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DRIFTWOOD The community newspaper of the University of New Orleans
Volume: 58 Issue: 6
driftwood.uno.edu
Degree in Debt Loan debt mounting for college students Liz Trahan
Driftwood Staff
Death, taxes and student loans – the only things certain in life. The first two are common as life’s certainties, but student loans are also inescapable – even if the student is dead or bankrupt. Despite being ranked ‘least debt’ by the US News and World Report for the fourth year in a row, University of New Orleans students have not escaped student loans. The report showed UNO was ranked second in the country, behind Yale University, in having the least students graduating with student loan debt. Still, 19 percent of UNO graduates leave the university with a debt of $19,957. Although school is behind her now, debt is not. Recent graduate Lindsey Molin struggles with the aftermath of a college education. “I’m overwhelmed with how much I owe,” she said. “I’m nervous I can barely get through paying interest. It’s been over a year since I graduated, and I just got my first full-time career-like job.” Collectively, United States students owe 1.2 trillion dollars. Student debt surpasses credit card debt and is second only to mortgage debt according to WHO. Student loans are unique because unlike any other loan, the payments are inescapable. The loan cannot be forgiven in any circumstance. In the event of death, the debt can be passed on to family and can also be garnished from wages or social security. Hannah Bollich made sure to choose a lucrative major when she returned to UNO as a grad student. “Paying off my loans is a huge concern,” the genetics counseling
major said. “It was a big determining factor when I was considering what I wanted to go back to school for. I didn’t want to pick something that would cost more money to get than I would be able to pay off when I got out. You would almost be better off in a low paying job and not have a pile of debt rather than have a job that pays a bit better.” In a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) interview with Anya Kamenetz, author of DIY U and Generation Debt, Kamenetz said students in the past viewed debt an investment for the future, but the current economy raises concerns. “Tuition has grown more than any other good or service in the entire US economy since 1978. The average is now around $25,000, and some are going much, much higher than that. College graduates are facing a really tough job market that equation and uncertainty it involves has started to make a lot more people doubt the conventional wisdom,” said Kamenetz. The threat of student debt has finally reached a focal interest in the government, but solutions are daunting. On June 9, Senator Mary Landrieu addressed the United States Senate with a few concerns. Landrieu encouraged Senate support for HB 4852, the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act and the Middle Class CHANCE Act. The legislation would allow students to refinance loans at a lower interest rate and stipulate a four percent student loan interest rate cap. The bill would also increase
the annual Pell grant award to $8,9000, allow students year-round funding and extended to 15 semesters. “I firmly believe that this is the time to invest in the education of our workforce, not deplete its resources,” Landrieu said. The senator blames the state’s drastic budget cuts — $700 million since 2008 — for the increase of student debt. “If students are going to succeed in the 21st century global economy, we must do everything we can to make a college education more affordable,” Landrieu said. Angela Kamerer-White has been out of school now for three years while taking care of her grandmother. Kamerer-White used student loans to help pay for tuition and expenses while studying at UNO. She admits the payments are a financial strain. Kamerer would encourage students who consider borrowing to be smart. “Read everything before sign-
ing, and as tempting as it is to keep your refund, return it,” she said. “You can pay the interest while in school to minimize your debt when you graduate.” Molin didn’t learn until she was nearing graduation that she could have been paying on her loans all along. “I found out at the end of my senior year of college that I should have been paying interest the entire time I was in school,” she said. “I would have made the payments throughout college if I had known.” Look for the student loan Insider tips in the next issue
What do you know about taking out student loans? Hannah Guillory Freshman, psychology
“I don’t need them now, but I will because I will have less scholarship in the future.”
Issac Fulton Graduate, psychology
“I know they have interest, and it’s going to be a long time before I pay it all back.”
Victoria La Freshman, Pre-Dental hygiene “My dad told me not to take them because I’ll have to pay them back. I don’t have a job, and my parents aren’t going to pay them.”
Tim Piglia Sophomore, Exercise physiology “Not very much – I’m on the GI bill.”