The Price of the College Experience by Kyle

The Price of the College Experience by Kyle - April 2016 Scholarship Essay

Being a junior nearing the home stretch of my undergraduate experience, I’ve learned a lot of lessons when it comes to college and I’m sure they’ll be more to come. But out of everything that I’ve learned and discovered so far, the one piece of advice that I’d give is this: keep track of your student loans!

Until recently, I thought I had this college thing down; I’m doing well in all of my classes, I’m in a great relationship with my girlfriend, I’m hot on the trail for a summer internship, and overall, things seems to be going in a positive direction. Then one day I got an email from my loan provider. This was nothing new, as I’d usually get around two emails a month from them, and up until this point I would simply delete them without reading them. But this day was different, and I decided to see what they kept sending me. I downloaded the attached file and clicked on it, and it displayed a number that nearly made me fall out of my chair. I was over 20,000 dollars in debt from one semester, and that was just private loans!

The average college student graduates with over 25,000 dollars of debt, and that doesn’t even take into account the loans their parents took out for college (which I will be taking care of in addition to my own). I decided to research heavily on the subject of student loans, and talk with my parents about their loan amounts and terms, as well as communicate with my school’s financial aid department to go over my options. To my relief, while I will graduate with well over the average student’s debt, I have good options that will allow me to manage the payments well, without having to eat ramen every night and live out of my parent’s basement for 10 years.

With classes, social life, sports, extracurricular activities, and everything else the college experience has to offer, it can be very easy to forget about your student loans. This can lead many to freak out when they get their first loan payment due. I would advise any new students to check in on their loans every once and a while to maintain awareness of the amount you are investing in your education. Also, maintain communication with your school’s financial aid department so they can help you understand your loans, as well as give you tips on possible grant of scholarship opportunities. Lastly, research and know your options when it comes to repaying. Did you know that you can extend your federal loan payments over 25 years with smaller payments using an income-based repayment plan? Also, were you aware that if you work in the public sector, you may be eligible for loan forgiveness after 10 years? It is important to know your options so when the time comes to pay back your loans, you are prepared.

College is supposed to be the best time of your life, and no one wants to worry about payments they’ll have to make later on. Being aware of your loan situation now, however, will save you a lot of headaches down the road, and make those first few months of being an actual adult a bit more bearable.