Most of you will not want to read this article for almost the same reason why you don’t look at grades immediately or check your bank account after a night in Midtown.
That is because the mere thought of failing a test or thinking about your student loans is too much to bear and, frankly, you’d rather cry instead. But because crying probably isn’t on your schedule today, you might want to ignore this post.
However, if you do have the stomach to realize the importance of this issue, read on and pray that it’s not as bad as I’m suggesting.
The first thing to understand about student loans is the immense pressure that exists to pay them off. The government, which supplies you with the loan, allows you a whopping six months until after you graduate before you have to make the first payment.
How gracious of them.
You’re in luck though! Everyone knows that your first job out of college is always a high paying one that you get immediately.
The other aspect to note is the interest rate. At 4.29 percent, it is a higher rate than a conventional mortgage rate, which makes sense because if you don’t pay for your house they can take it away, but if you don’t pay off your student loans they can’t take away your education.
Don’t worry though, they can take other things away if you can’t pay your loans. They can start taking money directly out of your paycheck every month in what is called wage garnishment.
This interest rate is especially debilitating considering the average student is in $28,000 debt out of college. This means they will pay an extra $6,000 in 10 years, totaling $36,000 of payments. These payments equal about $288 per month. Think of it as buying an iPhone each month for 120 consecutive months.
Now that you are sufficiently upset, I’ll leave you with four thoughts: 1.) Be thankful you don’t go to a private school. 2.) Either switch your major to something STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) or drop out. 3.) The good news is you’re not alone in this struggle. 4.) The bad news is no one seems to care.
As usual you can email me with any questions or current financial based quandaries you have at bussj14@ufl.edu, although I can answer one possible one right now; no I can not help you pay off your student loans.
