Help! I'm drowning!
Okay, so maybe I'm not realistically drowning, but it sure feels this way with all this debt. I'm emotionally and mentally drained from the stress-induced anxiety one feels when having to click that big ol' "accept" button when getting student loans for the academic school year. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, too; taking loans is beyond stressful and even though it's meant to be helpful, it still stabs my heart a little each time I think about it.
Nearly eight out of every 10 of my friends that attend my local university have to accept some form of additional financial aid in order to just make it through. Even small commuter schools with fair, competing prices in tuition are expensive enough for a student to have to take out loans in order to enroll in an academic career path. The tough part about the entire loan process is finding out how much financial aid you can accept or take out in your undergraduate career. That's right––as an undergraduate student some schools put a cap on how much money you can take out during your undergraduate career. For my local university, you can only take out about $24,000 in loans as an undergrad.
So, if I can only take out about $24,000, and tuition is banded at just about $4,000 (including fees) a semester, I'm in some tricky waters. If it's $4,000 a semester and if I stress myself out enough to get it done in the traditional four years, meaning fifteen credit hours a semester, I am already at out about $32,000 for tuition alone. This doesn't include books, parking passes, additional fees, or lodging.
All this math makes my heart race and brain tired! I. Am. Stressed. Out.
How does one do it?
Some fortunate people will be able to apply and achieve some scholarships during their academic careers. Fortunately, I was able to snag a few scholarships here and there, but none were ever significant enough to take a decent chunk out of my debt. So, like the majority of the college commuting populations does, I worked.
I worked a full-time factory job at the Ford Kentucky Truck Plant, a part-time job as a cafeteria worker, a part-time job as a dispatcher, a full-time job as a varsity head coach, a part-time job as a content creator for The Odyssey, a part-time substitute teacher, etc. Simply put, you do what you've got to do in order to not only take care of yourself but to also avoid taking as many loans.
I busted my butt for four hard years, as I'm approaching my senior year, and can say I only had to take loans out for two academic years. I was able to pay for five out of nine semesters by myself. Hard work pays off. You do what you need to do to distance yourself from the cap that is for undergraduate loans and not only distance yourself from the cap but not drown yourself once you graduate.
Taking loans is stressful and I'm one of those students who will have that ball and chain of a loan as I walk across that stage in May of 2017. Does that make me happy? No. Not even a little bit. But, that nearly $24,000 piece of paper unlocking the doorway to success sure will. At the end of the day, you've got to do what's best for you in the long run. This loan will be gone in five to 10 years if I play my cards right.
So, for all you freshmen out there excited about the awesome university you're about to attend, do your research. Is the major you're choosing going to pay off your $24,000 in loans? Will your university allow you to take more than $24,000 in loans? Don't stress yourself out your entire college career and do yourself a favor by researching early, getting a job, and applying for scholarships. Listen to the girl who didn't have a clue but found a way and will be walking across that stage, degree in hand, in May.
