Education debt plagues graduates

By:

Posted: 3/8/07

It is no secret many of us nearing the end of college find ourselves burdened by mammoth education debt.

Slowly, we are seduced by the ease of borrowing. We take out a $2,000 loan as a first-semester freshman. Then, borrow a bit more each semester to help in expenses. How easily debt accumulates.

Four or so years later, we exit college with a diploma, over our eyeballs in debt.

We value the education we receive here at the University. We are lucky to attend an institution that offers one of the best educational bargains in the country - it ranks sixth, according to "U.S. News and World Report."

Congratulations are in order for Michael Adams and the entire faculty and staff for helping us obtain our valuable education. But, it is preposterous that many of us graduate with a large debt.

With one semester left as an undergraduate, I already feel the squeeze of debt and I have HOPE.

The Project on Student Debt, a national watchdog organization, says nationwide 43 percent of students leave higher education with debt - on average $16,131.

I consider myself lucky with only $6,000 in debt, but I have friends that owe at least $30,000.

Students are caught in financial straights between Scylla and Charybdis, two sea monsters of Greek myth who wait treacherously on opposite sides of a narrow passage.

None of us pretends to be a financial expert in the economics of higher education and we are the first to acknowledge the University, like all universities, confronts rising costs to deliver our education.

But some of the joy and accomplishment is taken away from many of us who face the reality that we will be middle-aged before we pay off our student loans. There must be a feasible way to leave college with less debt.

Administrators can get representatives in Washington to support bills for lower federal interest rates on student loans and increased funding for state universities.

One bill already passed in the House, the College Student Relief for 2007, proposed cutting the fixed interest rates in half on need-based loans. Reductions in education costs should be made across the board, not only to those few who qualify for need-based aid.

The requirements to qualify for need-based aid often end up hurting those in the middle-class - those who are unable to qualify for need-based aid, but also unable to pay out-of-pocket for an education.

Some colleges have alternative options for students. Berry College offers students the option of working off educational expenses while getting their education.

Perhaps the University should allow students more work-study options, not only to those who qualify for FAFSA.

The bottom line: a more economical way of obtaining a first-rate undergraduate education must be found without jeopardizing our excellent standards.

- Alexis Garrobo is
a news stringer for
The Red & Black