Nearly all students that have pursued higher education accumulate loan debt after graduating from the college. Once the debt has accumulated, it will definitely be more taxing for social work graduates than it would be for those who did courses from other fields. The reason for this is that social work graduates, as a rule, receive lower salaries than the rest (Johnston & Roten, 2015). Forgiving student their loans can be earned by being employed in public service offices or making payments through income-contingent payment arrangements for a longer period.
None of these ways are quick or easy (Lang, 2015). The framework that is currently in place for making repayments is for a shorter period, which implies a large proportion of money has to be deducted from the salaries. Student loan forgiveness is considered when students are relieved from the burden of paying loans. In reality, most MSW students do not qualify to be released from their loan debts except they find their spaces in specific public-service careers. If the students are not eased from this burden, they will end up suffering when they can be forgiven instead (Lynch, Best, Gutierrez, & Daily, 2018).
Either way, another method of making repayment can be availed for such students so that they are not burdened the more in life. The government should consider discharging loans for these students since in practicality repayment is much difficult for them based on their low incomes. Where the level of educational debt is not restricted to a specific section of the student population, the consequences are extremely altered for those who decide careers, such as social work, in which salaries are reduced.
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Educational debt is also a factor in discouraging students from enrolling in public service jobs (Fakunmoju & Kersting, 2016). As a result, it heightens the burden on a workforce that is already encountering challenges of finance. The current student debt is the highest to have been reached in the United States, with a projected 40 million individuals having an outstanding balance of $29,000 averagely. With student loans heightening, debt-saddled students and those who have graduated are seeking for any method that may ease them from this burden. Under certain situations, federally sponsored student loans, for example, Direct subsidized loans and federal Perkins Loans, can be cleared or forgiven (Hilllman & Orosz, 2017).
The government ought to present these opportunities to those students who graduate from MSW degrees. A survey report that related education debt levels with salary amounts within a year determined that 54 percent of participants who received less than &20,000 had educational debt that was much more than their twelve-month salaries. 25 percent of the responded had debt that doubled their yearly salaries. Moreover, about a quarter (22 percent) termed their debt burden as “unmanageable (Fakunmoju & Kersting, 2016).” Those respondents that had such debts have probably left school not long ago, while some are females, single or African America. 65 percent participants that found their debts unmanageable received less than $50,000 annually, related with 54 percent of those that had manageable debt.
Lang (2015), a professor at School of Social Work, Harvard University conducted a study of BSC and MSW graduates to comprehend the amount they paid for their degrees and the debt burden that they had accumulated after graduation. She also sought to establish how social work educators shape and mentor students so that they do not accumulate debt to a point that it is not manageable. A serious nation trend exists whereby more students utilize a credit card, particularly during their present recession (Johnston & Roten, 2015). It is quite challenging for them to receive private educational loans. 11.1 percent of the BSW graduates had at least $10,000 in the credit card. Among those that utilized their credit cards to finance their BSW education, 45 percent of them revealed that they needed these cards at all times to meet their educational expenses.
In the situation of MSW colleagues, about 22 percent showed that credit cards are very significant to meet their educational needs (Lynch et al., 2018). 16 percent of them have not less than $10,000 debt by the time they graduate. The only advantage of federal education loans is that the student is given a 6-month grace period to begin payment. Social work students are entitled to some loan forgiveness plans once they remitted at least a section of their student loans (Fakunmoju & Kersting, 2016). However, the credit cards do not have forgiveness and the students are obliged to pay back the debt straight away they leave school. One of the traumatizing things that occur to students with loans is being embarrassed and harassed with phone calls or threatening messages.
The loan grantors do this in a bid to collect the debt. The bank agents keep pestering students over the loans they owe the government. This occurs when they even do have good jobs where they can earn their income and pay their loans. Private lenders and the Federal government contract agencies privately to concentrate on collect unsettled debts from students (Lang, 2015). They are not allowed to harass anyone even as they seek to retrieve the debts. Unfortunately, in cases where the agents are not following strict guidelines, the students feel out of place through the way they are handled.
Another consequence that comes directly to the students is the increased costs that come with taking longer to pay. The longer it takes a student to settle off student loans, the more interests accumulate, which in turn increases the general costs (Hilllman & Orosz, 2017). Moreover, the students also incur penalties or late fees that accrue when they delay with the loan. The federal government assumes that the students have the responsibility of paying the money they owe and they cannot escape it. In some situations, even being declared bankrupt may not exclude the student from paying off their debts unless they can prove excessive hardship (Fakunmoju & Kersting, 2016).
This situation is stressful to the family members of the student who have loan debts, as they suffer psychologically. The students may also frustrate their chances of another loan in case they intend to further their education. Under some situations, the student can be entitled to loan postponement. This implies that they can delay their payments to ease the tensions of life. The family of this graduate may have many needs that have to be met when unfortunately he spends most of the money to pay loans (Hilllman & Orosz, 2017). Defaulting to pay the loans for unclear reasons may jeopardize the student’s right to earn future grants for his or her education. Therefore, the graduates of MSW degrees must always strive not to have a bad financial decision in the present, even with the little finances, that may risk their future.
The students may also face the risk of having their wage taken without their will. The Federal government can arrange with the employers so that they have their many paid directly from the graduate’s salary. They already have the authority of the court, as they are allowed to deduct up to 10 percent of the graduates’ disposable wages (Johnston & Roten, 2015). Disposable wages would be what remains after normal deductions such as payroll duties. The family members or friends who signed as guarantors for the student are also threatened to lose their money to pay off these debts. The family members who co-sign for the student’s private loans are obligated in situations where the student default payment. It is not just the student that is responsible (Lynch et al., 2018).
Parents or grandparents could face the same penalties as the students. Some of these debt collectors could even go to an extent of getting to the assets of the family. The graduates from MSW degrees also lose the chance to purchase a car or buy a house in the future in case they default the payment of the student loan. This is because they are portrayed as defaulters and cannot be trusted with other loans to purchase anything. The borrowing rates heighten substantially if the graduates have a bad credit score (Johnston & Roten, 2015). They must always maintain a good credit score. Therefore, students must be careful not to default on their loans or spoil their credit.
In conclusion, the federal government should strive to relieve students from MSW degrees from paying these student loan debts through a number of ways. It has the power and potential to forgive students from paying their loans, reduce interest rates and promote students loans that are given based on income. Instead of promising loans, the government should focus on providing college education. Many students will appreciate this move by the government so that they do not accumulate student loan debts. Therefore, it is critical for the government to step in and salvage this situation, particularly for the MSC students. The government should relieve them from the burden of student loans. It is significant that students graduating from MSC field to be allowed to provide for themselves and their families.
