The Troubles of Student Loans

By Rohan Gupta

One of the most prevalent ways that students themselves have and continue to produce the thousands of dollars for tuition is by getting student loans. The current recession has made these loans very easy to get, but by no means easy to pay back. The amount of debt that student accumulate while at college due to interest and the length of the loan makes paying the loan to be formidable challenge.

Fortunately, there are many loan forgiveness programs throughout the United States that ease the process of paying back loans. However, because loan forgiveness is federally operated, the recession has significantly dwindled the aid that the program could have provided. Though the program is controlled by the federal government, it is operated by the state governments; this means that the effects of the recession on the program will differ from state to state. Unfortunately, the tremendous state budget cuts in Georgia this year will not allow for the program to offer much aid to college students living in the state.

For undergraduate students who did borrow this year, the median loan debt was $ 19,999 which is up five percent from four years ago. Ninety-eight percent of those who went to a private two year college had an education loan. Fortunately, only thirty-eight percent of individuals who went to public two year college were in debt. For the 2007-2008 school year, the median loan debt for students attending a private college was up five percent from four years earlier and with the failing forgiveness programs, college students cannot expect much compensation. Student are now forced to carry this loan for many years after they graduate. Hopefully the economy will improve in the coming years and decrease the current price tag on higher education.