Tom Dillon, 19, a pre-pharmacy major at the University of Connecticut, is carrying $52,000 in student loans. And he's just getting started. When he gets his pharmacy doctorate in four years, he expects his debt to exceed $150,000. Dillon's been drawn to pharmacy since age 5, when he found out he had epilepsy.
"When I get out, I'm going to have that $150,000 weighing over me," he says. "What I decide is going to be dependent on that debt."
And the cost of that debt is about to rise. On July 1, the rate on new federally guaranteed student loans will hit a fixed 6.8%, the highest rate since 2001. It comes as the average graduate owes $19,000. Many undergrads, though, have debt exceeding $40,000.
Those higher payments carry huge implications for this generation of college graduates. The weight of debt is forcing many to put off saving for retirement, getting married, buying homes and putting aside money for their own children's educations.
A college degree use to mean someone was just starting to climb their respective professional ladder. It allowed them to look forward. Now they have to pay back mountains of debt. This is preventing them from planning for their future. In other words, graduation is not about looking forward with plans, but looking back at the amount of debt you have to pay back.
The average debt for a college graduate has soared 50% in the past decade, after inflation, according to the Project on Student Debt, a non-profit advocacy group. Just as record-low mortgage rates have eased the impact of soaring home prices, low student-loan rates have let borrowers cut their payments, softening the impact of rising debt.
Over the last 20 years, states have gradually pulled back the amount of money they contribute to their respective public universities. As a result, individuals are picking up more of the tab. And the Federal Government isn't helping at all. President Bush (didn't he want to be the education president) has once again stalled any increase in Pell grants - which don't pay that much anyway.
I realize there are issues that are far sexier than tuition reform. However, it is imperative the Democrats start soling this problem. It will help to raise the middle class standard of living up over an entire generation, which will help to build our base.
The bottom line is college is now a debt trap, where students load up on debt to pay for their education. Hopefully, they will be able to pay it off by the time they die.
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