FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Research on how to pay for higher education should be just as thorough as the research that goes into deciding on which college a student goes to.
“I think that’s why nationally, we see more students assuming credit card debt versus taking out their student loans that are available to them,” says UC Merced Financial Wellness program founder and manager, Charah Coleman.
Coleman says the stress that comes with debt can impact a students education.
“We encourage students to be students first and not have to try to work different jobs and worry about working as much,” she said. “Student loans can be a good resource to leverage if you’re a college student instead of taking out credit card debt to pay for your educational expenses.”
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Typically, student loans carry a lower interest rate and can include borrower benefits.
“Depending on what employer you work for, they may be forgiven,” Coleman said. “There’s a lot more value to that, and you also don’t have to pay them off until you graduate or stop attending college.”
In addition to planning your expenses, budget your time as well.
“It’s hard when a student has to work a full-time class schedule and still work one or two jobs to pay off their credit cards,” Coleman said. “It becomes very stressful. It eats up time they could be spending studying.”
Coleman says before deciding on whether to take out a student loan, speak with the financial aid office on campus or a student loan servicer and familiarize yourself with what payments will look like after college.
“You have to borrow frugally to make sure you can afford those payments after college,” Coleman said. “A lot of the times, they’re manageable and there are payment options that you might not know about going into that debt.”
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