Welcome to my new blog everyone! I hope you all enjoy reading my posts and even chime in on the conversation!
My first post is a response to an article from the NY Times article about student debt after graduation. This seems like a perfect topic for me, a student who will be graduating Cal State University Bakersfield this coming June.
I do not qualify for financial aid, only student loans. Lucky for me, my debt will be significantly less because I attended a community college before moving on to CSUB, where I have spent the last 2 years at. In those 2 years I studied at CSUB, I will have incurred roughly $13,000+ of student loans. This is significant for me because I still need another year to get my teaching credentials, which will just add to that total. I would like to move to Orange County to teach music, but with the weak economy, rising prices, and tighter job market, that might not be an option for me. It will significantly hinder my ability to buy a house once I get a job. I will likely still be renting an apartment. Only time will tell if this is just going to get better or, God forbid, worse.
What are your thoughts? Are you in school? Do you financial aid? Are you in debt?
Things are looking good in the economy. The Federal Reserve is saying about the time your graduating, we should be in a very good up swing in the economy. I will not tell you how much debt I have, but know that it is pretty significant. It is more than we paid for all three of our cars. The jobs are out there, you just have to know who to talk to get the interview and starting earning. Just always remember that the increase in pay is always going to be much greatly then the debt you must pay. Keep your head up, don't let the rising number scare you.
ReplyDeleteI am fortunate enough to say I don't suffer from student debt. I do understand though the real importance of it and the effect it takes toll on a lot of students. You are right we shouldn't let a rising number scare you but at the same time it can be hard to think about the problems people are facing after graduating. It is really unfortunate that many people are not as excited to graduate because of the huge debt they have to think about afterwards. We all should look on the brighter side of things for the long run. Those who suffer from student debt were able to get a education because of it. If those who didn't want to deal with student debt might not be as successful as those who did. So its good that people are willing to deal with it so they can further their education.
ReplyDeleteWell, my story is the total opposite of yours. Right after high school I decided to attend UC Santa Barbara. I was there for about two years and accumulated debt and when tuition still kept rising I decided to finish up my degree at CSU Bakersfield. I will also be graduation in June but my debt is about $30,000. Now I just pray I am able to land a great paying job once I graduate but I know it will not be easy in this economy. All these discussions about the cost of our education really has me thinking now. I really do wonder how much worse it will get and if in the future a college education will be a reachable goal…I hope so.
ReplyDeleteWell I hear people hear that they had to get out loans to be able to study, however from my personal experience I worked a full time job to pay my way. Although my college experience was not the typical college experience i wanted, I could honestly say that not having a college debt of 20,000 dollars waiting for me, just makes it worth working trough out my college years.
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