By Sarah Kate Bennett
Contributing Writer
Caroline Bennett, a junior communication studies major at Samford University, is stressed about student loan debt. Bennett said she is starting to think about how she will pay back almost $80,000 in student loans once she graduates.
“It’s really important to have knowledge of how to manage finances before going into college because as soon as you graduate you’re most likely going to be on your own and already in the process of paying back student loans,” Bennett said.
In a news release on eureka.net, Lu Fan, assistant professor of personal financial planning at the University of Missouri, concluded that only 30 percent of borrowers had received financial education about student loans. In addition, only 40 percent of borrowers had received financial influence from their parents.
Bennett said she was not surprised. She said that universities, both public and private, need to better educate students on how to pay back student loan debts. She said it would relieve the stress put on college students.
“I only had a three-week class on personal finance during my sophomore year of high school. Colleges, especially expensive ones like Samford, should require its students to take a personal finance course. This should be just as important as classes like Cultural Perspectives and Communication Arts. Samford needs to think of students who haven’t received any financial education and who aren’t going to know how to handle the stress once they graduate.”
