Rise In Debt

Throughout the extract, “Strapped,” author Tamara Draut notes why today’s young adults have complications getting financially ahead. Along with student-loan debt, today’s college students may also leave with the burden of credit card debt. Draut argues that college campuses aren’t sufficiently regulating card companies on campus, therefore putting their students at risk for debt.

The later idea suggests that one of the major conflicts associated with credit card debt among college students is because of the relaxed view taken on credit. To illustrate, “83% of college undergraduate students in the US have credit cards…”(Wang & Xiao, 2009) exemplifying the potential danger of accruing debt by signing up for so manu credit cards. Furthermore, with increased costs of education, universities find it is acceptable for students to pay for tuition by credit card. In certain circumstances, credit cards have become a quick remedy and students are forced to supplement income to pay for education and other necessities and as a result perpetuate the debt issue.

Here in the United States, there are many forms of consumer debt, which help contribute to the large sums of debt countless Americans find themselves faced with. Directly effecting many college students is student loan debt. Student loan debt is now the second largest form of consumer debt behind housing” declares the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (Grisales). This is due to the fact that student loan debt grew 7.1% in 2014 to $1.2 trillion (Grisales). If this statistic alone is not worrisome this next one is sure to be. The amount of debt in the housing market that helped to spark the last recession was only $1.3 trillion (Grisales). Due to the increased amount of debt required by students to attend college many students are feeling the wrath. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, “In 2014, 11.7 percent of females and 17.7 percent of males between the ages 25 and 34 were living with their parents” (Grisales). The fear of obtaining massive amounts of debt is driving the current generation of student’s to put off many future hopes and dreams. While causing them to move back home to save money. The current student loan crisis is crippling the economy and ruining the lives of American students.

In recent discussions about college, a controversial issue has been the great amount of student debt owed by students. Hence, many students have opted to not go to college because they do not have the money to pay their student loan debts. In the essay“A Lifetime of Student Debt? Not Likely,” Robin Wilson argues that graduating college with student loan debts is a still better option than not attending college. On the other hand, other people contends that people should not go to college because they will end up in debt for the rest of their lives. My own view is that college is still a worthwhile investment that everyone should seek regardless of the debts they have to pay in the future. In other words, people should go to college. My

Individuals dealing with student debt "are postponing marriage, childbearing and home purchases, and pretty evidently limiting the percentage of young people who start a business or try to do something entrepreneurial," said Mitch Daniels, president of Purdue University and the former Republican governor of Indiana (qtd. in Holland). Because it’s almost universally accepted that college is the key to success, students are finding themselves falling head-over-heels in large amounts of student debt justified only by these universal standards. Student debt doesn’t just burden the individuals who are liable, the sheer amount of debt has begun to rattle institutions and financial patterns that are at the core of American society (Holland).

Children are taught young about the American dream and how exactly to obtain it. You go to school, work hard, receive an education, graduate, procure a job, get married, purchase a house and a car, have children, and then you tell the next generation to repeat. And if a young adult should deviate from the norm and decides not to go to college, then the only employment they could ever find is at some restaurant that offers minimum wages. However, as exaggerated as that hypothetical situation is, even myths can hold a form of truth because the truth of the matter is that to ever have a chance at prospering in America. But before an individual can become a student, they first have to be able to afford the cost; and for the average American, they

While finishing up college, student Andrew Kirk explains that “before [he] even knew about [his] options for repayments, [he] had a very pessimistic view about how things would turn out for [him]”(Nadworny). An excelling amount of students have thousands of dollars in student debt and are fearing the dreadful long years that it will take to repay it back. This essay will argue that student debt has increased extremely over the years and how certain solutions can terminate debt for good. Today, the fear in every high school

An estimated 20 million Americans attend college each year, and 60% of those students borrow annually to pay for it (qtd. in asa.org, “Student Loan Debt Statistics”). Moreover, citizens continuing to pay off debt after schooling brings the overall number of student-loan-borrowers to about 40 million- with a collective 1 trillion dollars in debt (McCarthy, “10 Fun Facts About the Student Debt Crisis); a fourth of these borrowers owe over $28,000, a tenth owe over $54,000, 3.1% owe more than $100,000, “and 0.45 percent of borrowers, or 167,000 people, owe more than $200,000” (Haughwout, “Grading Student Loans”). While some view this predicament as the result of laziness or carelessness, the bulk of this substantial group are not at fault.

