Breaking into a career is becoming harder and harder for young adults nowadays — companies are upping their requirements to include a Bachelor’s degree, at the very least. But with U.S. college tuitions rising an average of 15% over the past year, students are finding it harder and harder to even afford a college education. Recently, the shocking numbers associated with student loans, both domestically and globally, are sparking a lot of attention in the media.
Check out this fantastic article from CollegeStats.org: http://collegestats.org/articles/2013/04/dollars-and-sense-a-global-look-at-student-debt/#us
The article highlights statistics about student loans and debt in the U.S., U.K., Canada, China, Japan, and Australia. It offers helpful information on what students can do. Here are some tips, according to the above article, to help avoid the student debt crisis (because no one wants to be paying for loans years after graduation):
1. Plan ahead & ask yourself: What are my chances of getting a job with this degree in ___(insert major here)___ after I graduate? Would my estimated earnings from this career pay off my college tuition? Do your research!
2. Listen to the news. National legislation may have a large impact on student loans, so it’s important to be in touch with the news.
3. Borrow only what you need. Borrowing more is enticing at first, but the interest snowballs quickly.
4. Choose the lowest interest rate.
5. Familiarize yourself with the payment plans, and make sure you are fully aware of what is expected of you in the long term.
Although this last piece of advice wasn’t in the article, I still find it to be an excellent option: apply to tuition-free colleges, like Macaulay Honors College! Knowing you’ll graduate debt free is a wonderful thing, and clearly the best way to avoid those troublesome interest rates.
