The tertiary learning level is very challenging
The tertiary learning level is very challenging in terms of finances. This calls for students and their parents or guardians to seek adequate funds for upkeep and fees that would fund tuition and other educational activities. Most of the students and their parents cannot afford the entire upkeep and tuition fees. For this reason, special student schemes provide financial aid to learners in terms of loans. According to Ulbrich and Loren, these loans have an impact on the student’s life in the long-run after graduating. Some of these impacts relate to graduates not being able to save for retirement as a result of paying off their student loans. Most of these graduates also exhibit a low quality of life with signs of prolonged depression and hatred.
Lee and Marilyn also suggest that graduates face these impacts because the interest rates of the loans increase, and the amounts grow to unmanageable debts. It is estimated that over half of the graduates are unable to pay off their loans because of the higher rates that lead to huge unmanageable amounts. With these high unmanageable amounts and the high loan rates, the initial income after graduation is often very little for deductions towards the repayment scheme.
Healey contemplates that many parents advise their children to select the best colleges with competitive courses without considering the cost. Also, the students select the courses with the hope that the loans that would be disbursed would be easy to pay off. Nevertheless, most of these students do not complete their degrees. Estimates show that two in every five learners that opt to pursue a bachelor’s degree are likely not to graduate in the six academic years. Once they do not graduate, the loans would have been utilized, but the repayment would be a problem. This cohort is the biggest problem in the student debt crisis.
However, there could be solutions to this student debt crisis issue. Parents, instructors, and creditors should be on the forefront as stakeholders to enlighten students on the appropriate criteria for selecting courses and less costly colleges. This will help reduce the amount of loans they borrow as well as increase the chances of graduating and paying back the debts. Johnson argues that the loan crisis should be solved by reducing the high costs of enrolling and attending colleges when pursuing a degree. When all these factors are put into consideration, the student loan crisis would be manageable.