But for one man, they weren’t a huge problem in comparison to the life he led before college. Meet Jeff, a guy who slept in his Jeep before becoming a student and who will likely be saddled with over $37,000 in debt by the time he graduates. Unfortunately, despite his background, his financial situation isn’t unique when compared to his classmates.
It just so happens that student loan debt is a $1.2 trillion problem nationally.
Clearly Jeff is not alone. Here’s more on his story:
FACT CHECK TIME: Lisa tosses a lot of numbers out there, and most of them are spot on. But here’s a few that need a bit more explaining:
7 in 10 students depend on loans to pay for college.
Actually that figure is closer to 60%, per American Student Assistance, but honestly, that’s still lots of folks.
An average student has $29,400 instudent loans.
While this number is a 2013 estimate reported by CNN,citing the Institute for College Access & Success, aWashington Post article says that these kinds of numbers are troublesome. The average only took into consideration the debt of students who borrowed money. It doesn’t account for students with thick pockets who didn’t borrow cash. Based on the Departmentof Education’s data, students on average have closer to $10,000 in undergraddebt.
The government made a $41.3 billion profit onstudent loans in 2013.
OK, so thegovernment has acknowledged there’s a problem here. Bills are in progress to nip this in the bud (like Elizabeth Warren’s student loan refinancing bill) … but what about the colleges and universities themselves? What role dothey play in setting tuition prices? Where’s the accountability there?
