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Somewhere along the line, people began to assume that a college degree was synonymous with the Golden Ticket. 鈥淓arn a degree, and make more money! Go to college, and get a better job! College is the answer!鈥� seemed to be the attitude to have.

While it鈥檚 true that statistics have shown college graduates tend to earn higher salaries than high school graduates, other factors need to be considered. I know plenty of people who have college degrees that don鈥檛 even have jobs at the moment, let alone spectacular high-paying jobs that are making them rich.

I鈥檓 certainly not trying to be pessimistic, but I am urging you to be realistic 鈥� especially if you take out student loans to attend school. Borrowing money is serious business.

This morning I ran across a recent New York Times article on the topic. A May 28th piece by Ron Lieber profiled a young woman that decided to do whatever possible to attend one of the best colleges in the country. She graduated from New York University with nearly $100,000 in student loan debt from her four years in college, and she can鈥檛 even afford the monthly loan payments. Therefore, she鈥檚 been taking night school classes, which allow her to defer her loan payments.

I actually know a few different people in that same situation, and I鈥檓 not sure what they鈥檙e going to do once they earn their second, third, or fourth degree.

Far too many people assume that once they have a degree, they鈥檒l instantly start earning the big bucks and student loan payments will be no problem. A full-time job will most likely pay you more than a part-time job you held during college, but you鈥檒l also have to pay rent and utilities, buy groceries and personal necessities, get a work wardrobe, buy a car if you need one and pay for car insurance 鈥� it can get a little bit overwhelming. Should you find a job straight out of college, don鈥檛 forget that it takes time and effort to climb up the ladder at work. Sometimes those student loan payments are just as much as a month鈥檚 rent.

Massive Student Loan Debt: Who鈥檚 to Blame?

It seems that a lot of people are now claiming that they didn鈥檛 realize how much debt they were accumulating during college, and someone should have warned them. Lenders offered the money, schools wanted to keep students, so no one said a word and loan paperwork was signed.

The mother of the girl in Lieber鈥檚 article agrees:

鈥淗ad somebody called me and said, 鈥楧o you have a clue where this is all headed?鈥�, it would have been a slap in the face, but a slap in the face that I needed,鈥� said Cathryn Munna. 鈥淲hen financial aid told her that they could get her $2,000 more in loans, they should have been saying 鈥榊ou are in deep doo-doo, little girl.鈥� 鈥�

In 2009, Robert Applebaum started a Facebook group called “Cancel Student Loan Debt to Stimulate the Economy” which gained 2,500 members within two weeks. It seems as if everyone wanted to jump onto the bandwagon along with Applebaum.

I definitely empathize with everyone in this situation 鈥� I鈥檓 paying off my own student loans even though I don鈥檛 work in the field I studied during college 鈥� but in all honesty, the people who are complaining are the same ones who took out massive amounts of student loans.

Realize what you are signing before you sign it, and ask for an explanation if you鈥檙e not quite sure. You鈥檙e going to be responsible for repaying that money — whether you graduate or not 鈥� even if you don鈥檛 earn as much money as you鈥檇 hoped you would.

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Posted on 30 May

Melissa Rhone earned her Bachelor of Music in Education from the University of Tampa. She resides in the Tampa Bay area and enjoys writing about college, pop culture, and epilepsy awareness.