Thursday, March 14, 2013 - 7:39 AM

3 Little Known Facts About Student Debt

From Credit.com:

In June of 2010, student loan debt made headlines when it surpassed credit card debt here in the U.S. Since then, outstanding student loan debt has surpassed the $1 trillion mark — making it the single largest form of household consumer debt outside of home loans.

There’s no question that student loan debt continues to be a growing concern — not only for students and graduates, but for parents, grandparents and policymakers alike.

With so much media attention on the state of student loan debt, public awareness of the issue has grown substantially. Despite this growing awareness, there are a few facts about student loans that may still surprise you — especially when it comes to their potential impact on your credit, and your ability to qualify for other types of loans in the future.

pearlbrown1,003 posts since
Nov 2, 2010
Rep Points: 3,849

1. Thursday, March 14, 2013 - 8:47 AM

Thanks PB.

I wonder how the banks are re-couping their losses on failed student loans and hope that they aren't or won't be passing them along to customers without kids or even worse, customers with kids who knew well in advance that they could not afford college and did not apply for a student loan. That would upset me, knowing I'm paying off a student debt through higher banking fees etc. etc... When will it end? We all pay for childrens education through high school ( which I don't agree with) but add in college with it. Come on. There would be fewer college students with loans if banks were to say "You must have a job and your employer must sign a letter of intent to satisfy your outstanding student loan balance upon graduation". Put some responsibility on the kids to graduate in a field that's employable and throw in a job market that guarantees that the kid has a job at least until their debt is paid.

klink73 posts since
Dec 8, 2012
Rep Points: 187

2. Thursday, March 14, 2013 - 9:48 AM

Klink, unfortunately I think the reality is that we are all paying for the failed student loans. The banks apply fees and change rates and are not concerned whether the customers affected have children or not, or whether they had children and knew college was out of reach financially. Their bottom line is to make money.

Like you, sometimes I wish I could opt out or at least redirect how my taxes are spent. In my perfect world, there would be more funding for the STEM (science/technology/engineering/mathematics) disciplines and less for sports, as I think the former are under-supported and the latter are over-supported and not just financially. But no two students are alike, and each has different areas of interest and talents. We need to encourage everyone to make their contributions to society. That's the philosophical perspective.

On the other hand, from a practical perspective I think that the job market is difficult enough without creating further complications by graduating in a field where there are few/limited opportunities. But that is a personal choice, and one has to be prepared to bear the consequences of it. Sometimes, however, I don't think that is even a consideration.

On your last suggestion - we should all live long enough to see banks demand that college students get agreement from their employer to satisfy an outstanding loan balance. However, I suspect the Sun will have burned out before that happens. ;

Thanks for a thought provoking post.

pearlbrown1,003 posts since
Nov 2, 2010
Rep Points: 3,849