In today's society students need to graduate with degrees in debt management. Debt has become an epidemic on college campuses and many are seeking personal debt consolidation. Here are some statistics from a personal debt consolidation company, Consolidated Credit Counseling Services:
· An astonishing 83% of undergraduates have at least one credit card and $3,072 is the average credit card debt for students.
· Graduates with unmanageable student loan debt is 39%. At least $20,000 of the loan debt is associated with 1/3 of college seniors that graduate.
· Over half of college students who have borrowed money to pay for their education say they feel pressured by their debt.
· 38% of parents with graduating students fear their child might have to move back in with them due to their student loans.
· 44% of college students are clear about the meaning of the budget.
Credit card debt is a growing problem among students. It is easy to overlook this problem when compared to the debt of a student loan. Education cost is so expensive that it forces students to borrow money. Students typically borrow as much as they can, assuming they will have no problems paying money back once they become earning a salary. Students have a bad habit of believing that their higher education will pay dividends with a higher salary, regardless of the type of work they are entering. For instance, it is typical for a schoolteacher to have $30,000 or more in debt when they graduate.
Getting behind on a student loan can become expensive. Not only are you paying the interest that is due, the collection costs can be extremely high for personal debt consolidation. For most of the loans there are no statute of limitations unlike other debts were collectors have only a certain amount of time to collect from you. Student loans could haunt you for the rest of your life. Even in bankruptcy, student loans can be extremely difficult to remove.
Not paying your student loan can exclude you for any academic loan you need in the future. The IRS can seize your income tax refund, your wages could be garnish, and you will find it extremely challenging to catch up and pay off that student loan debt in the future.
Fortunately, I can get you some positive news. If you enter a personal debt consolidation program and are in default, you can make 12 consistent payments that are on time and it will bring your loan out of default. Once you have succeeded in making your payments on time for 12 months, you're late payment will be removed from your credit report.