Today while in class...

For my final GEC class, I am taking Sociology 101. It’s a pretty easy class, one that I usually just show up and listen. Sometimes I don’t even listen to the lecture or discussion, but today I was listened intently. The subject student debt came up and the instructor of the class asked how many students expected to graduate with more than $100,000 in debt. At my own surprise about a fourth of the class raised their hands. Again, the instructor asked how many students would graduate with more than $50,000 in debt. Surprisingly again, more than half of the students in the class raised their hand. It might be more surprising if I tell you that this is a class of 300 students. This means that about 75 students of class expected to have at least a $100,000 in debt and more than 150 students expected to have $50,000.

The surprise wasn’t about there being students with this much expected debt; it was that there were so many just in this one area. In an earlier post, I talked about one some expert said that debt was just a part of going to college, which it is, I completely agree with that statement. But this same expert said that most students would graduate with a moderately manageable debt amount, say $20,000. This same expert said that students who found themselves with more than $40,000 were very rare occasions. It would seem that this expert was very wrong or that the numbers and statistics have changed dramatically over the last few years, seeing as out of 300, more than 150 students expected to have more than $50,000 in debt.

Further class discussion was focused on the economic class system, specifically the middle class. The majority of people would identify themselves as being part of the middle class, simply because the middle class is the largest class. However, do you know who qualify as middle class? The middle class are people who make anywhere from $45,000 to $110,000 a year. Students who come from middle class families, for most part, receive the same amount of financial aid no matter which part of the spectrum they come from. Is it fair or accurate to assume that a family making $50,000 can live the same lifestyle as that of a family making $110,000? No, it’s not. So why is it assumed that a student from a family making $50,000 receives the same amount of support from their family as that of a student who comes from a family making $110,000? Being in the same economic class doesn’t necessarily mean people on opposite ends of the spectrum are capable of the same things.

Educational Debt Relief Program Suggested

Out of seven siblings, I being the middle child, I am the first to go to college, which means my three older brother and sisters decided not to go to college. I believe that was a mistake on their part, but they had their reasoning. It just costs too much and my family doesn’t have a lot of money. Sure, I’m paying for college with loans, but I know I’ll end up making a lot more money than my brothers and sisters.

In the case of my family, the cost of college and the fact that they would have to pay back loans kept my older brother and sister from going to college. A lot of people actually think this way, and not going straight into the workforce sometimes seems more appealing than going into debt, in this way it is actually a fairly common case. But this kind of thinking can have adverse effects on some professions.  

The profession of Social Work is just one that can suffer from this thinking. Social Work doesn’t that well. People who take out student loans and go into Social Work are going to have trouble paying off their loans as well as living expenses. This makes the profession seem undesirable for most college students. For people who want to go to school for Social Work, the low pay and the high college costs keep them from doing just that.

In Ohio, they are currently facing a shortage of Social Workers because of the low pay and the high educational costs. Recruiting Social Workers is next to impossible in Ohio. It is because of this that people in Ohio are proposing an educational debt relief program to assist Social Workers with their education loans, not just in Ohio but throughout the states.

I think this a great idea. It gives motivation for people to go into Social Work, and for those who already wanted to but couldn’t, it lifts that preventative block. But why should it only help Social Workers? Why not other professions, like Education? I know, I’ve seen how the news, especially Foxnews has been saying teachers got it made, riding on all those benefits, making so much money…since the governor of Wisconsin decided to take the rights of teachers. But really, teachers don’t make a lot money, they actually have a pretty income and are definitely underappreciated for their work. Personally, I couldn’t help laughing a little when I heard some of the Foxnews commentators deriding teachers for having it made yet still complaining, when they themselves make god knows how much for just opening their mouths and letting whatever come out of it for said length amount of time.

I think an educational debt relief program is a great idea, for Social Workers, Teachers, and any other low income profession. If we want to people to continue going into these kinds of fields, we have to make it plausible and possible, at least to the point where they don’t have to a second job just to pay the bills.

New Resource Found!

I have recently found an excellent new source, The Project on Student Debt. The website was created and is managed by the Institute for College Access and Success. The Project on Student Debt is just one of many projects and initiatives undertaken by the Institute of College Access and Success. Other projects include Keeping California’s Promise, College Insight, and Simplifying the FAFSA. The homepage for the Institute of College Access and Success can found here. I encourage you to go there and explore the website and if you are interested in their other projects.

The student debt project is the one I’m particularly interested in though.  When you access the homepage of the student debt project, the first thing you see is a list of features and news stories, and to the right of that you see a map of the US. You can select this icon and you can search for data and research for each individual state. Next, back at the homepage, there is a tool bar at the top of the screen that allows drop down navigation menus. If you scroll through some these menus you’ll find some very helpful and interesting resources. For example, under the publications tab you can see that that they recent publications concerned with college student debt and you can search for a particular article. Also, there are fact sheets available.

If you look to the left of the publications tab, you’ll see a tab labeled ‘voices’. This takes you to a page where students who have been affected by student debt can voice their opinions and experiences. The page also has quotes and opinions of people who hold political offices or just have an interest in the subject.

Then, there is an initiative tab that describes how people can take action and do something to help students struggling with debt. The section also lists policies and agendas that are being worked on.

What I really like about this source is that it goes beyond just giving information and facts; it gives struggling students a face and a voice. It is an excellent source of advice on borrowing, and even if you don’t know exactly what kind of help and information you’re looking for, you can go to this website and skim publications and other help sources to guide your process, whatever it may be. I highly recommend this site not only to students with questions and concerns, but for everyone. This source is able to communicate with and help a number of different audiences, which is a necessary ability in order to truly bring the required attention and aid to struggling students.

Bill to cut Pell Grants in next school year

At the moment, there is a bill working its way through congress that, if passed, would cut the Pell Grants by $845 dollars as part of the Resolution to cut government spending. I do not think this is a good idea, for three main reasons.

  

1.  Some people in Congress believe that $845 is a fair cut that will be relatively easy for most students to handle. True, for most students. But for those that heavily rely on Pell Grants to pay for a major part of their tuition, this could mean they will be unable to return to school in the coming fall semester. These students, who are already struggling just to make ends meet, will be forced to frantically find some other way to pay those bills previously covered by the Pell Grants or, drop out of school.

   2. In addition to cutting the maximum Pell Grant amount by $845, the bill will also make about 17 million students ineligible to receive the Pell Grant this fall semester. A good portion of college students receive some kind of financial aid, and you can bet that Pell Grants are part of the financial aid, because Pell Grants are commonly known as the “backbone of financial aid in the country.” These students will be forced to look elsewhere for financial aid, probably loans, resulting in a larger debt for students upon graduation. Representative Virginia Foxx from North Carolina states and stresses that Pell Grants were strictly designed to help only the “most needy” and that the program has “gone way beyond its scope.” Has she noticed how expensive college is these days and how bad the economy has been the last decade? I would say that most college students are the “most needy”.

 

3. The timing of this bill is horrible. If the bill passes, it will take effect sometime in the summer. Financial aid packages for the following school year are determined in the spring. Meaning, if the bill is passed, financial aid departments for schools across the country will have redo all the financial aid packages. Plus, those students who had previously thought they had college tuition and bills covered for the next year will be in for a bad surprise, because their financial aid will be cut and they will have to frantically look for other sources of income.

There are many college students hoping, praying, that this bill does not make it through college, myself among them. If you want to read more on this and read the news article where I found the info and stats that are include in this blog, click here.