With tuition and student loans increasing every year, it is difficult to find the motivation to pay for your education, something that has become almost crucial in today's world.
Arguably one of the biggest burdens to almost any age group, student loans are becoming more and more financially stressful.
It happens every year – budgets are cut, tuition and fees increase, and the need for student loans skyrockets.
At LSU, the average amount of student loans given each semester is $5,655 with approximately 37 percent of students taking out these loans. The Louisiana student loan debt averages $22,789 each year. Unfortunately, tuition continues to increase while the status of the economy continues to decrease, and as tuition goes up, more loans are doled out, and more students are stuck in debt long after they graduate.
LSU students will pay an estimated $256 more in student fees next year. Five percent of the revenue from this increase will go to need-based financial aid but not TOPS. With this and anticipated budget cuts, in-state undergraduate students taking 15 hours will pay an extra $1,212 per semester, according to The Daily Reveille.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a report last month stating that student loan borrowers are experiencing more stress than people taking out regular bank loans. More than one in four student loan borrowers are in default right now.
Currently, over 41 million Americans owe $1.22 trillion in student loan debt. Though student loans have always been an issue, they have become increasingly more burdensome in the past years.
In 2007, the average student loan borrowed for an American student was $13,000 while in 2014, it shot up to $20,000, according to an article published in The New York Times. It seems that student loans can follow students for a long time after graduation. According to government figures, education debt and loan defaults have been growing the most for people 65 years old and up.
“We don’t say that to scare people,” King Alexander, LSU President, was quoted as saying in The Times-Picayune. “Basically, it is how we are going to survive."
