The cost of learning
With college costs on the rise, money is on the mind of students and administrators
By: Rachel Cheeseman
Issue date: 10/7/08 Section: News
In case you haven't noticed, the already pricey DePauw experience is only getting more expensive.
The total cost of attendance for the 2008-2009 school year is $40,225, a far cry from the $32,840 price tag of five years ago. Off-Campus Winter Term projects can cost as much as $4,500, according to DePauw's Web site. The University tells students to budget $300 for books each semester.
For many students who are financing their college education personally, they must rely in part on loans to meet these substantial costs. Private loans have higher rates on the average, some rates as high as 9 percent, but they fluctuate monthly, according to DePauw Financial Aid Counselor Judy Parent. A subsidized Stafford Loan, a commonly used federal loan, has an interest rate of 6.8 percent currently.
To put these numbers into perspective, imagine a student with $30,000 of debt in loans after four years of college. If this debt were from a federal loan with an interest rate of 6.8 percent to be paid over 10 years, the student would have to pay $345 each month for the next 10 years, resulting in a final payment of $41,428, or, an interest accumulation of $11,428.
Students financing their education primarily with student loans, therefore, have a huge weight on their shoulders immediately after graduation, and the situation is not unique to DePauw graduates; according to the Web site of the Project on Student Debt - a project of the non-profit Institute for College Access and Success - the levels of student debt have gone up 58 percent over the last 10 years, even after accounting for inflation.
With college becoming more and more expensive as the years go on, what will students do, and what can they do, to afford it without facing tens of thousands in debt immediately after graduation?
Some hold jobs through work-study, at home or in the Greencastle community. Others find paid internships during Winter Term rather than staying on campus for a class or doing a service project. Others work throughout the summer, like sophomore Abigail Wilson, who worked three jobs in the past summer and continues to give tours throughout the school year. Still others become expert penny pinchers in order to minimize their debt or to save money to build up a nest egg for post-graduate education.
The total cost of attendance for the 2008-2009 school year is $40,225, a far cry from the $32,840 price tag of five years ago. Off-Campus Winter Term projects can cost as much as $4,500, according to DePauw's Web site. The University tells students to budget $300 for books each semester.
For many students who are financing their college education personally, they must rely in part on loans to meet these substantial costs. Private loans have higher rates on the average, some rates as high as 9 percent, but they fluctuate monthly, according to DePauw Financial Aid Counselor Judy Parent. A subsidized Stafford Loan, a commonly used federal loan, has an interest rate of 6.8 percent currently.
To put these numbers into perspective, imagine a student with $30,000 of debt in loans after four years of college. If this debt were from a federal loan with an interest rate of 6.8 percent to be paid over 10 years, the student would have to pay $345 each month for the next 10 years, resulting in a final payment of $41,428, or, an interest accumulation of $11,428.
Students financing their education primarily with student loans, therefore, have a huge weight on their shoulders immediately after graduation, and the situation is not unique to DePauw graduates; according to the Web site of the Project on Student Debt - a project of the non-profit Institute for College Access and Success - the levels of student debt have gone up 58 percent over the last 10 years, even after accounting for inflation.
With college becoming more and more expensive as the years go on, what will students do, and what can they do, to afford it without facing tens of thousands in debt immediately after graduation?
Some hold jobs through work-study, at home or in the Greencastle community. Others find paid internships during Winter Term rather than staying on campus for a class or doing a service project. Others work throughout the summer, like sophomore Abigail Wilson, who worked three jobs in the past summer and continues to give tours throughout the school year. Still others become expert penny pinchers in order to minimize their debt or to save money to build up a nest egg for post-graduate education.
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collegeloanconsultant
posted 10/08/08 @ 5:37 PM EST
If the Hoosier Hope Scholarships had been approved, at the very least, Indiana might have had the benefit of these students' education, instead of having them leave when they finish college. (Continued…)
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