My Deepest Thoughts on Debt

To be honest, debt scares me. I am very fortunate to be in a situation where my parents are paying for my college education, but I plan to go to some form of graduate school. I am thinking about applying to Santa Clara's law school. With higher education comes higher levels of debt. And with the economy the way it is, I am honestly nervous that I am going to be paying six figures until I am six feet under!

I think about the high amount of debt that I am destined to have to pay, and then I also realize that I will need to buy a car sometime, pay rent, buy food, support a social life so I don't go crazy, etc, all while paying off student loans. But, it is a part of life I suppose.

It is very helpful to remind myself of a few things though. Although I will have to pay back a large amount of money, taking out these loans guarantees opportunities that will open many doors for me in the future. I will learn many new things, meet new people, go new places, and have new, crazy thoughts. The loans may be a lot of money, but missing out on these opportunities would be a tragedy.

Freeing Yourself from Student Debt

Students are graduating with thousands of dollars in debt. There are many different views on student loans. Some students will not take any loans at all and some will utilize over $100,000 to go to their dream school. Debt is a pandemic among students. Debt can damper the excitement of graduation and create fear about an uncertain financial future. Jean Chatzky, a financial editor for 'Today', gives a few simple tips on handling student debt.

1. Consolidate
2. Consider Your Potential
3. Prioritize
4. Don't Delay Life

For a more detailed account of Chatzky's debt solutions check out the article at msnbc on student debt.

One of the Lucky Ones

As of right now I am one of the lucky few students who seems to be out of debt. My parents have been paying for my college tuition thus far, although with the recent stock market plunge, I am not sure what the future will hold. I am planning on continuing to apply for scholarships and hope that the economy can right itself before I am out there looking for a job.

If I do end up acquiring some debt before I finish my schooling, I would not at all be surprised. My parents have been saving money since I was born, and I am receiving a small portion of academic scholarship from the school, but Santa Clara still costs $45,000 a year. I am trying to work a little bit when I can in order to pay for my own basic things outside of school, like laundry, food, social activities. I don't have a car at school and probably won't bring one down next year either to save money on gas and insurance.

Also If i end up getting debt, I would probably be screwed, because I have no idea what I want to do, but as of now I'm very involved in journalism and there is no money there. I was really good at math and science in high school, I might have made a mistake!

Here's an article from USA Today about college students in debt.

*'Students suffocate under tens of thousands in loans'

Life After College: Jobless and in Debt

As a Junior English major attending Santa Clara University where the tutition tops $45,000 each year, thinking about life after college can be pretty scary. Finding a job in a tight economy where no one is hiring, just keeps the large amount of debt that I am already in keep piling up. On top of it all, figuring out what I job I want to do, let alone the realities of actually being able to get that job is overwhelming. The nice thing about this internet age is that there are websites out there to help give job ideas for English majors. With the current state of the economy, it might be more worthwhile to volunteer for a couple years, or go on to grad school so that I will be even more qualified for jobs when they do become available in a couple years. At Santa Clara University, there are many seminars and guest speakers invited by the Career Center to help gradutating seniors figure out their best option. Colleges everywhere are doing similar things to help ease the fears of seniors in finding jobs. The resources are out there to help, we just need to take advantage of them and think outside the box. The first focus should be on finding a job, then take care of the debt later. It also helps to plan ahead. Start looking now so that you are desperately rushed in a year or so when you realize that graduation is a few weeks away and you have no idea what you are going to do.

So whether I decide to volunteer for the Peace Corp. until the economy gets better or further my education until the economy gets a little better and jobs open up, now is the time to figure that out. I think my best option now in the current economic state is to find gossip on celebrities and become the next Perez Hilton.

My Deep Thoughts on Debt

I am very grateful to have parents who support me in whatever I choose to do. They are paying for my tuition at Santa Clara University, as well as my brother's at the University of Oregon. I babysit a few times a week and make good spending money, but my parents are paying for pretty much everything. I know that after graduation I will do what I can to pay them back for the loans they have taken out.

