The Shifting Landscape For Student Loans

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Best, J., & Best, E. (2016). The shifting landscape for student loans. Society, 53(1), 51-55. doi:10.1007/s12115-015-9972-5
This scholarly article discusses how student loan policies are leading to repayment problems for graduate students. It discusses how the majority of policy proposals are set up for students with higher loan balances rather than those with lower balances. Furthermore, they are set up for students who are more likely to earn enough to pay back loans within recent years of graduating such as those pursuing graduate or professional degrees. The authors then discuss how some policies are causing students to default on their loans, which they argue makes students prone to more future financial setbacks. According to the article, about a third of under-30 aged borrowers in repayment are delinquent on their loans. It concludes with a strong statement acknowledging that there are many different types of proposals to forgive student-loan debt, but stating that they fail to be accompanied by realistic estimates. The authors discuss a compelling argument by using appropriate amounts of credible claims in their article. However, this article could really benefit from backing up these claims with more demographic and statistical data to fully support their points. This article was beneficial to my research because it made me see that issue with repayment problems can directly correlate to what type of college degree students pursue.
Black, R., & Huelsman, M. (2012). Overcoming obstacles to college attendance and degree completion: Toward a pro-college savings agenda. Washington, DC: New America Foundation. This evaluative report written by policy analysts, Rachel Black and Mark Huelsman (2012), examines obstacles that both prospective and graduate students currently face. They examine the various forms and sources of financial aid available to prospective students, and find the process may become too complex and end up discouraging them from pursing a degree. An obstacle they discovered for graduate students is being unable to find the type of job they thought they were securing when receiving their degree. The third obstacle they examined affecting all students are the loan policies that go unpaid. This can lead many students to find themselves in default, which can go on to affect their credit score or put them at risk when seeking future employment or rental housing. The report presents evidence of this claim looking at a chart of default rates from the U.S Department of Education. It finds from 2003-2009 the rate of default among student loan holders almost doubled, reaching 8.8 percent. This report generates a solid argument by pointing out specifics and supporting them with data such as charts and graphs. This article proved to be useful by evaluating the many obstacles that may block young people from achieving the American dream due to the burden of college financing. Daly, M. C., & Bengali, L. (2014). Is it still worth going to college?. FRBSF Economic Letter, 2014(13), 1. Economic researchers, Mary Daly and Leila Bengali (2014) of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, discussed in an article over their empirical study whether or not earning a college degree remains a worthwhile investment for the average college student. They measure their data using a longitudinal study that follows working individuals living in the United States over a long time span. They began their discussion by showing specific chart evidence of the benefits of college in terms of higher earnings outweighing the costs of getting a degree. It was discovered that the average college graduate paying an annual tuition of about $20,000 could pay back their costs within reasonable time by the age of 40. The researchers argued that a college degree is a worthwhile investment finding that the average college graduate earns over $800,000 more than the average high school graduate by retirement age. Furthermore proving that the average college graduate can recover the costs with substantially higher lifetime earnings in the future. Because of the method of using a long-term study, this article provides reliable, in-depth data that make for a concrete argument along with providing useful information to my research as to why earning a college degree is a worthwhile investment. Kelly, A. P. (2015). High costs, uncertain

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