OPINION: A Debt-Free Student’s Thoughts on Student Loans

I will openly admit: I was fortunate enough to not be in a situation where I'm dealing with debt. My parents, and most of my friends' parents, were willing to take on the financial burden of college in order to allow their children to focus on education. So I'm not here to go on some rant about how much money I owe and the struggles I have to go through because I chose to go to college.

But I am interested in the broader picture here. Clearly, this is an issue for a huge number of students. What really caught my attention wasn't so much that student loan debt was trending, but what happened when I followed the link.

Normally, the link will bring up a number of news stories related to the topic. 'LA Lakers' leads to stories about Nick Young becoming a free agent, 'Bear Grylls' leads to his newest survival show. 'Student loan debt' leads to...debt consolidation and payoff assistance. Scrolling down, there are some results about parental reactions to their children's debt, but the immediate focus is definitely on debt services.

To me, this indicates that student loan surveys aren't so much a hot topic, as a lot of students are looking for help not that they've graduated. And I do think that's sad and, as somebody who will be paying for grad school and likely facing that situation in a few years, rather terrifying. A college degree is increasingly expected to secure a competitive job, but some people just aren't able to afford it.

One thing I will not do is argue about government subsidizing. I believe that having the government pay for every student to receive higher education is a nice idea, but an impossible one, for reasons I won't get into here. But that raises the question: what other solutions do students have?

Obviously, you can seek help from family and friends. You can try to negotiate tuition with your university. You can work your way through college, although this presents a whole new set of challenges in itself. Or you can look for scholarships.

I loved this last idea. Did you know you can get a scholarship for being left-handed? Or tall? Or of Welsh descent? So I applied for scholarships. And I got turned down for every single one. The system is bizarre, with entries ranging from a lengthy essay to a random drawing, qualifications ranging from open to anyone to open only to students with a specific last name living in a certain area. I had so much difficulty finding scholarships that I qualified for (there are a number of websites to help with this, but none of them are particularly good) that I eventually gave up.

So what's my proposed solution to the student loan crisis? An organized and useful database of scholarships. Scholarships with legitimate, reasonable requirements. More university tuition assistance. Random people chipping in to help out, with a student they know personally or by donating to a particular school. Little ways to provide funding to kids who deserve and need it, so that when they graduate, they have a manageable loan and the confidence to handle it.

All of that said, anyone who wants to help send me to graduate school can contact me at...