Debt Sentence
by Divia Joseph
Finishing the Common App is not the end of a senior’s stress. As if filling out applications and meeting deadlines was not stressful enough, dealing with financing college takes up a lot of time during the second semester. An increasing number of students are turning the federal government and private institutions for loans. Despite the various scholarships and financial aid opportunities available, it just doesn’t seem to cover the surmounting cost of college tuition that is now skyrocketing into the five figures. Today, students must seriously consider the price tags attached to their dream schools, many of whom will turn to the federal government for aid.
So why has the student loan process become such a catastrophe for so many students? There are many factors to blame but according to the Department of Education, the recent recession has become a major part of the problem.
Colleges are beginning to feel the struggle as states face steeper budget cuts and must slash the financial support they grant for education. As a result, students suffer because universities must raise tuition to cover the loss of much needed state funding. In the end, students are embarking on their academic careers with a frightening debt sentence of generally twenty-five thousand dollars per student every year.
But there’s no doubt that a college education is vital in our skills-based economy, so loans have become an essential tool that prospective students utilize by the to attain a chance at reaching success in society.
“Students today often receive jargon-laden financial aid award letters that make it hard to compare financial aid offers side-by-side. Information about the total debt, interest, and monthly payments of student loans can be unclear—or not included at all,” says U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan when asked about what makes these transactions seem like students are walking in the dark of financial fate.
The Department of Education is not completely inept, though, and has successfully made some aspects of financial aid applications less challenging than others. The Department posts “annual tuition watch-lists” that demonstrate the cheapest schools in the nation, as well as the costliest. Colleges are also required to install calculators on their websites that offer an accurate calculation of the real cost of attendance. So in essence their phony and eye-catching sticker prices are now revealed for what they really are and what it would mean for the applicant were they to attend. These implementations should be used so that student loans are only used sparingly or in such a controllable amount that it won’t then overwhelm the graduates once their released to the big bad world.
Mrs. Gerri Cookler, the head of Pupil Personnel Services, offers advice to both students and parents alike during this whole college and student loans process. She recommends that students exhaust every scholarship opportunity and fill out the Free Application to Student Federal Aid accurately. Mrs. Cookler offers that students can turn to online research for such as information, for instance she recommends looking into the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation, online for further guidance. Mrs. Cookler’s greatest piece of advice is that students and parents “take a pragmatic approach and really be honest about what they can and can’t afford.”
So why has the student loan process become such a catastrophe for so many students? There are many factors to blame but according to the Department of Education, the recent recession has become a major part of the problem.
Colleges are beginning to feel the struggle as states face steeper budget cuts and must slash the financial support they grant for education. As a result, students suffer because universities must raise tuition to cover the loss of much needed state funding. In the end, students are embarking on their academic careers with a frightening debt sentence of generally twenty-five thousand dollars per student every year.
But there’s no doubt that a college education is vital in our skills-based economy, so loans have become an essential tool that prospective students utilize by the to attain a chance at reaching success in society.
“Students today often receive jargon-laden financial aid award letters that make it hard to compare financial aid offers side-by-side. Information about the total debt, interest, and monthly payments of student loans can be unclear—or not included at all,” says U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan when asked about what makes these transactions seem like students are walking in the dark of financial fate.
The Department of Education is not completely inept, though, and has successfully made some aspects of financial aid applications less challenging than others. The Department posts “annual tuition watch-lists” that demonstrate the cheapest schools in the nation, as well as the costliest. Colleges are also required to install calculators on their websites that offer an accurate calculation of the real cost of attendance. So in essence their phony and eye-catching sticker prices are now revealed for what they really are and what it would mean for the applicant were they to attend. These implementations should be used so that student loans are only used sparingly or in such a controllable amount that it won’t then overwhelm the graduates once their released to the big bad world.
Mrs. Gerri Cookler, the head of Pupil Personnel Services, offers advice to both students and parents alike during this whole college and student loans process. She recommends that students exhaust every scholarship opportunity and fill out the Free Application to Student Federal Aid accurately. Mrs. Cookler offers that students can turn to online research for such as information, for instance she recommends looking into the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation, online for further guidance. Mrs. Cookler’s greatest piece of advice is that students and parents “take a pragmatic approach and really be honest about what they can and can’t afford.”
