Class of 2014 Most Indebted Ever
As 2014 college graduates get ready to leave campus and settle into new jobs, they have a major burden hanging over them – – they’re the most indebted class in history.
It can be tough to start a career thousands of dollars in debt.
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More than 70 percent of students are taking out loans to pay for their college and after graduation, students have anywhere between six and nine months to start re-payment, payments they’ll most likely be making for a while.
2014 college graduates are walking off the stage with more than just a diploma, they’re also carrying an average of 33 thousand dollars in debt, the most indebted class ever according to Edvisors.com.
“One of the things we’ve seen is the increase and the cost of the tuition has just sky rocketed over the last 10 to 20 years,” says Grant Haygood.
Haygood is a financial advisor at Ameriprise Financial in Montgomery. He says he’s seeing more and more students taking on debt they can’t afford. According to the National Center for Education Statistics Data, the average debt per borrower in 1993 was just under 10 thousand dollars. Today, it’s more than three times that.
“I’ve taken out some loans for myself to make my financial needs possible for this school and I think after I graduate, its going to be tough to find a career and say, okay i need financial needs for this and I already got debt that goes back,” says Adrian Yelder.
Students say paying for college is becoming more tricky.
“Most of my friends that go here, they either do financial aid, loans and grants,” says Dontoria Mitchell.
But with no guarantee of a high paying job after graduation, is a degree worth the expense? Some students say it’s necessary.
” You need a job to do just about anything,” says Charity Latimore. “To be an electrician, you need to go to school at this point.”
Some lenders allow students to defer payments, or pay based on income, although extending the length of a loan will add interest. Haygood tells us he advises students to consider the salary of the career they’re going after before taking out loans.Â
“These servicers can be extremely aggressive and bad actors to tell you how much doom and gloom will come to you if you don’t pay back that debt,” he says. “So keep in mind that they are relentless and tenacious.”
Haygood says it’s a good idea if you’re a junior or a senior in college to see a financial advisor who can help you manage your debt and get organized before you graduate.
You cannot get rid of student loan debt by declaring bankruptcy. This is a bill that will stay with you until it’s paid.
