Why Disappointment Can Occur for Graduates Drowning in Student Loan Debt
October 4th, 2006Realism Often Doesn’t Set in Until After Graduation
Many students go to college in the hopes of expanding their career possibilities or to prepare themselves for entering a profession that they are passionate about but that requires a college degree. The following article that appeared in June just after thousands of recent college grads were beginning to experience the realities of post-college life clearly illustrates an all-too common scenario that college grads are experiencing: having their job choices solely being influenced and determined by their student loan debt. According to the article, Joe Palazzolo, who recently received a master’s degree, has over $100,000 in student loan debt.
Full-fledged adult living will be postponed, and the communal living of his college days is going to be extended. Palazzolo needs roommates to share living expenses with, and he is forgoing a rite of passage of many adults: the purchase of a first home.
This scenario is unfortunately a reality for many of today’s college grads, yet it is a relatively new phenomenon. When the parents of today’s recent college graduates went to school, tuition was much cheaper and could be paid for by a steady summer job. According to this article by Lou Dobbs, middle-class families are severely affected by the rising cost of a college education, which has increased by as much as 44% just in the last four years. As college tuition increases, college graduates in the recent decade (and probably well into the future) leave college with a sometimes unmanageable amount of student loan debt. Student loan debt can not only affect or alter the career path of graduates, but it can also delay marriage and determine if, and how many, children they have.
New college students who know they will graduate with high student loan debt should keep these realities in mind because it might help them decide on the best college major for themselves. Sometimes college students shy away from certain majors that have excellent job prospects because they want to pursue a discipline that interests them. The reality is, though, that even when you select the major that is your first choice, your job choices in the decade following college graduation might be severely limited because of your student loan debt. If you realize entering college, that you might not have your dream job during your twenties, you might be more willing to consider college majors that have more lucrative job prospects.
Despite this student loan debt, the outcome is not bleak. On a somewhat optimistic note, do realize that the sum total of all student loans a recent graduate leaves college with often does not exceed his or her annual salary. A college graduate with a sizeable amount of student loan debt just needs to be flexible and creative when deciding on a career path. Steady employment for a few years at a job that is not the graduate’s first choice will probably be necessary.
Also, working a second job might prove to be beneficial if it provides enough additional income that it enables the college grad to pursue a less lucrative daytime career that he or she is very passionate about. While some flexibility and compromise might be needed in the short term, over the long term most college graduates will discover the recurring theme that many studies have demonstrated: having a college degree is correlated with increased income over the course of one’s lifetime. Most college graduates inevitably find that to be a worthy tradeoff for a mere four-year investment.
“Full-fledged adult living will be postponed, and the communal living of his college days is going to be extended. Palazzolo needs roommates to share living expenses with, and he is forgoing a rite of passage of many adults: the purchase of a first home.”
Hi. I’m Joe Palazzolo. Every once in a while I Google my name and find out the latest articles about me since some have dubbed me the “Poster Child for Student Loan Debt!”
I singled out the above part of your post because that is the biggest pain so far – let me explain. It’s not just that I’m spending $800 per month on student loans (which is a minimum, I generally spend about double that to pay down my principle balances), it’s that each year I have to re-engage in this “communal living” crap.
Don’t get me wrong, my roommates are good guys and I’m not opposed to living with good guys, but it’s the runaround each January and February to see who is living where and whether or not I can get two people to move into my apartment for the following year.
I spent 7 years in school with 4 years for my undergraduate degree and 3 years for my Masters. I know kids that dropped out back during Freshmen and Sophomore year of college that are BUYING HOUSES now. I WANT TO BUY A HOUSE! If you add up the amount of money that I spend on student loans and the amount of money I spend on rent each month…I could buy a really nice house.
Now let me also make a clarification. I DID get scholarship money and I DID get a few fellowships. I had a 4.02 in high school and was President of the Student Body, captain of the wrestling team, starter on a championship football team, etc. My grades in college were also a 3.2 GPA or better. And I also worked about 20 – 25 hours per week while in school make roughly $250 per week.
I still, however, had to take out money via student loans for living expenses. Part of this problem is related to the fact that I went to school and live in New Jersey, where you get killed on every living expense from rent to utilities to you name it. The OTHER (and more disconcerting) part of this problem is that I am not a “cause.” What do I mean by that? I mean that I’m a middle-class, smart, young, white kid from a suburban area. I’m like the kiss of death when it comes to getting a free ride to college!
Apparently if you’re a middle-class, smart, young, white kid from the suburbs people think that you have the $100,000+ to attend college and exclude you from receiving any of these big “free tuition” deals. It’s pathetic that this is what our country has come to.
Anyway, I have a ton more to say about student loans, but you can head over to my blog (which should be linked via my name on this comment) to get to know more about how I’ve been doing.
By joe on January 10th, 2007