It is quite common for students seeking higher educations after high school to take out student loans to help finance their journey through college or university. Unfortunately many students find themselves weighted down by debt when they graduate, or worse, when they quit school without a degree.
The problem has reached outlandish proportions with current student debt estimated to be the mind-blowing amount of $1.26 trillion. The sheer magnitude of the debt is motivating the US Department of Education to get into gear with a new program designed to teach college-bound students all about federal student loan programs. This experimental program, which will present the advantages and disadvantages of student loans, will hopefully help students make the right choices for them.
“It’s important for students to make good decisions about their student loan borrowing,” said U.S. Under Secretary of Education Ted Mitchell. “Students at these institutions will receive proactive and ongoing counseling and they will gain tools to better understand and manage their own finances.”
Some students leave school with staggering debt, in some cases as much as hundreds of thousands of dollar’s worth.
The program, which is considered an experiment, will be introduced in 51 post-secondary institutions. Thirty-five are public, two-year schools, 14 are public four-year institutions, and one is a private, non-profit four-year school. The last is a proprietary institution.
“This experiment will yield important information about whether additional counseling improves student outcomes, including program completion and loan repayment,” Mitchell added.