Grad woes of loan rangers

When it comes to higher education, many colleges have such steep fees that students can ill afford them.  Many end up taking a student loan that may take a few years to pay back. Most students pay 12 to 15 percent interest on their loans.  As the incidence of students applying for loans is increasing, we find that they can be quite burdensome for some. Some find it hard to pay back or have regrets of having given up on their dreams of further studies.

Many feel the pinch, as paying it back while juggling daily expenditure is a big ask. Jonathan Livingston Balasingh, an information science engineering student from Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering says, “Since I’m a student with a loan, it is evident that I’m not very well off. I’m not used to spending a lot of money. I’m very sure I’ll be able to pay it off after a few years of working as I will continue to live like a student with a low standard of living. With the right balance, I personally feel that not many things need to be sacrificed but at the same time, sacrifices are always needed when in debt. At the moment, since I’m studying, I don’t feel the pressure. In fact, it motivates me to do well to pay off the loan,” he adds.

Pooja Kumari took a loan for her engineering course, and now works at KPIT. She feels that the loan holds her back from further education, “I would pay half my salary per month on the loan, and I do have to cut down on extra expenditure. Even when I think of pursuing higher studies, I think about paying back my loan and desist.”

Going abroad for an education can cost a bomb! Jessie Jacob took a loan to do her masters in the UK, and she now works in Bengaluru. Jessie says, “I think I feel like I’ve given up on my dream job. Being a wildlife filmmaker in India does not pay that much. If I did not have the loan, I would have taken a low paying job in a heartbeat. But now, I have to think about paying back the loan so I opted for a stable job. If I could do it all over again, I would not have taken a loan. I would have worked and saved money,” says Jessie.