Student Loans Weigh Heavy
Every year, tens of thousands of graduating high school seniors go off and attend colleges and universities all around the United States.
These universities do not come cheap either, in fact it cost on average about $30,000 dollars a year.
“I don’t even want to think about all the money I have to spend right now, it’s just way to much to think about,” stated freshman student Nicole Miller.
So how are these college students able to pay this much? Well for the majority of the students across the country, they are using federal loans to assist them in some fashion.
According to the Huffington Post over 37 million Americans owe student loans. It tops the charts for the most debt people have in this country.
Recently there has been a lot of talk of federal loan rates rising. Because of the amount of federal loans given out each year, it has become a huge issue in the presidential campaign year.
Both Romney and Obama have total polar opposite opinions on this matter.
Candidate Mitt Romney plans to not change much about the federal loans system but instead try to give students jobs as soon as they get out of college.
According to CNN Romney stated “I’m not going to promise all sorts of free stuff that I know you’re going to end up paying for. What I want to do is give you a great job so you’ll be able to pay it back yourself. And I want to get the government off your back, so you can keep more of what you earned.”
Ben Meck, a student at Bloomsburg University said “It’s really the best thing for everyone. I feel as though it’s not that flashy of an idea to just get himself elected. It’s a promise he can keep and I will be happy with,” when asked about Romney’s plan.
However others do not totally agree, “There is still no guarantee, and there is just a ton of money that I’m going to still have to deal with after college is all said and done.” stated student Lauren Creasy
Obama plans to take a different approach to the situation. He wants to reform loans by capping repayment to 10% of their monthly income.
Reported by the New York Times Obama stated “This will change the future for young Americans.”
Bloomsburg student Brittany Chubika had this to say about Obama’s plan “Well that sure sounds like a great plan. I mean not everyone can get a job right out of college, it makes the whole process less stressful.”
However not everyone had the same optimistic viewpoint.
“This plan would make the US fall further into debt then we already are and skyrocket the tuition cost making college even less affordable,” stated student Timothy Schultz.
With all the various opinions students have here on campus it’s really tough to find a definitive answer to the issue and which side the majority of students are on.
The only real way to find out what will actually happen to the student loan process is to wait until the end of the election process on November 6.
