Emily Lisanti
By Emily Lisanti
SYLP student
When you were in middle school, where did you want to go to college? Did you consider the costs of attending one of the top schools in America?
The problem most teenagers have is the short-sighted goal of merely getting into college. They feel that all they have to do is get accepted into Yale and the rest will fall into place.
Being accepted is only half the battle. Even if you are a person who considers the costs, you probably think that you can get through college on loans.
However, with our economy the way it is, this is an extremely risky bet. According to Caesar Storlazzi, a university director of student finances at Yale University, even though “the interest rates are set by the government, the loans themselves are becoming more expensive for students.”
When it comes to college, loans can add up quickly. A man named Tom Hilde said he paid $6,300 a year for tuition. But in the spring of 2007, that number had escalated to $8,600, and he had built up $30,000 in loans.
“When they tell you [that] you have a six-month grace period, in the eyes of a college student, that seems like more than enough time to go out, get a job, and get ready to pay for your loans,” he said. But he soon realized that he reached his limit and needed to extract loans from private venders. The trouble started when none of them would grant him any.
Banks are known for giving out loans for many reasons, like starting a business and buying a house. However, when the economy is doing badly, the banks are doing badly as well. Just recently, they’ve either been stiffing their clients all together or are truly not able to give out loans because they lack money.
Since there are fewer loans given out, there is more competition for the loans. When attending college, you can still try for them, but it would be best to get as many scholarships as possible and work part-time. With the economy the way it is, we cannot rely on loans for our college futures. ♦
Emily Lisanti can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.
(The stories in this issue are written by SYLP students, not Northwest Asian Weekly staff. Opinions herein do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of the newspaper.)