With the rising costs of education, student debt seems to be as much a graduation requirement as course credits and thesis projects. Three months ago, I graduated with a degree in Biology, and $41,500 of debt (not including accrued interest). How am I coping? It's simple: pennies pinched, fingers crossed. Sure, it's a scary amount of money to owe, but it could be worse. My sister is about to matriculate law school at the University of Colorado. She'll "only" owe six figures after graduation because she can claim state residency after a year. Still, I have no regrets. I loved my college experience and wouldn't change a thing about it.
For now, debt is a necessary evil for the overwhelming majority of students that don't win full scholarships. The rising student debt goes hand in hand with rising tuition costs. At my alma mater, my senior year cost nearly $6,000 more than my freshman year.
That's one expensive graduation robe.
The price change did not reflect an increase in the quality of my education (it was already high) but I learned the increase was needed to make it sustainable. Last February, Hamilton College's VP of Administration and Finance, Karen Leach, explained the fate of every dollar in the budget. Student tuition only covers expenses for 65 percent of the academic year. The rest of the year is funded by generous alumni donations. Interestingly, the largest expense is not from construction or maintenance, but rather, labor. Faculty, administrators and staff members need benefits like health insurance (conveniently, another service with rapidly rising costs). You can't cut labor costs without sacrificing the quality of the Hamilton experience, which boasts a 12:1 student-faculty ratio (including some of the best professors in the country).
It made me feel a little bit better about the small mountain of debt on my horizon, because all that money was used to invest in my future. It took a few loans that I'll have to start paying off in 3 months, but think about it. When you buy a house, you take out a mortgage. You may even take out a loan on a new car. Why not take out a loan on your future?
Yes, times are hard, the market is weak, and it seems CNN would be better off replacing its news ticker with "We're all screwed," but that ridiculously expensive degree you've earned can help. Talk to your career center, talk to alumni in your prospective field and keep those fingers crossed. Then, make sure you donate something, anything, to your alumni office. Every little bit goes a long way to giving a student more financial aid so they can take out fewer loans.
And to the new Hamilton parents driving up next Saturday: rest assured, your money is being well spent. Oh, and don't be alarmed by the people dressed in crazy outfits. They're the orientation leaders, and they'll carry all the heavy boxes from your car.
Follow Lesley Ryder on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@RyderReally
The problem is even more marked for those from poor, working, and (true) middle-class homes. They dont have dads money to float them through undergrad, and moms couch to crash on upon graduation! Your current debt might not seem so bad when many of your expenses are paid for by the 'rents.
This is simply a classic piece from a recent college graduate who has no concept of adult life, the expenses, concerns, and the actual implications of debt. This is, of course, delayed by our generations extended adolescence but the reality will hit you eventually.
There's a TIME ad that does a nice job of summarizing our generation in just four words: overeducated, underemployed, wildly optimistic. (http://claimyourgeneration.com/2010/12/09/overeducated-underemployed-wildly-optimistic/ ) Our generation is optimistic, and yet you seem to see it as a juvenile quality that must be outgrown. Why does my optimism translate to having "no concept of adult life"? (I'm also intrigued as to why you think I don't count as middle class, but that's beside the point.)
Don't confuse my optimism for naivete. The reality is I owe Sallie Mae and Chase Bank a butt load of money that I have to start repaying in three months. I have strange grown up things like bills and transportation to deal with, but I have income. I have accepted that it is going to take time to pay these loans, but I can (and will) pay.
Am I confusing this reality with another?
With that said, I agree that something must change.
And a just a quick side note, most professors DO NOT have cushy jobs. Getting tenure is almost impossible these days, and the road to becoming a professor equally difficult. The solution lies in better funding our colleges and universities not in demoting professors.
Get real.
Well we could always not accept that and put pressure on Universities to run more efficiently and not force students into a choice between thousands of dollars of debt or not being able to attend a 4 year University.
You talk about the biggest costs being for labor, and here's my question: Do all of those professors bring enough to the table to warrant their salaries? With student loan debt eclipsing Credit Card debt in this country and about to hit $1 Trillion. We need to acknowledge that the current system is unsustainable and needs reform to make it about Educating students, not giving professors and administrators cushy jobs.
And yes, do something! Write your local lawmaker about health insurance and student grants, write to your alma mater/child's school and ask where the money's going. Ask for transparency and arm yourself with knowledge.
I don't enjoy the fact that I owe a boatload of money, but I am an optimist. I thank you for your concern.
Instead, why not write your congressman (or woman) and pat them on the back for saving the Pell grant, then tell them the how subsidized loans let students save thousands of dollars in interest? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/01/debt-deal-pell-grants_n_915442.html