Digging a ditch of debt

Student loan debt now exceeds credit card debt as the nation's second largest form of debt, only being surpassed by home mortgages.


College is quickly becoming a growing expense for students. With high tuition rates, as well as the costs of books, dorm rooms, meals, and other living expenses in college, students are looking frantically for scholarships and loans to be able to afford an education needed to succeed later in life. Even the best and brightest often find themselves working out the math for the interest on the bank loans.

With the private sector pulling out of the market after seeing significant losses, the federal government is forced to step forward as the largest creditor of student loans. JPMorgan Chase, one of the oldest and largest banking firms in the nation, ceased its student loan program after no longer seeing "any meaningful growth in the private student lending market." 

While student loans differ depending on the creditor, most require payments to begin after the student graduates. This presents a problem, because as students are often searching for a job, a home, and are starting their new lives right after graduation. The loans create a burden on young adults, causing their circumstances to become critical, leading to even more debt and financial ruin.

This creates a paradoxical situation for students. Should they seek higher and higher levels of education to be able to pay off the student loans accumulated? Or seek lower level degrees, pay off the loans from those, then go back to school later in life?
It is ultimately up to the student to consider the value of the degree received against the cost of the loans required to pay for it. Remember, accumulated interest is added when calculating loan payments and overall cost. 

Where you go to college can also have an impact on student debt. Some colleges offer on campus work to keep cost down, and some states offer scholarship programs to help pay for residents who choose to go to in state college, such as the HOPE scholarship program in Georgia. Prestigious and higher ranked colleges have higher tuition rates. Prospective students going to higher level universities should weigh the amount payed against the quality of the education they will receive. 










http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-09-05/business/41798769_1_private-student-loans-federal-loans-flexible-repayment-plans