On April 23, 2015, I am a motivational speaker for the Colorado Association of Administrators of Student Loans and Accounts Receivables( now that's a mouthful).
This eager group of student loan administrators from across colorado love to laugh at their stress. It's a good thing, because there is a lot of it. Loan default rates have gone up, loan rates have gone down and the paperwork involved in getting a student a loan has increased.
Most of the audience are working with students with loans in default to help them avoid going to collections. The perkins loan is a federal loan program administored by the loan advisors that students should pay back when they graduate and get a job.
The challenge is that school tuition has increased; a 20 year old student can have upwards of $100, 000 or more in debt upon graduation. This loan is usually amortized over 10 years, to make it more reasonable to pay off. Many obstacles can get in the way of a college graduate paying off a student loan.
One if finding a job in their feild that pays well enough to pay off student debt. Other students discover college (or the program they are enrolled in ) is just not for them, and they default of payments. A student is also not entitled to financial aid if they drop out of school, thus if they have received any grants they must pay that money back.
Some students today suffer from a strong sense of entitlement whereby they feel they are entitled to their education without having to pay for a loan. Many also feel their parents will foot the bill, and are surprized to find out they won't.
The student loan administrators overall role is to help students plan their finances to pay off student debt. It is a great overall life education to understand money and to be responsible for the contracts you sign and they financial arrangements you make.
It is also challenging today to influence college students to pay attention. Many have multiple preferences for how they like to communicate. Some students don't event listen to voicemail. Thus, these technologies act as gatekeepers.
I am looking forward to being a motivational speaker for the Colorado Student Loan Administrators with the closing motivational speech, This would be Funny if it wasn't Happening to Me!
