"A BIT GRAY"- Affording Higher Education in the US

Perhaps, as a good old friend said, Life without problems will simply be too insignificant....


We cannot escape circumstances, problems, and other life's turmoils. But there is always a light of hope at the end. I will use this space to talk about higher education in the US, with a great emphasis in middle income students, those of us who have to work while attending college or universities and survive the system in hopes of keeping our sanity, yes this article was written for you...

Have you ever gone to a job interview with your degree from a public school and were told the phrase "we will call you after we review applications", and you leave from there with the feeling that PEPITO from the private school got the job!, yes it happens to many of us graduates from US public colleges. Many of us were lucky enough to obtain scholarships for the first years of schooling, but what about the rest, how much quality education can you provide for yourself if you have to work full time during college years? or even if you go in debt to obtain higher education. The education system of the US is flawed, if you have parents that have decent earnings forget about financial aid, is better to be a burden for the government, indirectly to afford higher education means you must lie to the system.


 Private loans are even more discouraging to even think you can afford education. Yes, you could probably obtain a loan. Most banks will loan students money for college. Students borrow thousand upon thousands of dollars for their education. The problem with private loans is that their interest rates are rather high. This means that the percentage of the money you have to pay back is much larger than the government grants. Therefore, the fewer private loans (with banks) you own, the better. The way to get private loans is through your university. They will initiate the process between the lender (bank) and the guarantor (you).


Don't get me wrong with this information I am providing, is not that is impossible to afford and get higher education as a middle income student, but definitely it is a burden to do so. Perhaps what would be a bit gray for many of us who want to continue our education, is that the most viable way to obtain this is via getting in debt for it. My concern is why is higher education so expensive in the US, what is the real business behind college and university tuitions? 


There many options to consider, there are Graduate Stafford Loan, subsidized which is when the government pays the interest rate or you while in college, PLUS LOAN which is based on your credit scores, and Pell grants, you name it all with one word COSTLY. 


Enough complaining about affording higher education in the US, I guess the system makes it very clear we must sacrifice ourselves and our budgets to obtain it!