Many would argue college consists of some of the best years of your life, but is that a legitimate reason for some students choosing to stay in ?college longer?
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, argued college students are taking longer than four years to graduate because college loans are too easy to achieve, and “college is a lot of fun,” according to ?the Hill.
While discussing the rising cost of college education with constituents, Johnson, a GOP senator next year, debated that federal student loan programs are allowing students to take on overbearing loads of debt.
He continued his standpoint by saying students who receive loans have less drive to graduate within four years with a degree that could get them a good job.
The borrowing of student loans in American culture is an unsettling and often vicious process that leaves many graduates struggling to recover. Analysis from the Atlantic shows that 34 percent of students with just $5,000 of outstanding debt, which is not considered a high number, default on their student loans.
Rising social concern about the increase for greater ?access to IBR plans — the standards that set repayment of student loans at 15 percent of the loan-borrower’s income after graduation — is causing debates regarding whether or not students will be able to pay off their loans successfully while still being able to feed themselves and provide for ?their families.
In that same debate about the cost of education, Johnson also argued America has “enticed our children by subsidizing loans, we’ve enticed them to incur about $1.3 trillion in debt,” ?according to the Hill. The GOP fears unless we lower the cap for student loans, we will not be able to properly provide for the next generation.
What is glaringly absent, ?however, is the issue that if we don’t provide affordable means of education for this ?generation, there will be even less of a chance for that future.
The movement called #RaidOnStudentAid showed support for students and allies alike who want to stop the ?Republican Party’s cuts of $150 ?billion to student aid and subsidized loan programs in order to provide public higher education for little or no cost.
They argue if students ?are unable to continue taking out loans to afford ?college — a crucial educational step that is taking ?longer and longer to be ?completed — soon, people are not going to be able to ?afford higher education at all.
Loans are a tremendous factor as to why a large ?percentage of students are?getting an education today in hopes they will achieve a degree and get a steady job to pay those off in ?the future.
With the potential for the maximum cap for loans to get smaller, this would ultimately rob students with less fortunate financial ?situations of acquiring a degree and making a living. It is unrealistic to ?assume most students can attend classes ?full-time while maintaining a part-time job or two to pay for ?tuition and still find time to ?complete coursework and have a ?social life. If the GOP decides to ?place a lower limit on the amount of student loans that can be borrowed, college may still be some of the best years of your life. What won’t be so fun, however, is the massive amounts of debt you’ll find yourself in after?graduation day.
