Melanie Sabol – Copy Editor
Between the stresses of classes, homework, and the realization that within the blink of an eye the semester will be over, there is the added stress of how will you pay for next semester’s classes? For most of us in college we face this trying question semester after semester and it never gets any easier.
To pay for classes we have three options: scholarship, student loans, or having our parents pay. Since scholarships are limited, most of us are left with the two options: student loans in our name or our parents helping us. Which do you choose?
There are those who have the option of having their parents pay for college. Which is wonderful and a great help for there is one less stress to worry about, but what about those who don’t have that option?
According to USA News Online, 62 percent of bachelor degree graduates went into debt. Those graduates averaged $26,500 that they have borrowed for student loans. However, that is just the baseline. Depending on the degree and how long you spend to stay in college will depend on how large your student loan debt will be.
Senior at Southern Connecticut State University Michael Wood, has the help of his parents to stay in school. “I personally spent my own money to stay in school,” said Wood, “But without the help of my mother I would not be able to get this far without her financial support.”
“Without the help from my parents and the financial aid that they give me I would be able to attend school full time,” said Wood. “Having that backbone to fall back on is a great stress reliever.”
Christopher Colon, a student at Southern Connecticut State University, agrees with Wood that parents should help their children pay for school. “I would be a hypocrite if I said my parents weren’t helping me pay for school,” said Colon.
“You need as much help as you can get while you’re in college,” said Colon. “When your backs up against the wall and there is no other option, having your parents to fall back on is a great relief.”
I would have to agree with Colon that I also have the help of my parents with paying for school. Between working and taking a full course load, knowing that I have one less stress to worry about is a great feeling. Yet, not all of us are this lucky.
There is a large majority of students that are paying for school on their own. Here at Southern, to take a full time course load for the 2013-2014 school year will cost in-state students $12,728.00 not including housing or textbooks.
With taking out student loans there is also the added burden of not only paying back the amount that you borrowed but also the interest that comes along with it. The one upside that does come along with student loans is student loan forgiveness. Student loan forgiveness is when once you graduate from college you have a certain amount of time to find a job before you have to start paying back the money. Depending on the type of student loan you have will depend on the interest and the amount of time that you have after graduation to start paying back your loans.
If you don’t have the help from your parents and you are looking into to further information about student loans head on over to studentaid.ed.gov to learn more about the different types of student loans that they have to offer.
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