John Kim, sophomore business major, is worried about the amount of student debt he’s taken during his time at NSU.
“It bothers me a lot about the debt I have right now. I am paying some of it back with my paychecks from work, but it does not seem like it is going down at all,” Kim said. “I feel like it affects my mental health because I think about it quite often and the burden that I have from it.”
In the United States, students collectively owe more than $1.727 trillion, according to statistics published on March 3 by Melanie Hanson, research analyst at EducationData.org.
Madhavi Menon, professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at NSU’s College of Psychology, thinks student loans have more impact after students graduate, when you start paying back the loan.
“I am not sure every student is ruminating over the loans they have to pay when they graduate, but it can affect students during college. The difficulties arise if things don’t go according to plan and you don’t get the kind of job you were planning to get to pay back your loan,” Menon said. “You have a prevailing sense of perceived failure and it is problematic. It starts negatively impacting you.”
Isabela Serna, senior legal studies major, is not stressed about her student loans because they helped her get the education she wouldn’t get elsewhere, she said.
“I come from Colombia, and my mom is a single mom head of household. I didn’t want my mom to worry about coming up with that money. Almost anyone that wants to study can, which is different from where I came from,” Serna said
Menon said a lot of students think an education loan is a positive loan. However, it is linked with the development of the prefrontal cortex, which is what governs decision-making.
“It is not like you get the loan to buy fancy shoes or anything. But at the end of the day, you need to say whatever loan you are taking, can you pay it back?” Menon said. “As 18 years old, we are not really looking so far ahead. The prefrontal cortex is only fully developed and mature by the time we are 21 or 22 years old.”
Menon said loans can affect decision-making in the future.
“Depending on the person, it is going to determine the kind of job you take, where you choose to live, when are you going to ‘settle down,’ getting married or having children. It has a domino effect,” Menon said.
Serna notices how students around her pay for college and how it impacts them.
“My boyfriend’s parents set up a fund for him, and he does not stress over paying for college. It puts us in different positions when making life decisions. He is not worried, but for me, I am always thinking about that money aspect,” Serna said.
Menon said student loans affect more first-generation college students.
“First-generation students may apply for a loan or grant in a field that is not going to give ‘the power’ for them to pay back the loan, which really increase the stress levels,” Menon said. “If you are going to get a loan and you plan to major in engineering, the chances are higher that you are potentially going to be able to pay off that loan than if you are majoring in the liberal arts.”
Menon explained why universities struggle to have a solution for the ongoing student debt problem.
“There are universities that are tuition-free, but it is not always possible for all schools to offer those sorts of means because at the end of the day the university also has to stay afloat,” Menon said. “It makes a dilemma in terms of what we can do. It is something that needs to be tackle at a much more macrosystemic level.”
If students have extensive issues with student debt that may affect their mental health, there are ways to seek professional help.
The NSU Center for Student Counseling and Well-Being provides student counseling sessions partnered with Henderson Health to ensure mental and physical well-being for NSU students.
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