Going to college is a big step in most people's lives. It is the first time many young adults are on their own for the first time. A degree can the base to build a career off of. For others a degree can mean opening new opportunities economic advancement. Finical Aid programs increase the ability to obtain a college degree for those who might otherwise not have the ability on their own. Thousands more people go to college than in the recent past. Consequently our job culture has changed to match this. Many employers look at what college degrees an applicant has. For many a college degree on a resume can mean more income. Yet as college seeking has become common place a large number of college seekers go to college fr the wrong reasons. Or they run into problems paying college loans back after graduation due to degrees they can't capitalize on. I've experienced several ways the Financial Aid dance can go wrong.

My experience with Student Loans has been mostly a down hill ride. I went to college in 1992 free out of high school. I was engaged to my sweetheart and had lofty plans to become a biologist. At eighteen I had all the answers and a good start on the dream of family, love and a career. Like many young people starting in the world after high school I lacked a clear view of what those three goals meant. I didn't go to college because I really wanted to be a biologist. I believed I did at the time. I liked science and thought it a good area to make a living at. College was not a place one goes to in order to grow an develop. College, when I was 18, was what middle class kids did as part of building a career. So I walked away from a budding artistic talent and chose what I thought would be a easy four years extra education.

I enrolled at Eastern Oregon State College, which is now Eastern Oregon University. I was fresh out of high school. On my own for the first time. Parents hundreds of miles away. Life was good. And after three days orientation I was ready to begin earning my degree. The fun started when I learned my SAT scores placed me bellow the math and english levels required for a science degree. The first year of college was spent "catching up" in a remedial class. I enrolled in EOU's advancement program called learning communities. The program taught math, science and english at a pre-entrance level. What I did not understand at the time was the problem many colleges faced at the time. More and more high school students did not have the skill levels for college courses. So I like many others today pay for extra time spent at college. A growing trend even before I entered college was 5 years to achieve a four year degree. The year I spent catching up was not uncommon. I was simply one those students that was going to need more time.

College turned out to be harder than I was ready for. I was responsible enough to not fall into the party culture. I saw too many of my friends drop out early on from not studying enough and partying more. Yet I did not have any real skill in organization and time management. End of my first term in my second year my grades were not good. I earned academic probation with a bouquet of D's and a C as the center piece. This trend would not really end for another year. All this time I struggled with my grades I did not understand that my GPA influenced my financial aid packet. All I could manage was a low Pell Grant and Staford Loans. The higher a students grades are the more grants become available. My last term was the first term my third year. I started on academic and financial aid suspension pending my GPA. So I dropped out of college after earning myself around 18,000 dollars in debt.

Over the next four years I worked low paying jobs or assembly line work. I was actually flipping burgers when I received my first loan bill. Most loans have a period of 6 months free time before you get that bill. Well I was floored by the amount I had to pay. My income was enough for a small apartment and not much more. After a call to the billing office of Stafford Loan I learned about income sensitive payment plans. I was saved! I could simply pay the interest or defer the payment for up to a year. So I deferred the payment for 6 months. Yes at the time I understood that the interest on the loans would compound back into the loan. What I did not understand was the trouble that could cause. The idea of Ballooning Interest did not occur to me. I was 21, no longer engaged to my school days sweetheart, and a bachelor again.

Now after 4 years I had gained a higher paying job. I was starting to look into paying my loans off. I had been deferring for 6 months and paying one, and then deferring for 6 months again. When I turned my attention back to the loans I was surprised at how much they had grown. My new job was no longer enough. So with a new wife helping me out I went back to school. Stafford Loans will go into an Enrolled deferment status as long as your enrolled in college. The price you pay is generally adding more loans on top of your existing ones. Yet with new fire I was able to pull together enough with my wife, also a student, and graduate after 6 years total schooling.

Currently the federal government allows a student to draw loans for 6 years to obtain a 4 year degree. I was re-entering college in 1997. My academic history was in shambles. The financial aid office at EOU informed me that at that time the Federal government had made the change to the finical aid eligibility. The statistics showed an increasing number of college students were taking longer to graduate. When I graduated in 2001 the average time to complete a 4 year degree was 5.4 years. So I ended my college carrier following the 2-step program. I achieve a great deal once I returned. My GPA went from a low D to a high C, almost a B. The increased GPA helped with the aid packets I received. But I still had a large amount of Stafford Loans and not enough Grant monies to compensate.

Once my wife and I graduated I looked for work and she looked into her Masters degree. Sept. 11 2002 had happened in this time. Oregon was not a good place for jobs. Household income was not meeting the bills. My Loans were due the moment I graduated and hers still had some time. So we opted to consolidate all our student loans into one bill through Sallie Mae. The combined debt for our college degrees was $55,000 and change. Our income could not cover even the combined, lower rate, so we opted for an income sensitive payment that allowed us to pay on the loan up to the interest. It was two years before a college accepted my wife. We moved from Oregon to Kansas and Kansas University.

Our student loan debt was back on enrolled deferment. Money was still tight but workable. We planned her loan money over twelve months and I had a job in food service. Yet as the world turns a year and a half at KU and I was facing divorce. My ex-wife took the credit debt and I took the Student Loan debt. Once student loans are conciliated they can not be split up again. At this time my loan payment was around $480 a month with close to $290 in interest. Food service could not begin to pay this back for me. So I again went into an income sensitive plan while I looked for new work. All the time the unpaid interest was looping back into the principle.

Currently I am paying the the interest and enough to move the Principle. My balance in in the uncomfortable $56,000 range. And there are few options open to me other than paying them off. Many people with student debt have similar problems. The amount normally borrowed for a Bachelor's degree can become huge in several years time if the borrower can't find adequate income to pay the loans back. Masters and Graduate level college can create debt as much as undergraduate work. If a graduated student can't get a good job fast their loan can easily spiral out of control fast. Further more I have learned that consolidation plans are not what they appear. You get a lower monthly payment true, but the life of the loan is longer. Do the math and you end up paying more in interest than you would have keeping the loans separate. If your unable to climb out of debt Student Loan debt does not allow the same options as regular debt. Currently you can only file bankruptcy on Student Loans if you are disabled and not able to get work. If you fill Chapter 11 or 13 the Sallie Mae loans or consolidated loans will be placed on hold, but the company can then charge higher interest on a defaulted loan. Retirement age people can apply for any outstanding student loan debt to be forgiven is another option if your looking at a lingering debt. Yet lets the loan hang over your head for years.

I have found that the programs out there to help with student debt are few. Obtaining a teaching position often allows forgiveness options open for part or all of student loan debt. Many of these are directed at those who are looking into a career as a teacher. Some medical fields will forgive medical school debt for nurses and doctors. But for the general populace most of the options are consolidation and income sensitive plans. Charitable organizations are out there, but hard to find.

This has been my experience with the world of Student Loans. Student Loans are a great way to gain an education. Though college can be a trap, and a costly one, for those who do not have a clear view of what they want. For me I should have gained some world experience before attending college. I went because I was a middle class kid and that is what you did. I did not understand the real reason why I should be going to college. Had I planned and researched more I would have a very different experience. My best advice is know what you want, be flexible, and do the math each step of the way.