It doesn’t matter how many economists warn us; non-graduating students simply dismiss the possible recession as a remote concern. It’s more of an annoyance than a problem, really.
After all, we tend to think the recession only really affects those stepping into the troubled job market.
Or maybe we worry sometimes ““ if we’re lucky enough ““ that the weakening dollar will put a $15 price tag on British hamburgers while we travel through Europe.
But as long as we’re here on campus, nothing can touch us.
Well, that is true as long as you can find a way to pay your tuition, housing, groceries, utilities, textbooks and all those random fees listed on your BAR accounts under weird acronyms, all while acing your exams and writing award-winning term papers.
Open your eyes. Recessions routinely bring cuts to education. So paying for all of this stuff without a lot of help from Sallie Mae may be unfeasible.
Next year, University of California fees will increase 7.4 percent. With inflation, living expenses will likely go up as well.
This means that if you live off campus, the financial aid office estimates that your expenses will increase from $22,008 to $23,001. (It’s probably not $23,000 because of that dollar bag of Cheetos in your shopping cart. Put those back on the shelf.)
If you live on campus, that figure is even higher: an increase from $23,976 to $25,119. Already adjusting for inflation, students pay roughly 260 percent more than they would have in the 1990-91 school year for the same quality of education. That counts as one more reason to want to go back to the days of “Clarissa Explains it All.”
But for those of us facing another year of increased costs without our parents’ checkbooks by our sides, a possible recession proves even more problematic than this.
The credit crisis has forced banks to raise interest rates on student loans and to make it harder to qualify.
Even many private loan companies are going bankrupt.
Because of the housing slump, parents will find it much harder to use home equity to pay for school.
And as unemployment rises, many sources of summer employment (all those super fun and relaxing retail and restaurant gigs) are tightening their workforce and hiring laid-off adults rather than college-aged kids.
Though these issues may seem minor now, they are a signal of a much larger, looming problem.
This doesn’t mean that there is no hope.
A few economists, as always, refuse to admit that these symptoms belie a big problem. You can always side with them.
Or you can try to transfer to Harvard or Yale. Both schools are upping their grants and lowering the need for loans, which means they may become even more affordable than public education.
More realistically, you can write a letter to the governor, voicing your concerns.
Or you can protest the budget cuts, like nearly 2,000 people in Sacramento did last Monday, and hope that the state government listens.
Then you can apply for yet another loan, another mindless part-time job or, better yet, a scholarship.
Perhaps the best option of all is to look for an internship for next year, even if unpaid, that will prepare you for the job market so that you can pay back those loans (you know, the ones with the increasing interest rates) right away with a job you love.
When it all comes down to it, though, your education will always pay you back. So as you sign those loan papers and turn your life over to Sallie Mae, you can still know that it will be worth it in the end.
If you’d like to help Carrie pay off her ex ponentially increasing bills, e-mail her at cjones@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu