Who Graduates College with Six-Figure Student Loan Debt?
Article summary
This appeared in New York Times on 1 Aug 2012. The article provides astonishing findings about many USA students who have been given education loan but have not paid back. According to the article, most graduates have graduated with affordable amount of debt. In fact, only 10% of these graduates loan debt exceeds their annual income. For instance, in 2011, the average debt was $27,000, which can be a cost for a new car. This article has analysed the physiognomies of alumnae with a great amount, in excess of $100,000. The following are some of the findings in the report (finaid, 2012).
According to the report, “1.5% of many undergraduates and graduates have been allowed to graduate with student loan that exceeds six figures in the academic year 2007-2008”. 95% of the students are students doing Bachelor’s degree while 2.6 are students doing their master’s degree. In addition, 9.7% students doing their doctoral degree, 49% students in medical schools, and 36.2% student in law school have also graduated with six-figure debt. “10% of the students who have graduated with six figure loan debt are undergraduates while 90% are professional students”. Less than half of the total numbers of students who graduate with six figure loan do so because they are still dependable. On the other hand, parents and are unwilling or unable to pay the loan. Some of these parents borrowed a lot of money from Parent PLUS loans (finaid, 2012).
Following the increasing amount of unpaid loans the report comes up with the following recommendations. First, there is a need to increase awareness among students and parents on the need to borrow less. Financial aid and college cost aid need to clearly tell students that there is a big difference between a loan and a grant. Secondly, there is a need to incorporate financial literacy training in secondary school curriculum. Thirdly, the federal government should upsurge awareness in the student’s loan system. This can be done by having better monitoring of basic loan statistics. Lastly, the total student’s loan limit should be attached showing what will be paid annually depending on the degree level of the student (finaid, 2012).
How the article relates to the course concepts in Sidlow & Henschen's GOVT 4
GOVT4 is a book that was written by Sidlow and Henschen. This book is very appealing and provides accessible solution that can be used to put up the varied lifestyles of today's learners. In the article above, we looked at how many graduates have been able to graduate with six figure loans. One of the biggest reasons why these students have not paid up this loan is because they are poor and they cannot afford. On the other, this book provides a solution that can be used by students to understand their situation. These solutions can allow students to accommodate their different lifestyle and take loans that they are able to pay up. The book also focuses on the current controversies and historical conflicts that define America as a nation. One of the current controversies that can be used to define America is its economy. Failing to pay student loan affects the economy of the nation as a whole. The concepts presented in the book (GOVT4) can also be used as a motivating debate theme book that appeals to the modern format of speaking directly to today's student (Edward Sidlow and Beth Henschen, 2011).
