College Loans Should Never Be Your First Choice. Here's Why

College Loans Should Never Be Your First Choice. Here's Why

If you are going to college, one of the worst things you can do is take out a school loan. This comes from personal experience. By the time I was out of college, I owed over $100,000. Here are a few ways you can avoid making the same mistakes that I made.

Not too many years ago, going to college was a thing that many people did as a form of work. What I mean is that they could go to school indefinitely and be paid by the federal government through the Pell Grant. This would cover not only the work that they did at their university but would also provide a bit of extra cash for them to live on.

Today in our troubled economy, we have a situation where people are looking for every and any way to get a better paying job. Perhaps the job that they have is running out. Maybe they are looking to make more money. The deal is that the days of going to college for money is really over. Now people are looking at returning to a university in order to make their lives better in our recessive economy.

Too many people believe that going to college is going to be the save all cure all for their situation. If they can just get that degree, if they can just finish school, they will have the ability to get a better job. It is getting tougher to qualify for the better paying positions because there are more applicants and fewer jobs.

The problem is that our economy is not allowing people to simply graduate and get employment. With rates so high, workers are lucky to keep the jobs that they have had for 20 years. This is why thinking you will be employed after college is an easy possibility.

Getting a student loan is an even worse choice. If you take out too much, and you are unable to pay it back, it can adversely affect your credit rating. Having the money to complete a degree is the overall goal. You need the funds in order to get your degree.

Furthermore, if you do not apply for other forms of college cash like scholarships or grants, you could be on your way to bankruptcy before you apply for your first job. There are many better solutions that simply taking out a school loan that you will have to pay back alter.

The best thing you can do is try to get a full time job while going to school. This may be impossible if you are a family man or woman trying to make it on your own. In fact, the bravest people in the world tend to be those that are trying to make it on their own. Single moms and dads that are working full time jobs are at the top of this list because they are also trying to make the situation for their family better now and in the future.

However, in the end, by getting the Pell Grant and a couple scholarships, at the end of 4 years, you will have no loans to pay off and will be able to focus on getting a full time career related to your degree without the fear of an additional payment.