Article Contributed on: 11/26/2008 2:04:29 PM
I just read an article about "Student loan fugitives". These people are living out of the country, because they cannot afford to pay the monthly payments on student loans! The U.S. needs well-educated, financially sound, emotionally-healthy residents to take care of ourselves and our fellow global citizens. So how did obtaining and paying for the education become the roadblock to living and working in the U.S? Obviously, this choice to live abroad sounds extreme, but it does demonstrate a very real problem that most colleges choose to ignore. Tuition has risen year-over-year at 2-3 times the inflation rate. Financial aid packages from colleges and universities include loans as a substantial portion of their aid packages. The majority of federal aid is in the form of loans. It seems that getting a college degree is initiating young people into the debt cycle rather than assisting with tuition. We as individuals and our federal and state governments are overdue in asking our institutions of higher education, WHY?