Huh S (pg)1

Sungjin Huh
HELA 10
Block 7
Mr. Geist
Student loans and debt Social issue
Student debt is one of the largest social issues in the United States today. Student debt is
affecting around 50% of students that go to college after their high school year and it can affect
many others in the future unless somethings are changed for the better of both the schools and
the students. Student debt is a financial crisis to young adults that leads to the bankruptcy of
young adults for multiple years as they struggle to pay off the enormous amount of debt that
would accumulate more and more throughout the students early years. Some even say that it is
necessary so that schools can earn the amount of money needed to run. But is there anything that
can be changed to help the students whose future is relying on college and student loans? Some
may say that tuition for colleges and universities are required for the schools to remain stable
economically, but there are colleges in Europe that are stable even though they have free tuition
for students as long as they can earn and prove themselves to get into the school. The schools
should adapt to a different way where tuition is not extremely high, because if student tuition
stopped requiring the enormous amount of money it would lead to students not having to request
loans therefore cutting off the factor of student debt.
In the past years student debt has grown at an atrocious rate due to student loans. A small
percentage of students will have their parents pay for their tuition or may have special
connections to get into colleges or Universities. But there are always people who may be more
zealous or more intelligent than that particular person, but he or she may not have the resources

Huh S (pg)2

that the other may have meaning that she or he has to go through the pain of student loans which
later leads to debt. The reliable New York Times article states that around 70% of students will
go to a public college or universities and be edified in the United States and will ask for loans
around $25,000 to $100,000. This large amount of money will most likely not be paid off in 1
year; it will take a large amount of time to pay off the debt that accumulates along with the
amount of interest that adds to that total. Student debt is also one of the only types of debt that
cannot be exempted from bankruptcy while many other different types of debt are exempted if
the person reaches bankruptcy. Since 1982 student tuition has increased so much that it is now
almost twice as much as Medicare making this issue extremely abject.
There is no doubt that this social issue is beginning to affect too many young adults and
many more in the future. The United States needs to find a solution to this issue that some
countries do not even experience because of their own academic systems. But still the United
States are doing things here and there to try and help students that are in debt even now Obama
our president is trying to find solutions for the large tuition fee in the United States to earn an
education from a college or university. A program called IBR was started in 2007 where the
student could pay off only 15% of their own income to the debt, but after 25 years, or 10 years if
you are working a public service job, the person is exempted from the debt. The number of
people in debt may cause harmful effect in the economy in the future, because with the large
amount of money student debt is, young adults will not be able to contribute into the economy as
much as someone who does not have debt.
Never the less student debt has grown enormously over the years and the country needs
new and inventive ways to pugnaciously combat this issue. As a solution the United States could
adapt to other countries ways of getting into colleges or universities where in some countries

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tuition is not required. The fact is that this issue has gotten out of hand and it needs a solution
seeing how the total accumulated amount of student debt has risen to an enormous 1 trillion
dollars, this large amount of money is able to support 19.3 million families in the United States!
The government or the schools need to bolster a solution on this crisis, and fast before this
becomes a larger problem than it already is.

Huh S (pg)4

Work cited:
"Student debt and the economy." New York Times 10 Mar. 2013: 10(L). Global Issues In Context. Web. 11 Feb.
2015.
Carey, Kevin. "Helping to Lift the Burden of Student Debt." New York Times 25 Jan. 2015: 1(L). Global Issues In
Context. Web. 11 Feb. 2015
Renner, Edward. "STUDENT DEBT MIGHT BE NEXT BIG FINANCIAL CRISIS." St. Petersburg Times [St.
Petersburg, FL] 18 Nov. 2011: 13A. Global Issues In Context. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.
Dynarski, Susan. "Where college ratings hits the wall." New York Times 21 Sept. 2014: 7(L). Global Issues In
Context. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.
"Student debt and the economy." New York Times 10 Mar. 2013: 10(L). Global Issues In Context. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

Criteria

Description

Points

Content

Clear argument

x2

Huh S (pg)5

and Ideas

Support uses ethos, logos, and pathos

4 or more credible sources used

Antithesis addressed and refuted

10/10 Sydney M strong claim that is

supported throughout. Maybe a little
more pathos
8/10 PEER Ashton- no antithesis, sources,
not sure about ethos, logos, pathos
9/10 Self grade
/10 final grade from teacher

Organization

Effective introduction and hook

Paragraphs are organized around claim

x2

statements

Transitions are used between

10/10 Sydney M stays surrounded

paragraphs

around same topic

Sequence is logical

8/10 PEER Ashton- organized, some

Conclusion leaves reader with powerful final statement

sentences are hard to follow

9/10 Self grade
/10 final grade from teacher

Voice

The writer connects with the audience

through the intriguing focus of the topic,

x2

selection of relevant details, and the use of

natural, engaging language, including the

10/10 Sydney M Stays focused on topic

use of vocabulary.

and is a good topic

10/10 PEER Ashton - yes
10/10 Self grade
/10 final grade from teacher

Diction/

Five vocabulary words are used

Syntax/

naturally and effectively.

1
=

x2

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Conventions

Writing is all in 3rd person .

Quotations are embedded and cited.

8/10 Sydney M citations need for some

0-3 Errors in grammatical structure

information. Some grammatical errors so

read through
7/10 PEER Ashton- add quotes and
embed/site them, add 5 vocab words
8/10 Self grade
/10 final grade from teacher

Publication/

rough draft ready on Wed 2/18

Appearance

typed and double-spaced

Times New Roman; 12 pt.

proper MLA formatting; heading that

x2

9.5/10 Sydney M dont forget to do

includes student name, instructors name,

header with last name and page number

class, and date

8/10 PEER Ashton- add Mr. Geists name

in heading , and works cited

works cited page is appended.

9/10 Self grade

/10 final grade from teacher