Have College Graduates Become Overwhelmed by Student Loan Debt?

Each year thousands of students successfully graduate from college hoping to use their education to make a meaningful contribution in the workplace. In the case of most students they are faced with the reality of not only trying to find employment but also repaying student loans that were used to fund their education. Many college graduates are starting to realize that the bulk of their debt after leaving college is from student loans. I always thought that since credit cards were so readily made available to us that they would have a huge impact on our debt factor. Student loan debt has surprisingly surpassed that of credit cards. According to National Center of Education Statistics 50 percent of college graduates have student loans with an average student loan debt of ten thousand dollars. Although this number may seem quite staggering, yet there are some people that owe more than that. As a result of student loan debt some people are in bad situations before the even get their first job after college. It is impossible for anyone to get a good start in the workforce when they owe $40,000 in student loan debt and the first job they are hired for as a starting salary of $28,000. They start their working career already with a financial strain.

Unfortunately, student loan debt cannot be avoided unless someone is fortunate enough to either have a full financial scholarship or they have the funds to pay for all of their college expenses. Many people view college as a right of passage. They believe that the times we currently live in deem it necessary to attend college. College expenses are not decreasing. According to Scott Cohn of MSNBC student loans are rising faster than the cost of medical care. This is very shocking for student loan debt to even be slightly compared to such a controversial issue as medical care. Despite all of the government's efforts to provide relief efforts for people who are being overwhelmed by student loan debt it still continues to be an ongoing problem. I too along with many other college graduates am suffering financially as a result of student loan debt. I can honestly say that I don't know of anyone that either has paid their student loan debt off or are close to doing so.

Sandy Baum, The Role of Student Loans in College Access, Nation Center of Education Statistics

Scott Cohn, Student loans leave crushing debt burden, MSNBC