Education/Oryx Press Series on Higher
Education Series. (2008) eBook. ISBN: 1593112874, 9781593112875
White, Martha C. Student Loan Debt Crisis: Howd We Get Here and What Happens
Next? business.time.com. (2013). Web. 10 Oct 2015.
Will, George F. Let's Cut College Administrative Sprawl, Instead of Raising Tuition.
Human Events. 68.21 (2012): 24-24. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Oct
2015.