WAYT: Pay the piper

I just read this article about student loan debt.  Unlike Rick Santorum, I don’t think it’s snobbish for President Obama to want everyone to have a college education.  I think the President is being pragmatic.  In the United States today, those who aren’t unemployed are likely underemployed.  If you’re not experienced, educated and well-connected, you probably aren’t doing very well right now.  And President Obama wants to see us, as a nation and as individuals, succeed.  I can’t blame him for that. 

Obama has a few ideas about how to improve the government’s involvement in student loans.  I can’t tell him how to fix it or even if he’s on the right track.  But I can tell you, my readers, about the real dangers of student loan debt.  I don’t know about the effects of this debt on our economy and whether it truly is a threat to our overall recovery, but I can tell you about the effects of this debt on my economy and my family’s recovery. 

Frank and I attended Illinois College, a four-year, liberal arts institution.  It cost more to go there than Heartland Community College or Illinois State University and maybe even more than Illinois Wesleyan.  It wasn’t just the tuition – it never is!  It was also the housing, the meal plan, the travel back and forth (if you want to see your family) and the books.  In the end, we walked away with over $45,000 in debt.  Ouch.  What were we thinking??  (But we are geniuses.  At least we walked away with that too!) 

We are given ten years to pay this debt back.  We had three choices for repayment.  One was to pay the equally divided amount, to spread the payments out over ten years.  The next form of repayment was based on income.  Since we were unemployed at the time, that wasn’t going to work.  The last option was to pay gradually.  The payments would start low and then increase over ten years, operating under the assumption that we would make more money over time to afford the higher payments. 

My first job out of college paid a pittance.  But I owed what I owed so I made the decision to pay the equal amount and we set Frank’s up to be paid back in the same fashion.  I felt that was the most responsible philosophy. 

My biggest issue with our debt is the fact that no one warned me.  No one said, “If you borrow that much money, you will have to pay this much every month.”  What were they thinking – my mom, my high school counselors, the FAFSA people?  I could have gotten the same education anywhere.  Don’t get me wrong, Illinois College did a lot for me and I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but if I had known this would be my reality, I would have chosen differently. 

Furthermore, no one warned me that we would pay ridiculous interest on these loans.  I pay less interest on my two cars and my house COMBINED than I do on these loans.  And I can’t refinance them.  Trust me, I’ve asked a lot of people.  We’re stuck with over six percent interest for the life of these loans. 

And now Frank is going back to school.  He’s a great teacher and I’m so proud of his drive and determination to make the most impact and do the most good that he possibly can.  But now that the government is changing the rules, he can only receive the loans that charge you interest every single day you own them.  That makes the cost even higher. 

My baby sister, who at 18 is no longer a baby (I know, alright!), is getting ready to graduate high school and start college.  She considered Heartland but decided on ISU.  I am terrified for her.  I don’t want to tell her not to pursue her dreams but I can’t live with myself if I don’t warn her of how this debt will change her life.  I speak from experience when I say that our student loan debt is holding us back.  If we could keep that money that we pay every month, we would be different people. 

It’s not responsible these days to say that kids shouldn’t go to college.  Kids need to, they have to!  I’m looking at you, Rick Santorum.  What are you thinking?  Every kid isn’t cut out for college, that’s true, but to say that we should all skip college is snobbish of you!  My cousin is living a great life having learned a trade and I would never begrudge him of the choice he made.  I’m proud of him for knowing himself enough to make the right choice.  But there are so many things that hold us back and this student loan problem is a big obstacle when it shouldn’t be.  It’s really sad that some kids out there will have to choose between an education or a life of poverty – or an education with a life of poverty. 

So rather than calling names, Rick, Barack and Mitt – and every other politician – put yourself in my shoes, my sister’s, my husband’s.  One day I’ll have to have this talk with my son and give him the reality check I never got.  Please don’t make me break his heart.  Please find a way to help us succeed at life.