College – What is the problem? The problem is the high cost of a college education. Tuition at both state and private colleges and universities continues to rise every academic year. This is a problem because we don’t live in a society where parents save money for their children’s education. For kids to pay their own way in college, many of them end up taking out substantial student loans. These student loans then follow the student well after they graduate and it can become a burden for them to pay back the loans. Graduates then try and begin their professional careers carrying a ton of debt. Another problem that graduates may face is that they aren’t able to find a good paying job right out of college. By not finding a high paying job, having the student debt can be very stressful. A graduate may have a difficult time paying living expenses in addition to paying student loan debt.
The important cause of graduates having substantial debt is that they get offered student loans that exceed the cost of tuition and they accept the entire loan. In addition to being offered excessive student loans, students tend to get bombarded with credit card offers from banks. Temptation can be far too great for students to resist and they gravitate toward accepting one or more credit card offers.
To help cover the cost of tuition, schools should provide more work-study programs for students to participate in. This would take off some of the burden of tuition and book costs. Also, credit card companies need to stop preying on students with their offers. As for student loans, the Department of Education should stop offering excessive loan amounts to students. These entities make it seem like their helping the student pay for tuition, but really aren’t