I’m one of those strange people who actually do believe in a bit of subsidized college educations. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all in favor of making a student who had a “D” average in high school and wants to major in art appreciation pay for their education themselves. However I also think that if you were an “A” student and you want to major in medicine or technology or some other profession where there is a need then your education should be subsidized. College educations are expensive and some students need a bit of help paying for it.
Student loans are a popularly unpopular method of paying for a college education. No one really wants to borrow the money because eventually it will have to be paid back. But it’s still a popular way of funding an education.
Currently, there are protesters in the Occupy Wall Street movement that believe that college loans should be “forgiven” that they shouldn’t have to pay the money back because they borrowed more than they can currently afford to pay back, didn’t get their dream job in their dream field, or any of the other thousand excuses that people make when they don’t want to repay borrowed money.
There are some who think that much of this could be avoided by making a G.P.A. requirement part of the loan system. I have a problem with that. You see, it’s a loan, not a scholarship or a grant. The money has to be paid back. To require the borrower to maintain a certain standard is not fair nor is it really the problem. The problem is that people are borrowing money to pay for an education in a field with very limited real world employment potential. Instead of forcing a G.P.A. maybe the answer is to only loan money for certain fields of study. That would make more sense. After all, when you apply for a loan to buy a home, the amount you are eligible to borrow is directly tied to your occupation. There is no difference really. There is a greater probability that someone who has a degree in economics is going to earn more than someone who has a degree in iconography. Banks are more likely to loan money to those with the greatest potential to pay it back. The student loan system should be no different.
I agree that the student loan system needs revamping. I do not agree that requiring a minimum G.P.A. is the way to go.