The higher price of education
Posted on Jun 14, 2012 in Opinion
image: Dagino Magazine
With the high price that already looms over students, government financial assistance is not the only aid that students can gain to further their education.
Student loans have been a crutch for many, and with the news of an increase in interest rates, undergraduates will have to dig deeper into their pockets to make financial payments.
On July 1 the interest rate on student loans is set to double from 3.4% to a whopping 6.8%. Students and political members are asking Congress to step in. If Congress doesn’t step in, the cost of student borrowing will increase to at least $5,000 over a ten year period.
In a speech given in Colorado, President Obama said that a higher education is the only clear path to the middle class. He stated that the average student graduating this year would potentially graduate with $25,000 in debt, and that Americans owe more now on their student loans than on their credit cards.
The President said that after graduating from college, he and his wife First Lady Michelle Obama had accumulated much debt and that he knows what students today are facing. He then informed the crowd that he and his wife paid more for student loans monthly than they did for their condo mortgage.
The President, who just paid off his loans eight years ago, said the government needs to make college more affordable for students.
In response to the new change in rates, financial advisors are suggesting that parents with above average credit scores search for alternative aids.
The revised law that has kept rates down on subsidized Stafford Loans is set to expire June 30. President Obama has asked Congress to extend it for another year to retain the current rate.
Edniqua Saunders
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esaunde5@gmail.com