Debt is a word I try not to use. I have an internship with Target this summer and I hope to work there after graduation. I am lucky to have a job lined up while many are suffering in these tough economic times. I didn't realize that going to a private university would cost my parents so much. After freshman year, I moved off campus to save some money. I have a slight problem with saving money, so I'm trying to work on that. I had to open a savings account and I force myself to put in $10 a week, its all about making little changes.

Right now I don't feel too worried about the future, but after reading this article about other college students and recent grads, I'm a little nervous about paying off the loans. I was planning on moving back to San Francisco to live in an apartment, but we'll see if my budget allows me to do that.

Buried in Debt

Debt is awful, but I feel like everyone in college has it. Honestly though right now as a junior in college I'm not too worried about it. Most of my personal debt worries are about my credit card. it's far to easy to slide the card when I have to cash to back it up.

I'm operating under the assumption that my parents will handle my college debt which I think they will. My dad didn't go to college and my mom's parents paid for hers so they don't want me to graduate college with the burden of debt on my shoulders. I have taken out students loans at a low interest so those will have to be paid back eventually, but in this economy right now it's going to be hard to set away money to pay for loans. I guess I'm pretty lucky that my parents have offered to pay for it all because I know a few people who just graduated from Santa Clara and are buried in debt.

I think the government should help us pay for college and more than in the form of scholarships and grants. In a perfect world everyone who gets into college would get a check to help them pay for the cost of tuiton, books, housing, and all the other expenses that are part of the college experience. One of my housemates was raised in Sweden and the government there helps all their students pay for college expenses. For instance my housemates uses that money to pay for her rent. Granted, Sweden is much smaller than the U.S., but I think it could work here. I guess it's a little hopeless in this economy right?

kaitlin novell

Profiles in Debt

Name: Kristin Tappan

Major: Psychology

Year: 2011

Debt: $20,000

Deep thoughts on debt: "Originally my plan was to just pay it off after I graduated because I was allowed to postpone paying off the loan until six months after I'm done with college all together. But my dada actually cosigned the loan and he doesn't like that the rate is a variable rate. He doesn't want to risk it, so he's just going to pay it off in the next three months. But I will have like $60,000 to pay off when I graduate from Santa Clara. Which in theory I guess isn't that bad, because my goal was to stay under a hundred."

Profiles in Debt

Name: Lauren Tokheim

Major: Accounting

Year: 2011

Debt: "I don't know, I have my parents' credit card so I owe them"

Deep Thoughts on Debt: "I'm in debt with my parents. I owe them for everything I've borrowed, which is all spending money. I have to pay them back for my sorority dues, but I don't owe them for tuition and books. I plan on setting money aside from my paychecks. After graduation I want to work for an accounting firm in a big city, but I don't know where yet."

NBA Feeling Recession, Too

There has been a lot of talk lately about our rising unemployment rate, stimulus packages, and an overall decrease of capital with the recession in full effect. However, this has mainly been talked about in respect to the common American people who can't afford to keep their houses or need to give up old habits just to save some money. While this is all true the recession has also begun to hit professional sports and most notably the NBA.

NBA teams have had trouble making payroll so the NBA has done their best to bail them out. On February 26, 2009 the NBA borrowed $175 million dollars for 15 teams so they could meet their operating costs. This has also begun to spill over to on the court issues with player personnel. For example, the New Orleans Hornets finished 1 game out of first place in the Western Conference last season but just attempted to dump one of their starters for salary cap relief. The Sacramento Kings traded their second and third best players for cap relief in the same deal and earlier this week traded a 2nd round draft pick for cash and a player whom they will undoubtedly waive.

Moreover, teams like the Pacers are reportedly $150 million in debt. Amounts they see as fixable through cutting back on their personnel spending.

What is even more interesting is that the most sought after player at the trade deadline has not been Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, or Carlos Boozer. It has been Raef LaFrentz who has played 66 games combined in the last two seasons to average around 2 ppg, 40$ from the field, and under 75% from the line. His only attractive quality is as an asset, due to his $12+ mill expiring contract. The NBA has started to become solely a business which can only hurt the league.

