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Question 4:
Did anyone ever disourage you from taking out student loans?

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Question 3:
Did you explore other options before taking out student loans?

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Question 2:
Do you regret taking out the loans?

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13. A Firsthand Account: Cassandra Whooley

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13. A Firsthand Account: Cassandra Whooley

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Question 1:
How do you feel about the lasting impact of taking out student loans and are you worried for how hard they are to pay back?

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Do you work for a large corporation or do your parents? Look into company grants and scholarships. Many large companies like Walmart, Target, Taco Bell, Barnes and Nobel, McDonald's, Fred Meyers, and many more offer scholarships or grants for employees or children of employees.

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12.  $100 to Borrow a Book... Sign Me Up!

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12.  $100 to Borrow a Book... Sign Me Up!

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Often when trying to price out how much higher education is, textbooks are not factored into that equation. Textbooks are required for all of not, most courses. these are often not cheap. usually ranging around $100 to rent the book, not even buy it, for 4 1/2 months. Often you don't need just one, some classes require more than one textbook.  There is no guarantee you will even use these textbooks. This cost is essential to remember when the of when the topic of paying for school comes up.

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Often different schools offer different financial packages for students. I had to choose between two schools when it came down to what school I was going to for my first year at college. If I went to University of Nevada Reno, I would receive in-state tuition. If I went to Washington State University I would receive out of state tuition but I also had two scholarships from the school that would make the tuition a bit less. The dilemma I then had to focus on was which programs would I be more interested in. Overall, weigh the financial packages and programs of the schools you are interested in to choose which school is the best fit for you.

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Follow through with you scholarships. I received the Millennium Scholarship from the state of Nevada, but it can only be used at a Nevada approved school. This scholarship did not help me this year, but luckily it can be used for up to six years after high school graduation. Most scholarships do not limit where they can be used, but they do generally limit the lowest GPA you can have to still receive the scholarship and the least amount of classes you have to be enrolled in to receive the scholarship. Keeping track of these requirements is essential to keeping the benefits of receiving these scholarships.

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Growing up I always assumed my education would be payed for by myself, other people have the opposite expectation. Ask for help if you need it. You never know if your parent's can help you financially if you don't ask. In my case, I asked my mother to cosign some of my student loans in order to qualify for greater amounts. Having her cosign my loans gave me the ability to have lower loan rates and a higher amount loaned to me because my mother has an established credit and I do not. I would have never received this help if I did not ask.

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For many students like myself, scholarships, student loans and grants are not enough to completely cover the cost of tuition. Therefor working while attending school is essential to make all ends meet. I work at Birch and Barley as a server 5 days per week, averaging to about 35-40 hours per week, while still attending school full-time. This requires a lot of time management skills, dedication and a hard work ethic. Often times some of my assignments don't get completed because I just don't have enough time. This is the price I pay to attend school, and to me that is worth it. I am not alone in doing this. Many students hold jobs, on and off campus, independently or through work-study programs to peruse their education.

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If you have any sports ability, look into sports scholarships that are available from your school. Other sports related things can be included, but a stipend may be used instead of scholarships. An example of this is the multitude of sports players on WSU campus. Most if not all students who participate in sports at WSU have sports scholarships or stipends. An example of this is those who are on color guard. Students who participate in color guard do not receive a scholarship for sports, but they do receive a stipend that can be used to pay for tuition.

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Scholarship websites often offer more than just a list of scholarships. Fastweb.com, one of my favorites does this as well. Fastweb offers a "Target Scholarship" feature that lets you input information about yourself and they then use that information to give you scholarships that are specific to you. This saves you time by giving you the opportunity not to sift through hundreds of scholarships that you are ineligible for.
Fastweb also has other services like their college search feature. This allows you to enter information about youself and the kind of college you are looking for, or the programs in colleges you are interested in. This tool is perfect if you are still deciding where you would like to attend school.
Fastweb also has a financial aid tool. This tool helps to answer questions you may have about paying for school, accepting scholarships, questions about FAFSA and much more. Utilize resources available to you, like this website, to help be as informed as possible about college finances.

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There are so many options besides taking out student loans. College students, this subculture of American society, are all very one track minded. College needs to be payed for and student loans are a way that requires little to no work, not much time, and seemingly does not need to be worried about for years to come. With some initial hard work from college students, paying for school can be deferred away from student loans. There are many scholarship and grant websites that provide resources for paying for college. Yes scholarships require time, and often hard work, but they are free money to you. If I had extra money to give to student's to pay for their education I would want them to work for it a bit, not just hand it out.

Scholarship Tip:
Apply for scholarships even if they are smaller denominations of money (i.e. $100-$500). Generally these scholarships have less competition because most people don't see the point of applying, giving you a greater chance of receiving the scholarship.

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When I received my student loans, there were paragraphs on paragraphs of information about how and when student loans need to be payed for, specific guidelines that need to be followed, and what can happen if those guidelines are not followed. I initially received these papers online then again in paper format. It truly did not dawn on me how serious and long lasting student loans were until I had the paperwork in my hands.

Upon reading my student loan contracts, i understood that I need to begin paying off these loans 6-9 months after I graduate or defer from school. "The average monthly student loan payment (for borrower aged 20 to 30 years): $351" (Student Loan Hero, 2017). That is a lot of money. If I do not find a good job in my field after graduation, i will be in hot water, and that is what makes me nervous.

"U.S. Student Loan Debt Statistics for 2017." Student Loan Hero. N.p., 6 Apr. 2017. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.

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Student financial services is often an overlooked service at most universities. They are turned to first when scholarship money is not received in time, but they are generally not turned to when advice is needed. Student financial services has a lot of advice and resources for everyone looking for or needing help paying for college. Often times student financial services has a book or a website that has pages and pages of scholarships in which student's can use to choose which scholarships to apply to, WSU has one of these. Utilize the help that student financial services can provide for you, it may save you thousands.

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In this photo of 13 students, 3 of those students took out student loans in order to pay for their pursuit of higher education. Those same 4 students also had scholarships and received FAFSA, but they still had a gap in how much they could afford vs. how much their school was.

This is a massive issue. Students are told that going to college is a way to move up in life and a way to pursue a successful career, but what price do these students need to pay in order to achieve that. "The average Class of 2016 graduate has $37,172 in student loan debt, up six percent from last year"(Student Loan Hero, 2017).  College is becoming more common each year, which means each year more and more students are looking for funding for their education. When funding falls short, student loans are turned to, and that is where the problem arises.

"U.S. Student Loan Debt Statistics for 2017." Student Loan Hero. N.p., 6 Apr. 2017. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.

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Introduction
Audial Walk through
1. 1 in How Many?
2. How may we help you
3. I will have this for how long?
4. Other options
5. FastWeb.com
6. Sports Scholarships
7. Work through school
8. Company Grants
9. It never hurts to ask
10. Follow Through
11. Weigh school options
12. $100 to borrow a book... sign me up!
13. A Firsthand Account: Cassandra Whooley

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College students are a unique sub-culture in American society. They are forced to make a choice that impacts the entire rest of their life at a young, and uninformed age of 18. This choice is what career they wish to peruse, and along with that, if college is necessary.

If college is chosen, it needs to be payed for, and this is the issue that impacts this subgroup.