"I probably would have taken one or two loans, and then I would have hustled. I would have picked up groceries in college, I would have babysat everybody because they guarantee you a degree, but they don't guarantee you a job, and they still want their money” (Whiteside). This statement was made by Rhea Shannon, who is a college graduate who has collected $54,000 in student debt. Her father was the cosigner on her loans, but he died her senior year of college fighting in Afghanistan. Shannon’s current payments are $350 a month, which is half of what she makes weekly as a production assistant for a television network. She misses multiple monthly payments due to insufficient funds and is constantly receiving phone calls from creditors. This
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A statistic from CBS News shows that student loan debt has risen 20 percent or 1.2 trillion dollars from the 2011-2013 time span, which is exceeding every other form of non-mortgage debt (Berr). Student loans are in the 7 percent range for the 2014-2015 school year. That is an increase of 3 percent since 2012 (Vanderpool). Most students are forced to take out student loans. Most people say that there is a ton of financial aid for students going to college, but financial aid is mostly for the low income students. If students do not have an income less than fifty-five thousand, they hardly receive anything. Additionally, most scholarships are now salary based making it hard for middle class students. Upper class students can have college paid for and lower class students get money from filling out the FAFSA, but middle class students are mainly eligible for merit and athletic based scholarships; and that is only if they are eligible. As a result of this, most middle class college graduates end up with $50,000 to $100,000 in debt because of student loans. However, student loans are now strenuous due to the rising interest rates. Now the college and the banks are making profit off of students earning a higher level education. Interest is now up to at least seven percent. If that is multiplied the number of years it takes to pay off the debt, which is normally about twenty, that is nearly double the cost of getting a four year degree. Therefore, it puts students in greater debt when they move into the career field and start trying to start a family, buy a house, and raise children. Having that debt scares people away from opening new chapters in their lives. People cannot afford to move out of their parents’ house, rent an apartment, or move on with their lives, when they have a large supply of money coming out of their pocket every month paying for the student loans. This is not considering that most
A statistic from CBS News shows that student loan debt has risen 20 percent or 1.2 trillion dollars from the 2011-2013 time span, which is exceeding every other form of non-mortgage debt (Berr). Student loans are in the 7 percent range for the 2014-2015 school year. That is an increase of 3 percent since 2012 (Vanderpool). Most students are forced to take out student loans. Most people say that there is a ton of financial aid for students going to college, but financial aid is mostly for the low income students. If students do not have an income less than fifty-five thousand, they hardly receive anything. Additionally, most scholarships are now salary based making it hard for middle class students. Upper class students can have college paid for and lower class students get money from filling out the FAFSA, but middle class students are mainly eligible for merit and athletic based scholarships; and that is only if they are eligible. As a result of this, most middle class college graduates end up with $50,000 to $100,000 in debt because of student loans. However, student loans are now strenuous due to the rising interest rates. Now the college and the banks are making profit off of students earning a higher level education. Interest is now up to at least seven percent. If that is multiplied the number of years it takes to pay off the debt, which is normally about twenty, that is nearly double the cost of getting a four year degree. Therefore, it puts students in greater debt when they move into the career field and start trying to start a family, buy a house, and raise children. Having that debt scares people away from opening new chapters in their lives. People cannot afford to move out of their parents’ house, rent an apartment, or move on with their lives, when they have a large supply of money coming out of their pocket every month paying for the student loans. This is not considering that most