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The American Dream: Student Loan Debt

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student loans, not one based on what they prepared for or what they studied. This also can cause a setback in future plans, having to delay many adult milestones due to lack of funding.
Student loan debt is becoming an increasing burden for not only young adults and but also older adults as well. As the price for college increases, fewer scholarships and grants available (Eskow). According to Mark Kantrowitz, a national expert in student financial aid, the burden of financing post-secondary education has shifted to families due to less government dollars being available. When a student first approaches student loans, just starting in college, they probably think about the education the loan will get them and where the education will take them, …show more content…

These may be put on hold after a student or college graduate has incurred a large amount of student loan debt. Often when two young adults consider getting married they must consider the student loan debt and repayments that both will have to make. It is often not feasible to get married and start a family at the time they would choose to do so because of student loan debt. The American Dream is put on hold. NPR Morning Edition producer David Green found that “For every $10,000 young people carried in student debt...the likelihood of getting married in the seven years following graduation dropped by about 3 or 4 percentage points.” In addition, Bloomberg.com reporter Natalie Kitroeff cited a Bankrate.com survey showing that 56% of young Americans are delaying major lifetime milestones like marriage and having children due to student loan debt. This is likely because there is less money available and less financial stability to build and support a marriage and family.
Owning a home is another large part of the American Dream, however, it is becoming more difficult to purchase a home because of the real estate market and even more so because of student loan debt. Buying houses has now become more of an option for older people who have worked for years and can afford to do so. Student loan debt has led to a decrease in home purchasing. In fact, Kitroeff found that “in 2012, people with student loan debt became less likely to have mortgages than their debt free peers for the first time in at least a

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