Final editorial

Harvard, Princeton, and Yale are the clear-cut standouts when it comes to colleges. The stamp of any of these colleges on your diploma will guarantee you a financially secure life. However the money that is spent for not only these colleges but for universities around the country is utterly ridiculous. The way I see it, if you aren’t going to a top twenty-five school, or if your parents are making enough income to fully pay off a college tuition bill, taking loans north of one hundred thousand dollars is unacceptable. I’m not saying loans shouldn’t be taken, it’s just they should be taken with an intent of graduate school and full knowledge of a situation. If it were me, I’d take a max loan of fifty thousand dollars, that also depending on what field I plan to pursue. I realize the counter argument is that you should pay for the best education, but if you can get a good education for less money why not do it? I was recently watching a documentary on student loans and the interest they rack up. The average interest rate for a student loan by Sallie Mae is an astounding eighteen percent! In that documentary, for example, was a social worker who ten years ago took a hundred thousand dollar loan to go to an out of state school. After ten years her loan had nearly doubled to one hundred and ninety thousand dollars. With a low paying job as a social worker she was unable to pay her loans and was on the verge bankruptcy. Even if she claimed bankruptcy, she would not be able to forgo her loans. Another situation that came to my attention was a story posted on Yahoo a few weeks ago. A doctor from Cleveland had taken out loans for her undergrad, grad and medical schools and now faced three hundred thousand dollars worth of loans, plus an additional two hundred thousand for late fees and interest. At the age of 35, she will make her full earning potential; however that five hundred thousand will loom on her head for the rest of her life. In summation, I’m not saying loans are horrible things that should not be taken, I’m saying they should be taken out in moderation after thoroughly researching the situation.