Alex Friedrich
I picked up this Minnesota State University Student Association handout on part-time students and their debt — I think it was at a recent legislative hearing — and found some of the stories pretty powerful.
The handout is above, but here are a few snippets that struck me:
From MSU-Moorhead:
“It’s a constant, sickening pressure to know I will be in crushing debt for the rest of my life repaying these loans while I raise my daughter by myself with very minimal child support. … I will have a poorer academic experience than I would like, because I will be working more than I would like to …”
From Winona State:
“I work until 1 a.m. and get up at 7 a.m. to go to class. It makes it hard to focus on both work and school, it’s hard to stay awake to do what I need to do for class … and it’s hard to stay awake for a 10-hour shift when you don’t get enough sleep.”
Again from MSU-Moorhead:
“As a single mother … I will note that grants are slanted against (a)’non-traditional’ student like myself, who had some college earlier in life, and then returned when I actually knew what I wanted to do, then was turned down due to high credit load.”
