—
Student loan debt has exploded from $260 billion in 2004 to $1.4 trillion in 2017; average student debt has risen from $18,850 to $38,000 for the same period. In the U.S., the student loan debt crisis affects over 44 million borrowers. As awe-inspiring as these numbers are, there is one you don’t hear much about: the number of people who are over sixty and are still paying on their student loans in the last decade has quadrupled to 2.8 million.
What no one is talking about is the idea a person could go to college, start paying on school loans and find themselves so deep in debt, they can pay for their loan their entire working career and still be in debt in their sixties. How is this possible? Accounting irregularities, predatory technical colleges, extreme interest rates, and poor paying jobs after college all add up to a nearly criminal enterprise capable of extracting money from students for decades.
Adding insult to injury, new laws make it impossible for students to get out from under debt, unlike any other aspect of society, students cannot charge off their debt. As a result borrowers are finding themselves with an additional “education tax” they have to pay monthly average $300 dollars a month which challenges many students abilities to pay their bills and their education debt.
Is it possible to end up bankrupt from the very process which was meant to liberate and enable you to make a living? You betcha.
◊♦◊
We want to hear from you: How much student debt did you acquire when you went to school? Did you pay it all off? How long did it take? Were you able to do it without the debt becoming a hardship for you? Did you think your degree was worth it for you?
If you haven’t managed to pay off your debt, how do you feel about it? Are you concerned you won’t be able to pay it off? Are you in your fifties or sixties still looking at your college debt wondering if you will ever pay it off?
College faculty and administrators: What do you think of the rising rates of student debt and what do you think needs to be done to combat this problem? Do you think the government should be sponsoring the education of anyone who wants to attend college at least until they get a four-year degree?
When you’re ready to submit, click the red box, below.
◊♦◊
The Good Men Project is different from most media companies. We are a “participatory media company”—which means we don’t just have content you read and share and comment on but it means we have multiple ways you can actively be a part of the conversation. As you become a deeper part of the conversation—The Conversation No One Else is Having (TM)—you will learn all of the ways we support our Writers’ Community—community FB groups, weekly conference calls, classes in writing, editing platform building and How to Create Social Change.
◊♦◊
Here are more ways to become a part of The Good Men Project community:
Request to join our private Facebook Group for Writers—it’s like our virtual newsroom where you connect with editors and other writers about issues and ideas.
Click here to become a Premium Member of The Good Men Project Community. Have access to these benefits:
- Get access to an exclusive “Members Only” Group on Facebook
- View the website with no ads
- Get free access to classes, workshops, and exclusive events
- Be invited to an exclusive weekly “Call with the Publisher” with other Premium Members
- Free commenting badge, listing on our Friends page, and more.
Are you stuck on what to write? Sign up for our Writing Prompts emails, you’ll get ideas directly from our editors every Monday and Thursday. If you already have a final draft, then click below to send your post through our submission system.
If you are already working with an editor at GMP, please be sure to name that person. If you are not currently working with a GMP editor, one will be assigned to you.
Join our exclusive weekly “Call with the Publisher” — where community members are encouraged to discuss the issues of the week, get story ideas, meet other members and get known for their ideas? To get the call-in information, either join as a member or wait until you get a post published with us. Here are some examples of what we talk about on the calls.
Want to learn practical skills about how to be a better Writer, Editor or Platform Builder? Want to be a Rising Star in Media? Want to learn how to Create Social Change? We have classes in all of those areas.
While you’re at it, get connected with our social media:
- To join our Facebook Page, go here.
- To sign up for our email list, go here.
- To follow The Good Men Project on Twitter, go here.
◊♦◊
However, you engage with The Good Men Project—you can help lead this conversation about the changing roles of men in the 21st century. Join us!
—
If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project, please join like-minded individuals in The Good Men Project Premium Community.
◊♦◊
◊♦◊
Get the best stories from The Good Men Project delivered straight to your inbox, here.
◊♦◊
◊♦◊
Sign up for our Writing Prompts email to receive writing inspiration in your inbox twice per week.
♦◊♦
We have pioneered the largest worldwide conversation about what it means to be a good man in the 21st century. Your support of our work is inspiring and invaluable.
The Good Men Project is an Amazon.com affiliate. If you shop via THIS LINK, we will get a small commission and you will be supporting our Mission while still getting the quality products you would have purchased, anyway! Thank you for your continued support!
◊♦◊
—
Photo credit: Getty Images
I went back to school in my 60s to get my Ph.D. I thought it would take me 3 or 4 years to complete and I had budgeted to pay off the loans I got to attend, but it took my 7 years and I ended up with $40,000 dollars in debt. Fortunately I was already a working professional when I went back to school. For most students who come out of college with large debt and much more limited job prospects and pay scales than they had expected, debt can cripple them forever. This is another example of a… Read more »