Rising College Debt College costs are rapidly rising. It is an undeniable fact and one of the major issues arising from this problem is student debt that in major cases can go into hundreds of thousands of dollars. National student debt is approaching 1.3 trillion dollars in the United States and rising every year (Douglas-Gabriel). Unfortunately, the majority of higher paying careers today a college degree is a requirement, and this situation is not likely to change. Different loan repayment options, more scholarships, and more help from state government could help offset the rising cost of higher education. Federal student loans or private student loans are two of the major ways that students today are able to afford college. Federal …show more content…
This is based on the percentage of students that default on their student loans. Students who graduated with a bachelor’s degree only made up 1.1 percent of all people who defaulted on their loans, even though 64.1 percent were in repayment as of 2009 (McCann, Delisle). According to a survey from the National Center for Education, the lesser degree people have the more likely they are to default on student loans. The rate of default for students with an Associate’s Degree was 2.4 percent and students that got a certificate make up 24.7 percent of students who default on their loans (McCann, Delisle). Students who have no degree make up the majority of defaulters at 62.9 percent (McCann, Delisle). This shows that even though debt is high, it does not destroy the lives of most as long as they graduate with a degree. However, even though students might not default, that does not mean that they should have to struggle with debt 20 years after they graduate. Student debt can affect quality of life and it hurts the economy because new graduates can not buy homes and other items that their parents were able to a generation