High tuition costs keeps students away from pursuing careers in education

I'm having second thoughts about going into teaching. How am I going to afford to have a family? Buy a house? My federal loan payment is $326 a month. My private loan payment, after I consolidated, is $300. Had I not consolidated, it would have been $600 or $700 a month. That's on a $34,000 salary. I would be living on the street at that amount. Along with my car payment and auto insurance, I was dropped from my parents' health insurance. It all adds up. It's forcing me to want to go to law school more and more.

--Anthony Daniels
Student

Everyone wants good teachers to educate our youth and yet we're leaving educators with so much debt. I'm seeing people who could be really great teachers, but because of the debt they've left the field. Now that I'm officially on my own, I'm living paycheck to paycheck. I wouldn't be able to afford a mortgage. With groceries and all of my bills and insurance it's kind of scary. And I'm not even supporting a family. My district is really encouraging us to go back for our master's because the first-year teacher pay isn't all that great. A lot of people have expressed concerns about getting through it financially.

--Kristi Uzzo
Second grade teacher

Recent Grads are forced to make sacrifices

I enrolled in grad school to defer my student loans. When you first enroll and fill out the forms, you really just care about getting your tuition and fees paid for. But once you start realizing how much you're going to have to pay back, it doesn't feel the same anymore. There was a time when I thought about changing my major, but I decided to stick it out. Still, when I think about these loans, I think about the burden on my family. I'm borrowing my mother's car; she's sacrificing her vehicle. I'm living somewhere I don't really want to live. There are a lot of things I really want to do but can't. I'd like to travel.

--Woodrow Price
Fifth-grade teacher

My husband and I are both students. He's been taking a loan out every year. He only qualified for financial aid after we got married and had our son. Seventy-five thousand dollars—this is how much we're going to owe. We're hoping that if we suffer a little now, we'll be better off down the line. When we get done with school we want to buy a house, but I think we're going to have problems. With our student loans out and credit card bills, we might not have that chance.

--Zoua Xiong
Student

Parents are desperate to find solutions for their kids

My son Jarrod is a graduate of FSU. He was always on the fast track and graduated in 3 years. My money ran out during his 2nd year and he said, "Don't worry Mom, I'll work it out." He did, but it cost him about $14,000. He has been accepted to Grad School at UCF. He is adamant that he needs to do this. He is working full time trying to pay off some of his large expense from undergrad.

It is very sad to see young people carrying such a large burden before they even get out into the world. I would love to just let my son go to school, but that is not a possibility. He had Bright
Futures in undergrad and it would be very helpful if that was available at the grad level.

Students like my son will not be able to continue pursuing their chosen fields of study with the rising costs of tuition as well as living expenses. By the time he finishes his loan burden could easily be between $70,000 and $100,000. I can't imagine starting out my career with that kind of a burden. How can we get out of this turmoil?

--Debbie Little, FL
Parent

Teachers still feel the strain

I taught sixth grade for two years and during those two years I personally strived to encourage students to seek out and earn a higher education after high school. Many of my students laughed at me because I made less financially as a teacher than their parents who work as managers at local stores or other businesses.

I struggled to find money to fund my higher education and I find myself in debt to the government and banks. I will be 49 years old and $60,000 plus in debt due to acquiring a higher education. I was going to stop after I earned my Bachelor degree in elementary education, but due to the abuse I suffered from administrators I chose to work for my Master degree in Educational Administrative Leadership.

Yes, the high cost of acquiring a higher education deters young people and old alike from attending a university. The cost of credit hours and the textbooks are out of control.

--A teacher

What is 'got tuition?'

With college costs skyrocketing and little help from the government, university students everywhere are having to deal with rising tuition rates on their own. Here at 'got tuition?' students, educators, recent grads and parents will post their stories about their struggles with college debt, and show how legislatures could make a difference with pro higher education funding.