<p>Thing is, I chose to take out the $30k in loans…I probably culd have gotten away with only needing half of that amount to cover direct expenses. And this is where the real problem lies. Breaking it down, about $15K of my existing loan debt was taken out for my Bachelor’s degree…of which I pay NO tuition for…and I know I have not spent $15k in books and fees. The other $15k that was taken out for my Associates degree covered much more than the direct costs of my education as well. Had I chosen to borrow only what I needed, I would probably graduate with my Bachelor’s with only about $8k in debt…which given that both schools are four-year privates and I am a working adult, with no SAT or ACT scores and haven’t been in HS for almost 15 years. Most scholarships and institutional grants are designed strictly for traditional students enrolling fresh out of high school.</p>
<p>And I see these types of decisions EVERY day. The Masters program at my institution costs a mere $20k. Students are eligible for $20,500 each year of our two year program. And many choose to take out the whole $41,000. Now, we educate our students with the information they need to realize they do not need the entire loan…we even provide them with the information again when they receive their $7k to $10k of excess funds. We encourage ALL our students to borrow wisely. However, as many have stated to me…given the ease of taking out a Stafford Loan and the relatively low interest rates, compared to the private consumer loans, they feel as though they are getting a GREAT deal…which is precisely why I borrowed so much in ecess of actual need.</p>
<p>There is TONS of literature out there to educate students about the pitfalls of student loan debt. There are lenty of very affordable schools that offer a great deal of “free” aid. How many times have we read on this board about students who would rather throw away a full scholarship to a lesser liked school and take out a large amount of loans just to attend their dream school? This is the bigger problem then the industry or the schools. </p>
<p>As parents, we teach our children to “reach for the stars”. We tell them nothing is impossible. We give them everything we were “deprived” of as children. We pamper ourselves with expensive houses and cars and large credit card bills to afford the finer things in life. We want to become our children’s best friends…so when they get “teased” for not wearing the latest fashion trend, we find a way to provide them with it…to make their lives easier. Then, when th ehousehold finances hit rock bottom and we, as parents, are struggling to pay all the bills, we hide it from them. They never realize how hard it is to maintain the lifestyle. They don’t realize how hard we work to provide them with their wants.</p>
<p>We, as parents, created this monster…and now we want to blame the high priced schools and the government and the student loan industry.</p>
<p>Now…before all parents get upset, I know that there are many parents who have done an excellent job raising their children. They have taught them the finer ponts of debt, cost of living and how to reach their dreams without going broke. But this type of education isn’t occuring within the poorest communities..or the most afluent either. I live in a very destitute area of Virginia…yet many of the poorest teens are walking around with the latest cell phones, expenses clothing and driving the hottest cars, while their parents are walking to work and using payphones. And we wonder why today’s youth is stuck with 80k in loan debts when they graduate from college.</p>