Student Debt Analysis

The issue of student debt affects so many people worldwide on a day to day basis. As of 2015, student debt is more than $1.1 trillion dollars (Cook, 2015). This crisis of student debt that has risen overtime has caused major debate and discussion to families, policy experts, and politicians (Cook, 2015). As a result of trying to attain a career, students that are not financially capable of supporting their education and have no choice but to acquire student loans that will in turn become student debt. The impacts of student debt are seen to affect each individual differently depending on their financial and mental status. Additionally, the type of college each student attends will determine how dramatic their debt will be (Cook, 2015).
Students
Though these loans help individuals financially through their education, they in turn lead to stress and worries related to repayment (Walsemann, Gee, & Gentile 2015). An article regarding student debt and mental health effects found that student loans were associated with poorer psychological functioning and parental wealth (Lim, Heckman, Letkiewicz, & Montalto, 2014). Compared with this information, it was stated in a different article that seeking financial help in college can be a hassle for some students. Those students that are not receiving financial help, are generally more stressed regarding the issue of student debt because they have no one to educate them on repayment processes or just about student debt or loans in general. Given the financial stress students face, these results suggest that increasing students’ knowledge on student debt may be an effective way to improve students overall well-being and mental health (Lim, Heckman, Letkiewicz, & Montalto, 2014). Another thing to keep in mind when researching the mental health effects from student debt is that practitioners have had to deal with clients who have financial problems that impact their cognitive, emotional, and relational well-being (Archuleta, Dale, & Spann, 2013). This shows how severely student debt is affecting individuals. This article also portrayed the cost of tuition fees including room and board averaging around $17, 131 for in-state public institutions and $28,500 for private colleges and universities (Archuleta, Dale, & Spann, 2013). Between all three articles you can see how the high cost of a college education truly impacts ones overall well-being and mental