COLUMBUS, Ohio --
More than 26,000 students at The Ohio State University will owe debt when they graduate. That number probably isn't surprising, but add it up at universities around the country and the debt from student loans is nearing $1 trillion.
Sara Graf, a junior from Breman, Kyle Strickland, a junior from Columbus, and Shawn O’Meara, a senior from Westlake, will collectively owe $52,000 of that.
On top of that, even though college graduate employment is expected to increase by 3 percent this year, there still are not many jobs for graduating seniors.
Included in the top ten available jobs are retail sales, janitorial, and waiters and waitresses.
Is that why someone gets a college degree?
"I've been hit with the sudden reality of I'm going to have to look for a job after I graduate," said Strickland. "What are my career options from here and what can put me in the best place for career success? And the biggest focus is going to law school or going to grad school and that's something I'm going to have to look at and even four years down the line, I'm going to have to face the same problems and challenges of finding a job."
Wednesday, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown pushed for a bill that would keep interest rates on student loans at 3.4 percent instead of doubling to 6.8 percent, which would change the amount the average student would owe by between $1,000 and $2,000.
He's confident the bill will pass and it wouldn't be such a big deal if the young adults could actually find work with their degrees.
"It’s always about jobs," said Brown. "Student loans matter of course, and the rate of student loans, but putting people to work is really the key."
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