When teams refuse to improve their team because they would rather have a large/expiring contract giving them financial relief, there will be fewer and fewer good teams. The talent becomes dispersed throughout the NBA and playoff chases like last year in the West will not be possible. Teams like the Suns have sold away their future in hopes of getting financial flexibility in the present which makes the league less competitive. Something like this was done about 40 years in major league baseball where a manager literally tried to sell his players to other teams to make a profit. The trades were vetoed by the league because the manager who was selling them did not get any real value back for his players. The NBA has to take this stance and not let teams sell their first round picks (Suns with Rondo etc.) or trade away future picks (Kings 2nd round pick for cash trade) solely to keep their finances straight.

Whatever is done, it must result in the NBA becoming less of a business and more of a sport again.

Profiles in Debt

Name: Jill Carleton
Major: Accounting
Year: 2009
Debt: 19,000
Deep Thoughts on Debt: "I have debt, but when I get a job a plan to put away a portion of my salary to pay it back. I'm obviously going to have pay it back over a long time since it's so much money."

Kaitlin Novell

Profiles in Debt

Name: Morgan Doherty

Major: Communication

Year of Grad: 2011

Estimated Debt: $30,000

Deep Thoughts on Debt: "It's going to be hard for me to pay it all back especially because of the way the economy will be after I graduate."

Profiles in Debt

Name: Lauren Anselmo

Major: Communication

Year of Grad: 2011

Estimated Debt: "My grandparents pay for my college so I am not in debt"

Deep Thoughts on Debt: "If I was in debt, I don't know how I would pay in because I play a sport and don't have time to get a job"

Profiles in Debt

Name: Joanna Savio

Major: Anthropolgy, Sociology

Year: 2010

Debt: "Right now I owe myself like $500"

Deep Thoughts on Debt: "I'm pretty much in debt to myself. I plan on taking a year off after school to work at a museum back in Hawaii. I'll get a SCUBA license and pay off my loans with that, so I'm a little worried but I know I can pay it off."

Profiles in Debt

Name: Adilene Nuñez
Major: Political Science/Spanish
Year: 2011
Debt: $10,000
Deep Thoughts on Debt: "It will be an interesting process to pay it off. I plan on going to grad school right out of college so the total can only get bigger. Especially in this economy, it will be hard to pay it all off"

Profiles in Debt

Name: Luis Orea
Major: Civil Engineering
Year: 2011
Debt: $20,000-$25,000
Deep Thoughts on Debt: "Hopefully this won't affect me because I'm hoping to get a stable job right out of college so that I will be able to pay off my loans on time."

Profiles in Debt

Name: Mariana Pappageorge

Major: Communication

Year: 2010

Debt: $0

Deep Thought on Debt: "People focus on going to a good school where they believe they will gain a good education in order to get a top notch job. Once they graduate, they are in so much debt and they are more worried about paying off those debts instead of following their career goals."

Profiles in Debt

Name: Holly Griggs
Major: Communication; Political Science minor
Year: 2010
Debt: $0
Deep Thought on Debt: "I've been raised to absolutely hate debt. Upon entering college, I was fortunate enough to have pulled off several academic scholarships, and what they didn't cover, my parents chose to pay off the rest. As long as my scholarships continue, I shall leave college debt free, which is an extremely great feeling."

Profile not in debt

Janna Goebel will cross the stage, shake President Engh's hand and receive her diploma June 13 without a financial debt to repay. "I was fortunate enough to be fully financially supported," Goebel said.

Though she may not have had the burden of student loans, Goebel applauds those who take on the responsibility. "I think it's admirable that people come to Santa Clara knowing that they will leave with large amounts of debt because they value their education so much. I'm not sure I would have had the courage to do that," she admitted.

The Spanish major may not escape financial ties for long, however. "I've gained an appreciation for education and I plan to continue on to grad school," Goebel said, "though I will most likely end up in debt as a result."

Profiles in Debt

Name: Thomas Kennedy

Major: Electrical Engineering

Year of Graduation: 2009

Estimated Debt at Graduation: $33,000

Deep Thoughts on Debt: "I want to live for really cheap and make my (hopefully) 60-70k a year until i pay it off. I got to go to school and invest in a future that will allow me to pay it off. I want to pay it off as soon as possible because i hate debt. That being said, I'm glad there are loans available to me."