This is a part in a series of articles covering the issue of student loans. In this piece, the Ghostwriter shared their own conclusions on what they took away from the Ghostwriter’s investigation on student loans. For more articles, see Student Loans: An Investigative Report.

By Andy Dunn & Ethan Walshe
Staff Writer & Editor-in-Chief

Over the course of this investigation into student loans, we’ve learned more than we could have imagined about the process, the national situation, and other students’ opinions on student loans.

What has become apparent to us is that students who go through this process hear advice from everyone involved, from parents to counselors to friends to distant relatives and the last thing you want to hear is more advice.

But, the problem is, when it comes to financing college, ignorance can be dangerous and expensive.

Such ignorance can be quite common however. Too little information is given to students regarding the realities and specifics of student loans. It has become the role of the guidance department to provide resources on these matters to students, but we feel they are not active enough in ensuring that students utilize them.

It’s a fine line for the guidance department between providing information and giving financial advice, something they cannot legally provide to students.

We feel the guidance department should explore more active, perhaps mandatory ways, to get financial information relayed to the student body. It shouldn’t be a voluntary action to be financially educated.

The problem here, is the question of responsibility. Whose job is it to ensure that students are educated on these matters. Does it fall to guidance? Or, should the burden be placed on colleges and the financial institutions that give out these loans?

The reality is that it is not in the interest of banks  to be thorough in their relaying of information. They are here to make money, and they will regardless of whether or not a student can pay off their loan.

Colleges do provide information on loans, but that information usually comes far too late in the process, when a student has already decided where they want to attend.

One overwhelmingly common answer we received from many sources is the responsibility to be educated financially on college falls on the student and their family.

There are so many elements in the college process that it is understandable that a student can forget finances somewhere along the line. However, it is a dangerous thing to forget. It will impact that student for far more than the four or so years that they attend college.

At the end of the day, it is very much a personal decision where a student goes to college, but the fact of the matter is that more than just the name of the school or the perceived value should be considered when making final decisions. Too often students focus on prestige rather than practicality.

As Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric and UMass Amherst graduate said “face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be.”

Don’t be disillusioned when making your college decision. Loans are a serious matter, and should be afforded the respect that the deserve.