OCS Study Shows Debt Influences Career Plans

Concerns about the effect of students' educational debts on their career choices played an important role in last week's revision of College financial aid policy, officials involved in the negotiations said.

In meetings held Aug. 6, Director of the Office of Career Services (OCS) William Wright-Swadel presented stories of students continuously deciding against graduate school or modestly paying jobs in favor of those that yield an immediate payoff.

"This is a theme we hear in conversations with students," Wright-Swadel said, referring to the preeminence in students' minds of quickly repaying their debts.

Students echoed his observations. Many said they felt they had to put off graduate school or forego the jobs they truly desired because of loan concerns.

"I eventually want to teach, but I know that I'll need a high-paying job for a few years before that," Emily J. Keefe '99 said.

Administrators used aid meetings this summer to address these concerns.

"Our impression was that the burden of debt at graduation may indeed be affecting career choice, so that, for example, one might decide not to go on to graduate school," Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Jeremy R. Knowles told The Crimson last week.

Dean Knowles' words were echoed by Judy Murray, the OCS director of recruiting, in an earlier interview with The Crimson.

"I've seen some students give up opportunities and things they really wanted to do because they needed a higher paying job," she said.

The mounting burden perceived at the College has also been documented in a recent Nellie Mae study. In the survey, the lending institution found that among undergraduate and graduate students, the average debt has risen from $8,200 in 1991 to $18,800..

More importantly, the burden of undergraduate debt is influencing student lifestyle choices. Many are eschewing home and car purchases and delaying marriage because of the need to repay their debt. In fact, 40 percent of surveyed students told Nellie Mae their loans played a part in delaying home purchases.

In concordance with College administrators' fears, students are heavily weighing debt when considering career choices.

"I have never been able to pursue my dream of a job in the arts because I couldn't afford to. I am left with five years of pleasant memories and 10 years of debt," one student responding to the NellieMae survey said.

Even those who are more determined to fulfilltheir dreams find themselves eventually driven bythe exigency of the bottom line.

"I spent six years in the field of social workcounseling abused children. When I needed to earnmy master's, I realized I could not incur another$30,000 to $80,000 worth of loans on top of my$30,000 from undergrad, only to earn $30,000 as acounselor," another student said. "Tired ofworking three jobs, I left this important andworthwhile work to take a higher-paying job."

It is precisely the effect of these impedimentson College students that most worried Knowles.

"It can be very daunting to go off to graduateschool with significant unpaid loans," he said."The meeting was very important in providing asense of what is most important for students inenhancing the quality of education."

Many students said that they tried to putmonetary considerations out of their minds whenmaking career choices. Few, however, denied thatthe concerns still lingered.

As physics concentrator Shondip Ghosh '01 said,"It is just an added reason not to continue withgraduate school, but rather to go and work on WallStreet.

Even those who are more determined to fulfilltheir dreams find themselves eventually driven bythe exigency of the bottom line.

"I spent six years in the field of social workcounseling abused children. When I needed to earnmy master's, I realized I could not incur another$30,000 to $80,000 worth of loans on top of my$30,000 from undergrad, only to earn $30,000 as acounselor," another student said. "Tired ofworking three jobs, I left this important andworthwhile work to take a higher-paying job."

It is precisely the effect of these impedimentson College students that most worried Knowles.

"It can be very daunting to go off to graduateschool with significant unpaid loans," he said."The meeting was very important in providing asense of what is most important for students inenhancing the quality of education."

Many students said that they tried to putmonetary considerations out of their minds whenmaking career choices. Few, however, denied thatthe concerns still lingered.

As physics concentrator Shondip Ghosh '01 said,"It is just an added reason not to continue withgraduate school, but rather to go and work on WallStreet.