As the year progresses, many college seniors are starting to look to the future as they decide what that “next step” is really going to be. Unfortunately, for many students and graduates, this also means the beginning of repaying all those loans they’ve accumulated over the last four years. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the amount of student loans taken out last year exceeded $100 billion and the total loans outstanding will soon surpass $1 trillion.
It is no surprise then, according to College Board, that students are borrowing twice as much in money as they did ten years ago. With stricter rules and regulations, many young adults are facing an enormous and increasing amount of debt directly out of college, which in turn could not only affect their credit and lives in the long-run, but our nation’s economy as a whole.
Many recent grads find themselves delaying other important things in life – buy a car or house, starting a family – because they simply cannot afford to do so with all the debt they are carrying around from school. With so many risks and consequences involved for defaulting on payments, students are hesitant to get life going post-college, which just sets them into a cycle of debt and frustration.
As students ourselves, we begin to wonder what type of deficit we will be facing following graduation. Will we have to scramble to find a job and put-off other important things just to save our credit?
