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Nowadays it is more about managing the College
or University Loan and trying to find ways of
servicing the estimated £25,000 ($45,000) amount
of debt per student. This is appalling.
Youngsters have enough on their plate to start
with without struggling to cope with a financial
millstone of this size hanging around their
neck.
The knock on effect of this is actually
harming the way we look at financial management
and also the educational prospects of future
generations.
Two things are shaping the future workers and
leaders of tomorrow’s industry. The amount, cost
and financial debt of going to university and
how many different credit cards they can lay
their hands on to help fund their overall
shortfall.
Of course whenever there is a demand for
something then there is the corresponding supply
of what can be best described as financial
temporary first aid. The trouble is that it is
First Aid of the worst sort and should actually
be only considered as a means of last resort.
The feeding frenzy that is the never ending
sales pitch of the Credit Card Companies during
“Freshers” week at most Colleges would leave
most people sleepless if they had the remotest
idea of the long term implications or the damage
that this is actually causing.
A recent survey in the UK by one of the
leading Banks (hmmnnn…. an unbiased research
study obviously) came up with the following
findings:
The survey, which questioned sixth formers,
students and graduates, showed that sixth
formers were more worried about debt than about
their studies, with 71% saying they were
concerned about making ends meet and 60%
admitting to worrying about failing their exams.
It also went on to report that an increasing
number of this year's new students are planning
to work their way through university to ward off
high levels of debt, the survey found, with 87%
of freshers hoping to get a part-time job. The
report then also stated that:
“Just over half of current students admitted
being concerned about the amount of debt they
were in, and one in five said they had
considered dropping out of university and
finding paid work.”
This is appalling. The way things are going
it will not be too long before some enterprising
Financial Institution will be providing Savings
Plans for women the moment they become pregnant!
I know in a lot of cases we are there already
but saddling youngsters with large amounts of
debt when they are mostly still struggling with
coming to terms with living their lives on their
own just seems madness to me.
With large, unmanageable and financially
prohibitive interest rates, some of these Credit
Card Companies get what they deserve when they
post mounting bad debt provisions.
The trouble is that they then claw it back
from the rest of us.
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