CLASS DISMISSED: Student loan bubble is escapable

By: Jasmyn Elliott/ Columnist 

Jasmyn Elliott / Columnist

Jasmyn Elliott / Columnist

However, with so many students majoring in debt, it seems as if one’s college diploma is more of a curse than a gift.

In a Nov. 6 article on huffingtonpost.com, it is argued that college students would be better off had they not attended in the first place.

Although a college degree is still valuable, it simply is not worth its weight in student loans.  “A degree is an asset whose value can change over time,” writes the article’s author, Justin Pope. “Borrowing to pay for it is risky, and borrowing is way up. The stakes are high. You can usually walk away from a house. Not so a student loan, which can’t even be discharged in bankruptcy.”

Furthermore, Pope notes that student loans show bubble-like tendencies: everyone wants them, bills are being paid with the borrowed money, little research is done to see if the borrowers are truly eligible and defaulting is on the rise.

Before we all submit university withdrawal forms to avoid amassing debt, let’s keep in mind that the rising tuition costs is also an issue. If it was not so expensive to go to college, there would be no need for students to borrow funds to offset the costs.

That being said, if these trends continue, there will come a time where students cannot get loans at all, thus disenfranchising thousands of potential college graduates, which would then drive the economy even further downward, because many rising industries that require innovative thinkers also require at least a Master’s degree, if not higher.

As college students, there are a couple of ways we can avoid this financial hardship. To begin with, we must resist the urge to borrow more than we actually need for tuition.

I know it is tempting to borrow several loans to buy a car or pay off some bills, especially since many loans are subsidized and are not due for repayment until six months after graduation. However, with the economy in such disrepair, there is no guarantee that a post-grad will be employed right after graduation, thus making it even more difficult to pay back the loans in a timely fashion.

Jasmyn Elliott / Columnist

It makes little sense, then, to increase the hardship by over-borrowing, especially from multiple lenders. Sorry to burst your bubble, but keep the borrowing at bay.

Furthermore, search diligently for scholarships and grants. With enough research and a good grade point average, students could acquire enough “free money” to pay for college. Even if a scholarship only covers $500 per semester, it will still make all the difference when it’s time to purchasing books.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama’s student debt relief plan, which reduces minimum payments and forgives debt after 20 years instead of 25, could be the solution to current and future students, thus giving college graduates a fair chance to pay their debt.

Even with this reform, we must borrow responsibly and fully understand what we are getting ourselves into when we borrow funds for college. Otherwise, we will have a heavy debt that comes along with our diploma.

“Class Dismissed” is a biweekly column critiquing education in America.

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