It's All About the Money

As upperclassmen in high school, college begins to become the major topic of conversation.  Where will you go? How will you "pass" the SATs? Another not so common conversation is brought up- "How will I pay for college?"  Many kids must resort to student loans in our country since most colleges are too expensive for parents to afford paying 4 years fully.  There's a problem of course- many kids are left in debt for a significant period of their life.  The average student-loan debt of borrowers in the college class of 2011 rose to about $26,500.  This is a 5% increase from the previous year.  About 2/3 of those who earned bachelor's degrees last year had loans.  The effects that student loans have on students are insane!

The fear of debt from student-loans has caused kids to avoid getting the education they need.  There were 64 colleges last year with more than 90 percent of graduates had debt.  These numbers are insane and scare many people away from going to college.  If we are lucky enough to have an ascribed status of entering into an upper class family, student loans aren't an issue. But most families' statuses are achieved through their hard work and sometimes these families aren't able to afford sending their children to college.  It is a shame that some kids are not able to attend a good college because they fear their inability to pay for it.  Not all kids got a fair shot at a good education.  Another factor to consider in analyzing the effects of student loans is location.  In previous years, the high debt states were concentrated in the Northeast and the Midwest.  Low debt states were in the West and South.  It seems that the more populated the states are the more debts it has.  Student-loans are something to fear, but I sure hope it stops holding people back from receiving the education they deserve!