Student Loan Debt Analysis

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According to the Institute for College Access and Success reports, the average amount of student loan debt for undergraduates in the United States for 2013 was $28,400. The Institute for College Access and Success also reports that the average amount of student loan debt for undergraduates in Pennsylvania as of 2013 was $32,528. The same source reports that Maryland has an average undergraduate student loan debt of $26,349, New Jersey’s average is $28,209, and New York’s average is $26,381 (Bidwell, 2014). Even though these three surrounding states have a higher per capita income than Pennsylvania has, their student loan debt is lower than Pennsylvania’s. When comparing these surrounding state’s per capita income and student loan debt to Pennsylvania’s, …show more content…
However, the issue of legislation concerning student loan forgiveness has recently become a prominent discussion on and off college campuses. A student cannot afford to pay for college up front, so he or she is forced to take out federal student loans. When the student loans do not cover the entire cost of their education, the student must apply for student loans through a bank. The interest rates on the federal loans are regulated and lower; however, the student is only allowed to cover a small portion of their overall debt with these loans. Therefore, most students are forced to take out loans through private banks to cover the remaining deficit; however, these loans come with higher interest rates. Student loans through private banks have a higher interest rate because they are for-profit companies. First generation college students, such as myself, are less likely to know how to go about paying for college or which type of loan to take out and for how much. This results in banks taking advantage of students through interest rates and loan types. This makes it incredibly difficult for students, especially first generation college students, to finish out their degree. Not to mention if the student is paying for their college education with no help from their parents or anyone else, then paying for college is extremely difficult. This leads us to the question: who is to …show more content…
Education promotes the common good because it helps the political community produce and maintain happiness by producing informed citizens that can contribute to society. This would be Aristotle’s argument because he believes “in one way what we call just is whatever produces and maintains happiness and its parts for a political community” (Westphal, 1996, p. 75). Therefore, Aristotle would suggest that the next step in solving the issue of student loan debt forgiveness and restoring the profit and loss would be to come up with laws in relation to education. So the next step, according to Aristotle’s philosophy, would be figuring out laws that are suitable to restore the profit and loss involved in the issue of student loan debt

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