Students go to college to learn more about the world around them, learn a trade or profession, and the end goal is to get a job that will allow them to pay the bills.

Unfortunately, with the job market in such a dismal state, this is not the reality that is awaiting many recent college graduates. Instead, they are graduating with more debt than ever before and, without a job to help them pay off their debts, many students are now seeking protection from their outstanding debts by declaring bankruptcy.

According to a survey released by the Institute for Financial Literacy, the percent of college graduates who have earned a bachelor’s degree and owe some sort of debt has increased from 11.2 percent in 2006 to 13.6 percent last year. Interestingly enough, the percentage of those who have not finished college or who only have a high school diploma and are in debt has decreased.

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Empty pockets are a common problem college students face. The financial demands of housing, books, tuition, transportation and living expenses are challenging enough. Forget about having extra money for movies, eating out, clothes, vacations and other money gobbling activities that college students wish they had the cash for.

Credit card companies know this best, and that’s why they target students with “too good to pass up” deals. It may seem like a great deal to score a free meal at the local sandwich shop just for filling out a credit card application, but the implications of credit cards for college students are not worth the free lunch.

Go to any neighborhood surrounding a college campus and chances are you’ll see tables stacked with credit card applications offering free food, books, gift cards, etc. Card companies know that the future implications of credit card debt may not be the foremost thought to a hungry, broke student when the opportunity for free stuff presents its self. The result creates a naïve credit-card yielding college student with a free sandwich.

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The average college student graduates with $24,000 in debt. This can be attributed to the fact that the average college tuition has increased by at least 5.6 percent in the past ten years.

So, what’s the average, broke college student to do? Should you sell all of your worldly possessions so you can take Intro to Biochemistry? Heck no! How about using StraighterLine?

StraighterLine is a complete online “school” that offers a cheap alternative for introductory level classes. StraighterLine allows students to pay under $1,000 for an entire year’s worth of classes. These “101″-level classes offer the same information as traditional freshmen-level classes at many universities, but they eliminate the costs of running a college. Read the rest of this entry »

The cost of earning a college education has been a concern for many families for years. A new report reveals that this concern should be increasing because the average amount of debt that a student graduates with has also been increasing.

According to the New York Times, the Project on Student Debt reports that the average college senior graduated in 2009 with $24,000 in debt. This is up six percent from 2008.

The unemployment rate for recent college graduates has also increased since 2008. It is now 8.7 percent, which is the highest annual rate on record. Read the rest of this entry »

Six months after you graduate, those lenders are going to want their money, and that means you may have to manage some serious debt.

I’m up to my eyeballs in it and considering consolidation. It may sound like a scary word for you new borrowers out there, but, like it or not, loan consolidation may be necessary if you’re having a hard time keeping up with your student loan payments. But keep in mind, it’s not right for everybody.

Here are five points you must consider before choosing student loan consolidation.

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College Board® recently found in a recent study that the average student debt from a private school for bachelor’s degree was around $22,380.

In another study, according to the research and advocacy organization Project on Student Debt, in Oakland, California, 10 percent of 2007 and 2008 graduates had accumulated over $40,000 worth of student loan debt. They gathered this data per calculated Federal statistics.

While the students are burdened with the debt, in my opinion, the responsibility also falls upon the financial loan providers and the colleges who connect the students with their loan sharks.

In reality though, prestigious universities are not likely to discourage student loans to afford their hefty tuition rates.

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While it’s not morally right to feel better because of another’s misfortune, this story may have students across the country feel just a bit better about the amount of money they will owe in student loans upon graduation.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Michelle Bisutti, a 41-year-old woman from Columbus, Ohio borrowed $250,000 to pay for medical school in 1999. The debt has since increased to $555,000.

Part of the spiraling effect is the result of her deferring loan payments while she completed her residency, default charges and relentlessly compounding interest rates, according to the Wall Street Journal. While in school, her loans accumulated interest with variable rates ranging from 3 percent to 11 percent.

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Most people think that when students are applying to colleges, they are looking for the most prestigious school; students must want to go to the school that offers the best degrees for their fields. However, this isn’t really the case.

A new study by Public Agenda said that students are more concerned with how much an education will end up costing them than with the prestige associated with each school.

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We go to college to make money in the long run. Sure, we eat Ramon noodles and Hamburger Helper for four years, but we know that after graduation, our money woes will be over and we can eat steak and drink the finest foreign bottled water every day.

Unless, you are like the average graduating college student, and owe $23,200 in student debt.

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Most college students know what it’s like to live for the whole year off the money they made working over the previous summer. Existing on Ramen noodles and peanut butter, they do what they can to make that money last. But what happens when they are tempted by those dangerous credit card offers that are made readily available by the campus cafeteria or outside the football stadium? I remember how easy it was to apply for one after being lured in by the free T-shirts and water bottles.

“Too many college students go off to school without understanding finances,” said Shalonda Jones, a representative of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. “Parents make the mistake of not introducing financial literacy to children at a young age, and most parents are equally clueless as to what it takes to remain financially stable,” she said. “We all know when you’re away from home with a little freedom and money, students tend to take that freedom and lose their heads.” Read the rest of this entry »