WK DQ- Part oneAnswer- Topic 5 DQ 1
According to some politicians, student loan debt is an economic emergency that is stopping young
people from such things as purchasing cars, starting businesses, buying their own homes,
etc. Historically, what has been done to alleviate this social problem? How do you think, if
perpetuated, this problem may impact you or the community you live in? What are some solutions to
this modern day problem?
Reply
Shai’Ann Bell-Withrow
1-Mar 15, 2022, 3:03 PM
Hello Class and Professor,
We are all told that we need a higher education if we want to make our lives easier, but getting that higher
education makes life harder as well. Student loan debt is, to me, still one of the biggest issues education
reform needs to tackle. As someone who has had to drop out o school multiple times and come back, the debt
is even worse. Now, it feels like there’s a ticking bomb in my brain, constantly reminding me that if I fail this
time, not only would I have another set of loans to repay, but I still won’t be doing the job that got me into
college in the first place. I find, after talking to more college students, that many feel the same way or are in
the same predicament. Is it truly a good thing if it causes so much stress and financial insecurity later in life?
Unfortunately, in the past, higher education is what a person needed to be successful. However, in recent
times, fewer and fewer people are focused on higher education. Fewer people are enrolling and staying in
college, especially in the post-pandemic economy (Osterland, 2021). Right now, everyone is thinking about
putting money back into their homes, not about furthering their education. My husband has said this himself;
before Covid-19 happened, the plan was that he would go back to school once I graduated with my Bachelor’s
degree, so he could start moving up in his career field. However, the past 2 years have made us rethink that
decision, as adding more student loan debt to our household may not be the best idea. Especially since we
wanna buy a house, and we need good credit for that. And this is the same problem so many young adults are
facing nowadays.
Thankfully, there are programs like forbearance and deferment, allowing a studying to pay the loans back
later or even lowering the payment to make it more manageable. There is total loan forgiveness as well,
which a person can qualify for with the correct criteria met, however, this is not for the average student, but
the exceptional cases (FAFSA, n.d.). There are different levels of repayment available for people in all
situations (Federal Student Aid, n.d.). While I do appreciate these options, they are not really helpful. If I am in
school to try and make a better life, you adding more debt to my life does the exact opposite. I know they are
set to try and be fair in the repayment process, however, for most people, the repayment is still unaffordable.
Personally, my mother had to file bankruptcy on her student loans because it was stopping her from doing so
much with her life, which in turn impacted us as the children. I feel like this factory-modeled education
system needs a complete revamp.
References:
FAFSA. (n.d.). Student Loan Forgiveness. Federal Student Aid. Retrieved March 15, 2022, from https://studentaid.gov/manageloans/forgiveness-cancellation
Federal Student Aid. (n.d.). Repayment Plans. Federal Student Aid. Retrieved March 15, 2022, from https://studentaid.gov/manageloans/repayment/plans
Osterland, A. (2021, November 26). As college enrollment plunges, schools must adapt to post-pandemic reality. CNBC. Retrieved March 15,
2022, from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/24/colleges-must-adapt-to-post-pandemic-reality-as-enrollment-plunges.html
Reply
Mallory Kraemer
2-Mar 14, 2022, 5:20 PM
Hello class!
Many people are against receiving a college education due to the student loan debt crisis. Students are often
fearful that there is not much they can pursue after graduation due to crippling debt that takes quite some
time to pay off. Many presidential candidates, including Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, have talked about
making college more affordable or even free. Often, it is found education helps a person to move up in their
career of choice and can open doors to many different things!
Many people struggle with student loan debt and fear repayment. Historically, repayment options have
changed. One change is that people may pay back loans by income based repayment plans which allows
people to pay a lower amount based on the income earned (Johnston & Roten, 2015). This helps payments to
be more affordable without struggling. Another more recent approach was to allow student loans to be
withheld and not making people pay throughout the pandemic due to people being unemployed for
unpredictable amounts of time.
This problem impacts many of us, if not all of us, considering most students much take out loans to attend
college and some trade schools. In the community that surrounds me, many others are currently enrolled in
school or have started to pay back student loans. It can be extremely difficult to pay back loans when many
careers do not pay enough to support a home, car, children or a family, and other bills on top of loan
repayment. I personally fear finishing school and having to begin paying back my student loans.
There are different solutions to this issue, of course, including total loan forgiveness for some and providing
free secondary education. There are other options as well. Some career paths can help people to obtain
student loan forgiveness or assistance in paying off loans much sooner. Certain jobs offer reimbursement
while enrolled in school while others, such as working for a non-profit organization, can actually pay off your
student loan debt after a certain amount of time working for specific companies! It can be a very long period
of time, which can cause people to lose interest in staying at certain companies and continue to pay on their
loans.
Mallory Kraemer
Reference
Johnston, J., & Roten, I. (2015). Income-Based Repayment and Loan Forgiveness: Implications on Student Loan Debt. Journal of Financial
Planning, 28(4), 24–28.
Reply
Elizabeth Mahon
3-Mar 14, 2022, 2:28 AM
Professor and class,
Many young people today are under the belief that in order to be financially prosperous, they need to obtain a
college education. Whatever career they choose to pursue, an education in the background is necessary in
order that they might have an advantage over other candidates in their field. The issue however comes with
paying back the tremendous student loan debt that comes along with said education. Often times, the pay
they receive for their chosen career may not be proportionate to the debt they incurred obtaining the
education. Due to this, the students are unable to take other actions that would stimulate the economy, such
as purchasing new cars and homes.
In the past, programs such as the Public Student Loan Forgiveness Program has been put into place. Under
this program, certain qualifying careers have the option to apply to have their student loan or a portion of
their student load dismissed, or forgiven. However, in recent years, new policies such as the PROSPER Act
have been introduced. Should something like this pass and be introduced, several of the policies would
remove any effectiveness of the Public Student Loan Forgiveness Program.
If this issue continues, we will also continue to see our economy suffer in a variety of ways. Those who choose
to still follow through with a college education will not be out stimulating the economy with new cars, homes
or starting new businesses until well after their student loan debt is paid, if at all. Others however, may
choose to skip the education all together and we will then see a shortage of workers in our area for any given
field. Our best move is to strengthen the Forgiveness Program and expand it to include more qualifying
professions and loans to be forgiven. By forgiving the professions that are in high demand, there will be
greater motivation to pursue those fields. New businesses can be started and those graduating can begin
stimulating the economy so that we can start to thrive.
Blessings,
Elizabeth
Answers
4-Week 5 CAT
In Week 2, we discussed social inequality at length. As we will likely discuss this week, education has
become more available in our current society through colleges like GCU. What has been the effect of
availability of higher education on social stratification and inequality?