College costs stretch Vermonters
Toolbox
By BRENDAN McKENNA Staff Writer - Published: June 26, 2005
Paying for college isn't impossible, but it certainly isn't easy.
Bonnie Butler of Wallingford knows how hard it can be. She hasn't been able to contribute much to the college education of her two oldest children, Erin Ware, 28, and Jordan Ware, 22.
"We were not able to help our children at all, other than a couple of small loans," she said.
So both Erin and Jordan had to finance their own schooling, taking out loans to pay their tuition.
"Erin did mostly the standard student loans for her four-year degree in graphic design," Butler said. Jordan went to the Culinary Institute of America, a two-year program. "They ended up owing basically the same amount of money. Certainly they have better-paying jobs than they would have without a degree, but they have to start at the bottom and work their way up in their fields."
She said, "Erin actually has a second job to help pay for her loans. The payments are cutting $2 and more out of each hour's pay."
Butler's biggest concern is that the payments, more than $300 per month for each child, are such a burden that it drops their effective incomes to where it's hard for them to get by.
"It's really below a livable wage. They're not in poverty, going without food or anything, but they're certainly not living the life we all dreamed about," she said. "When they came out, they both went into the job market after college at about $10 per hour. With the loans, that's like trying to survive on an $8-per-hour job that you could get without a college education."
The experience of her two oldest children hasn't soured Butler on the benefits of college, far from it. She already sees Erin starting to move up in her field, and her life is getting easier.
But Butler also said she feels she must caution her third child, Katelyn Ware, 18, who graduated this year, about the burdens of debt.
"Seeing how my oldest two are struggling to pay their loans, I have a different perspective about how I encourage her to approach college. She's a bright girl, but I feel much more strongly about it," Butler said. "College has to be something she absolutely wants. … I can't just say, 'Go to college, it's what you have to do.' I don't want her to step off on that path until she has a clear destination. It's got to be as important as I know it's going to cost in the end."
The situation facing Butler and her children is becoming increasingly common around the state, according to Don Vickers, executive director of the Vermont Student Assistance Corp.
Federal and state budgets are tightening, reducing the grants available for all students, and college costs themselves are continually rising.
"The first thing is, if you want to earn a living wage, you've got to get some education past high school," Vickers said. "But the average debt to get a bachelor's degree has doubled in the last 10 years. Between parents and students, it's probably close to $30,000 per student, and most families have more than one."
Furthermore, Vickers said, federally subsidized loan limits haven't kept pace with the cost of education, forcing more families to turn to more expensive private student loan vendors.
That debt load can have more consequences than just making it difficult for new graduates to get by from month to month. High debt levels can make it difficult for graduates to qualify for home and car loans, at least unless they consolidate their loans.
"If they're forced to go into loan consolidation, instead of paying it off in 10 years they're looking at 25 so they pay a lot more in interest," Vickers said. "They will not have the resources to buy cars, houses or to pay for health care. It's really crippling our financial future."
And things aren't easier for students considering working their way through college.
Terri Brillon-Hayes of Duxbury said her daughter, Khristina Hedding, 20, is stuck in something of a financial Catch-22.
Brillon-Hayes was able to provide for one year of college for her daughter through a severance package she received when her position at the Vermont State Colleges administrative office was eliminated. But since then, it's been difficult.
"I have a child with the motivation and will to push forward for an education, but it's like she has to choose whether to get her education or to keep working," Brillon-Hayes said. "I tried hard to raise her to be independent, so to speak, but she's having a really hard time."
Hedding has a job during the day that pays her enough to afford her own apartment in Middlebury, Brillon-Hayes said, but that also makes it even more difficult for her to get assistance in seeking out financial aid.
And Brillon-Hayes is very leery of loans.
"I'm scared to death about her getting into debt with school loans," Brillon-Hayes said. "If you take out all these student loans and get out of school … What if you have a major loan you have to pay when you're working a 10-cent job?
"I want her to continue her education, but it's frustrating because we just don't know how to manage it. For her, it's a big risk."
And taking federally subsidized student loans for her child isn't in the cards for Brillon-Hayes.
"We really can't stretch our finances any more than they already are," she said. She might consider such loans or refinancing her house – an option a co-worker used – if she didn't have other children who will need an education in the future. "If she were my one and only child that might be an option. But when you're living on the edge as it is, it's not necessarily an option."
Sally Stroup, assistant secretary for postsecondary education in the U.S. Department of Education, said the major focus of the Bush administration this year is increasing the money available for Pell grants, about 80 percent of which go to the lowest income students and families.
"Between federal and state aid, most public colleges are doing pretty well at covering tuition and fees, especially for community colleges," Stroup said. "The value you get there is pretty amazing for what you get educationally.
"The system works pretty good for the average low-income family," she said. "Middle-income (people) are getting a little squeezed in the process. They don't get as much grant aid."
But the lower levels of grants for middle-income families can be partially offset by the tax credits available to help pay for college, she said.
"Those people need to look at the tax code to get all of the education breaks," Stroup said. "Part of the real issue is looking at all of the options, the aid options and the tax options before you say you can't afford to pay for college."
Stroup said she believes the administration's efforts at increasing grants to the poorest students – even at a level of only $50 per year – is one of the best directions to push.
"We worry about all students, but the administration's focus in this budget is really the low-income students," she said. "Without federal and state grants for education these people just do not go.
"I'm a 'glass half-full' kind of person. Every dollar in the program is good and it will probably help some students that need the extra 50 bucks. The government puts up $70 billion per year in aid. If tuition came down a little, that would help the most."
Stroup agreed, though, that college and post-high school training are becoming increasingly necessary.
"We're seeing some of the statistics coming out of (the Department of) Labor," she said. "About 70 to 80 percent of the jobs require some post-secondary education. Of course some of those are technical that require two-year programs."
The federal government is also proposing increasing aid to students who have committed to mathematics and science degrees, fields that are both increasingly necessary and increasingly rare for students to specialize in.
"We're very concerned about the lack of numbers of people going into those fields," she said. "Particularly teaching young kids. You can't wait until their junior year of high school. … Then it's a little late."
Stroup said the government envisions a $100 million endowment for scholarships, with $50 million in government funds and $50 million coming from private industry, for upperclassmen in college pursuing math and science degrees.
"We're actually proposing a whole new program to give extensive grant aid to persons in math and science, juniors and seniors who have made the decisions to go into those fields," she said. "And there is $7,500 in loan forgiveness to graduates who teach math and science in needy or low-income school districts. For most of them that will take care of their student loans."
Contact Brendan McKenna at brendan.mckenna@rutlandherald.com.
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