More and more students are going into debt for college, and it's killing them. An education is one of the greatest things you can have, for it is something that can never be taken away from you.
Get Grant Money for College
Unlike loans, grants are free money; loans have to be repaid, grants do not. The caveat is that the amounts available for college grants, such as the Pell Grant, will plummet. Since the government will be making budget cuts in the near future, that means less money for college grant programs.
Perhaps I Should Attend A Public University
Not only has the Federal budget been cut, but due to the recession and the barely emerging jobless recovery, there has been less revenue for states; this translates into less revenue for public universities. That means that those universities will be increasing their tuition. Not the direction this needed to go.
How Does All This Debt From Student Loans Stack Up?
Last year, for the first time, student debt outpaced credit card debt. There will be graduating students who will be paying on their college debt when their kids go to college. However, going to college is a good investment as far as income is concerned; the average college graduate earns $22,000 a year more that the average high school graduate. The rule of thumb is that you shouldn't borrow more than your first year's earnings.
This means if you majored in Aztec Folklore and you amassed $100,000 in debt, you're out of luck; you may never pay it down. Please see related article on student debt.
Do you know of anyone struggling with college debt?