Graduates unable to handle student debt payments
By Allison Bailey
abaile19@mscd.edu

   Many recent graduates of Colorado public colleges can’t afford to become teachers or social workers because of overwhelming student loan repayments, according to a study released this month by the Colorado Public Interest Research Group.
   “ If we’re not careful, people won’t want to go into those really vital careers that don’t pay as much,” said Cory Nadler of CoPIRG’s student chapter.
   Erin Mays, 26, is supposed to pay $450 every month toward her $39,000 in student loans. She makes only $36,000 a year. Mays, a recreation coordinator for the Denver Department of Human Services, graduated from Metro last May with a bachelor’s degree in social work. She plans activities and holidays for children who have been removed from their homes for various reasons and are living in youth and residential treatment centers.
   “ I love it; that’s actually why I went back to school,” Mays said. “I like working with kids in general and it’s a really neat place to work.”
Mays is unable to make her student loan payments right now. She is in a forbearance program in which she doesn’t have to make payments, but the interest on the loan still accrues. She said in a year her status will be reviewed and she will have to either reapply for forbearance or resume making payments.
   “ Unfortunately, over the past decade, as state and federal support for higher education has slowed, more students have had to take out larger loans to pay for college,” said Louisa Manalastas, a student intern with CoPIRG, in a speech April 5 at the Tivoli.
   CoPIRG released the student debt study to call more attention to the problem, both from students and from government officials. CoPIRG plans to research debt among Auraria students and graduates.
   The study’s findings, along with potential solutions, will be discussed at a meeting in a few weeks with Auraria students, faculty, administrators and financial aid officials.
   Some solutions suggested in the report released this month include an increase in need- based grants, taking steps to make repayment fair and affordable, promoting borrower protections and establishing incentives to control tuition.
   Nadler said the Colorado state government is trying to cap tuition increases, but not much has been done on the federal level.
   The study found 30 percent of students graduating from public colleges in Colorado can’t pay back their student loans on a starting teacher’s salary, and neither can 48 percent of students graduating from private colleges in Colorado.
   That compares with a national average of 23 percent of public college graduates and 38 percent of private college graduates who are unable to pay back their student loans on a beginning teacher’s salary.
   Nationwide, 37 percent of public and 55 percent of private college graduates can’t pay back their student loans on a starting social worker’s salary. Statistics for Colorado graduates with degrees in social work were not included in the report.
   “ Higher education in America is supposed to open doors for our nation’s young people,” Manalastas said. “Unfortunately, relying too heavily on student debt has the effect of closing some of those very same doors.”
   According to Nadler, a big part of the problem is a lack of state and federal aid money available for higher education.
   “ A college education has become more and more necessary to succeed in society and it’s also become more expensive,” he said.
   CoPIRG is a nonpartisan, nonprofit public interest group. At Auraria its student chapter focuses on such issues as poverty relief, increased voter participation, protecting the environment and increasing student aid.