subject: Realize Your Dreams With Education Loans [print this page] High school students who will soon be graduating often need to consider just how they will be able to pay for the cost of their postsecondary education. For most students, a college education is financed by student loans, whether exclusively or along withPell grants and other sources of funding. While of course these loans will need to be repaid once students graduate, they are often the only viable option for high school students on their way to a university education.
The fact thatstudent loans need to be repaid after graduation means that students who finance their education with loans need to consider their career options and their potential income. since those student loans need to be repaid after graduation. There are all too who end up with a degree but few job prospects and as a result, find themselves saddled with a heavy load of debt after college which they are unable to pay. There are also a large number of people whose careers after graduation pay little enough that it could take them the rest of their lives to repay their student loans.
For example, let's say that you graduate from college after having taken out $100,000 in student loans (a pretty typical amount). Now suppose that your loan has an interest rate of somewhere around 5%, which is actually on the lower end of what you'll seefor student loans. If your intention is to repay your loans in a relatively short time period (such as ten years), then you'd need to make a much higher than average starting salary in order to make this happen.
Since student loans cannot be discharged through a bankruptcy proceeding, this is a debt that will be with you until you can completely repay it. There are some allowances for situations of severe financial hardship, but in general, if you miss a payment it will be reported to the major credit bureaus and can have a serious negative effect on your credit rating.
It is also possible that delinquent student loan payments may be given to collection agencies to collect, which will mean additional fees which you'll have to pay. It may well be the case that paying for at least part of your college education with student loans is inevitable. Just keep in mind that the less you need to borrow, the less debt you will have when you finish school and begin your new career.