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Wednesday,
April 21, 2004 |
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Advice
may lessen student loan debt
Student
loans can cause stress for students after college, says
a financial adviser.
By
Erica Parker
Staff Reporter
Students annoyed with college loans might want to stop
by Sadler Hall to heed advice from the financial aid office,
because it may alleviate future debt problems.
“I do what I can to impart the knowledge to students
about financial aid,” said Micah Marin, financial
aid adviser and TCU graduate. “Of course, I can’t
walk around giving every student a grant, but I can share
my experience.”
The average loan for students nationally is $20,000 annually,
and for TCU it’s approximately $25,000, Marin said.
When Marin was fresh out of college he taught elementary
school, private piano lessons, church Bible study and
worked in sales at a jewelry store all at one time to
pay off his $30,000 college loan and other bills.
“I hated my life at that point because I was doing
too much,” he said.
Marin said he finally woke up one morning and told himself
he needed to change.
“Had I known what I know now, my experience would
have been less stressful. I would have taken more summer
school classes, transferred credit hours in and applied
for more scholarships,” Marin said.
Marin said he wished he was wiser about spending money
and warns students to not make the decisions he made.
“Students have to be smart with loans,” Marin
said. “They are maintainable to pay off, but credit
card debt and other expenses make it hard to pay the loans
off.”
Credit cards are an evil students fall for and can jeopardize
students’ ability to get financial aid, Marin said.
Students who don’t pay their credit card and loan
payments get their wages garnished and can’t have
federal jobs, he said.
“Students should ask themselves whether or not TCU
is worth the money they’re paying for, because if
TCU is, then they can delay spending money on Prada shoes
and the matching pants for their education,” Marin
said.
Sophomore nursing major Kathryn B. Armstrong said TCU
is worth the money because it is one of the cheapest private
schools, but said she is frustrated by TCU’s rising
cost.
Armstrong said she is unhappy about TCU not giving her
enough grants and scholarships, because her financial
aid package consists primarily of loans.
Carmela Smith, a sophomore radio-TV-film major, works
at the university library and Blockbuster video to pay
for her current school expenses and is saving up to pay
off her current $16,000 in loans accumulated over two
years.
Paying back school loans may cause students to delay their
dream career for an alternative job that will help them
pay expenses, Smith said.
“People come into TCU with their hearts set on a
desirable career, but they might have to change their
career in order to pay off loans,” Smith said. “I
want to work behind the scenes in production, cinematography
and eventually become an actress, but I might have to
work elsewhere to pay off loans. I don’t want to
be stuck in Fort Worth and be settled with any job.” |
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