Video Story: Students Weigh in on Loan Debt

With the national student loan debt weighing in at over one trillion, the government has a new way for students to find the most affordable financial aid option.

For the first ever, more than 30 percent of adults in the United States have at least a bachelor’s degree. Many of those graduates leave school with about $25,000 in student loan debt, which is an increase of 25 percent over the last ten years.

As debt continues to increase along with tuition rates, students are trying to find ways to pay back their loans after they graduate.

Adam Badger, an out-of-state student at Florida A&M, explains how he plans on paying back his student loan debt. Badger said. 

“My goal is to work for the government, the FBI or the secret service. They have a program to where if you get accepted with them they’ll pay off your loans. So hopefully if I get that opportunity, then that’s how I will use it to pay it off.”

Wednesday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau launched the next phase of its “Know Before You Owe” student loan project. This interactive online tool, called the Financial Aid Comparison shopper, is designed to help families plan for the costs of post-secondary education. It allows students to make comparisons of their offers and pick the one that works best for their financial future.

Some students feel this option is a great resource for future college students.

Naomi Morency, a junior at Florida A&M, thinks this program is a great idea. Morency said “I think it is a very good idea for the government to come up with a program for the incoming freshman to help them understand different loan options and different grants they can apply for so when they graduate, they don’t have pending loans and problems in the future.”

The financial aid comparison shopper helps students to compare the information across schools. It has more than 7,500 schools and institutions in its database, including vocational schools and community, state, and private colleges.

With student loan debt climbing to over one trillion dollars the financial aid comparison shopper could help prevent students from taking out unnecessary loans.