Student debt can socially affect a person’s life for years after graduation. Taking out thousands of dollars in loans causes a negative effect in student’s lives. In reference to Natasha Yurk Quadlin and Daniel Rudel, who has a Ph.D. in sociology and both work at Indiana State University, student loans affect persistence and completion for undergraduates. There is a correlation between how students do in their classes, the amount of time spent on their work, and the amount of time working in a job to pay off debt. Students become so stressed that they do not complete their college courses and enter their path of a new career. (Quadlin, Rudel, 2015). When students do not perform well in their classes, they tend to want to compensate for it. However, they cannot because they have to go to their jobs, to help pay off the thousands of debt that they owe and for their everyday necessities. Due to the amount of stress that they have to handle, it affects their personal health. Katrina Walsemann, in a representative study on student loans and early adult mental health, argues that “We are speculating that part of the reason that these types of loans are so stressful is the fact that you cannot defer them, they follow you for the rest of your life until you pay them off,” (Blake, 2015). It also mentions that the students with higher levels of debt incurred, have had higher levels of depressive symptoms. A college student’s overall health is

In “Strapped,” author Tamara Draut explains why today’s young adults have trouble getting financially ahead. Along with student- loan debt, today’s college graduates also leave with a higher risk of credit card debt than previous generations. Draut argues that college campuses aren’t regulating the card companies on campuses, therefore not protecting their students. She reasons that a problem on college campuses across the nation, credit card debt, has spun out of control by credit card pushers leading students into debt and feeling financially held back.

At the same time, a growing number of millennials are facing burdensome student loan debt. Rather than come out of college with pristine back-end ratios primed for a hefty mortgage, they are handcuffed by the debt that they have amassed in their early twenties. As the Pew Research Center has noted, 37 percent of people under the age of thirty have student loan debt. They contribute to the $1.3 trillion in student debt, leverage that could presumably be used for a mortgage or some other useful credit if it were not locked up already. Millennials are trying to increase their earning power by going to school so that they have the opportunity to advance economically, but it is simultaneously holding many of them back via years of extra debt—debt that is notably not going to a

I owe $40,000, I owe $60,000, I owe $100,000. Isn’t that a lot of money for one person to owe? Graduates have been faced with a serious problem brought about by the constant borrowing of money to gain a reputable education. The debt of loans varies from person to person but the extreme amounts that individuals owe is something the media finds worth gossiping about. Little does the public know, in reality, all the commotion and conversation about these debts are not accountable for the majority of college borrowers. According to A Lifetime of Student Debt? Not Likely by Robin Wilson, she intrigues her targeted college audience by giving examples and providing awareness that most individuals are paying back their students loans within a timely manner with just a few sacrifices. Wilson emphasizes that the real reason individuals have an outstanding debt is because “they are determined to attend their dream college, no matter the cost” (257). There are various reasons why students take out loans and Wilson is determined to clear up the confusion of student debt, she encourages college students to take out loans even with media’s negativity, and lastly she tries to enlighten this targeted college group that debts are repayable with additional sacrifices but in the end, that debt was the best decision they have ever made.

Research has uncovered that debt aversion has been a steady factor amongst those who chose not to carry on to post-secondary education. 70 percent of high school graduates claim that fears of current and future financial standings spiraling out of control was a main factor for not pursuing a higher education, one in four people stated that accumulation of debt was the main barrier. Studies show that students from marginalized communities, low-income backgrounds, and single parents are more likely to have negative feelings along with being strongly hesitant toward acquiring student debt. (Students,

Today, more than 94% of students take out loans (.......). That is up from 1993 when 63% of students of students had to take out loans. (....) This leaves a great deal of the younger generation trying to come up with ways to pay back their debts for years, sometimes even decades, after college. While this is happening, people are trying to travel, get married, and have kids. The burden of student loan debts could hinder one’s ability to do these things and move on with his or her life. This could create strains in relationships with one’s friends, as expensive social outings can’t happen, one’s family, as it costs money to visit them, and one’s love relationship, as having a kid or a wedding would be a big financial burden when large monthly payments still need to be paid on student loans. In a study conducted by Lange and Byrd (1998), higher debt was linked to lower self-esteem. This creates a more secluded society. Studies show that college kids who are debt-free are more likely to go to parties, engage in extracurricular activities, and create friendships that last far beyond college (.....). This is compared to kids with loans, who spend the majority of their time studying alone and do not take the time to form any relationships or interact with others. “Student debt can also affect students’ mental health; Cooke et al. (2004) find that students in with higher student debt experienced significantly higher rates of stress and anxiety.” (http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2014/05/student%20loan%20debt%20rising%20gale%20harris/student_loans_rising_gale_harris_09052014.pdf) Also, more and more students are choosing alternative methods when they find out about the loans they will be tied to. Some kids choose to not go to college, or to work for minimum wage for many years until they have more

College students, much like the rest of the population, become informed about what will affect them personally. Student loan debt is something that should concern students entering the realm of attending a university. $1.44 trillion is currently owed by U.S. college students and student loans affect over forty million Americans. These numbers intimidate and scare incoming college students, sometimes keeping them from fulfilling their full potential as a scholar. Education should not be threatened by financial hardships and barriers, rather a student’s integrity and willingness to learn. Student loan debt makes lives of college bound students, college attendees, and college graduates more stressful than it already is, especially for those who have not planned ahead or are not necessarily affluent. These issues cause many to question the worth of a college education.