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If I seem a bit obsessed with student loan debt, it could be because of the ages of my children -- financing college is a big topic in our house. Discussions about "name" schools vs. affordable schools occur frequently--almost daily these days with a high school senior in the house. Last week I blogged about my concerns about what the levels of student loan debt would do to the economy several years out-- but it appears that it may exacerbate the current crisis, as well.
The New York Times has an article this morning, discussing the job prospects of graduates from top business schools. They mention one student who expects to graduate with $200,000 in debt. Think about that--$200,000--generally repayable over a 10 year period, at a 6-7% interest rate...with payments starting shortly after graduation.
How many of these kids are there? And without jobs, how will they pay these loans? And will taxpayers whose children have made trade-offs so they don't need to assume the level of debt required by a big-name school be expected to bear the burden of loan forgiveness for these bad choices?
We live in scary times, I think.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
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I was fortunate enough during school to only accumulate about $20,000 in student loan debt. I won a tuition grant that covered quite a bit of my expenses, but $20,000 is still a massive burden. My mom went in for her masters in education and was halfway through her doctorate when she decided to take a break. She accumulated over $98,000 in student loan debt. She's been out of school for over 4 years and hasn't been able to find a job. She worked temporarily for Sylvan learning online as a tutor, but even putting applications out all over the country, it was rare for her to even get a callback or an interview. As of this week, she's working at the Discount Dress for less retailer making $7.80 an hour. :( It's insane. They push and push and push for people to get a good college education, but it seems so futiel when after the fact you can't even find a job in your field or even a slightly related field.
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