Page 25 - ARUBA TODAY

BUSINESS Monday 8 april 2019
A25

What students can learn from the days before college loans

By ANNA HELHOSKI which was $1 an hour," says
Associated Press Pickens, who received a
College tuition was less bachelor's degree in history
than what today's students and secondary education
pay for textbooks when and a master's in European
Caron and Jack Knopoff history at Georgetown Uni-
attended Chicago's Wright versity in Washington, D.C.
Junior College in the mid- "I needed to do that in or-
1960s. der to pay."
Tuition at what is now Wilbur In those days, colleges also
Wright College was $24 per offered "bursar jobs," which
credit hour, Caron Knopoff were similar to the current
says. To cover this cost, the federal work-study awards.
couple, who were dating "It was possible to meet a
at the time, lived with their lot of your annual college
own parents and worked expenses with a summer
— Caron at an insurance job or working on cam-
agency and Jack at an ac- pus during your academic
counting firm. year," Thelin says.
Caron later transferred to PARENTS PAID, TOO
Northeastern Illinois Univer- In the early 1960s — in the
sity to complete her bach- In this March 14, 2019, file photo students walk on the Stanford University campus in Santa Clara, beginning stages of the
elor's degree in primary Calif. federal student loan pro-
education. There, she says Associated Press gram — colleges started
tuition was around $200 a offering need-based schol-
year. Jack completed a dents can learn. didn't go, says John Thelin, profit research organiza- arships, grants, work-study
degree in accounting at COLLEGE COST A LOT LESS a University of Kentucky tion. and their own loans to at-
Roosevelt University, pay- The average cost of tu- professor and author of "It wasn't perceived as a tract top high school stu-
ing $40 per credit hour. ition, fees, room and board "Going to College in the national mission for people dents, Thelin says. But many
"I thought it was so much for 1963-64 was $1,248, or Sixties." to go to college," Baum students still required finan-
compared to what we had $10,040 in 2017-18 dollars. FEWER PEOPLE ATTENDED says. cial support from their fami-
paid before and we were By contrast, the average COLLEGE STUDENT JOBS HELPED COV- lies. Dian Olson Belanger, a
so worried about it," Caron cost in 2017-18 was $23,835, Before student loans, fewer ER EXPENSES writer and historian in Rock-
says. according to the National people enrolled in college Students often used a mix ville, Maryland, got a schol-
Graduating from college Center for Education Sta- because a degree wasn't of sources to foot the bill. arship to attend a commu-
debt-free is uncommon to- tistics. "The cost of college as necessary to compete Many had family support, nity college in her home
day: Two-thirds of the class then was significantly easi- in the workforce. Less than worked or got scholarships state of Minnesota before
of 2017 graduated with er to pay for," says Victoria half of high school gradu- from local organizations or transferring to University of
student loans averaging Yuen, a policy analyst for ates enrolled in college in their colleges. Minnesota Duluth. In 1962,
$28,650, according to The postsecondary education 1960, compared with near- That's how Caroline Pickens she finished her bachelor's
Institute for College Access at the Center for American ly 70% in 2017, according of McLean, Virginia, met degree early to marry her
and Success. Progress, an independent to the National Center for college costs when she high-school sweetheart,
Before the 1960s, student policy research organiza- Education Statistics. enrolled in 1958. Growing who was attending the
loans didn't exist. Federal tion. "Now, even with schol- Back then, high school up in a middle-class fam- California Institute of Tech-
loans for students with fi- arships and grant support, graduates could get jobs ily in Wichita, Kansas, the nology in Pasadena, Cali-
nancial need started with it's become very difficult for that supported a middle- most affordable option fornia. Both relied on their
the Higher Education Act middle-class families to pay class lifestyle. That's much was Kansas State University, parents to cover costs,
of 1965, then opened to all for college." more difficult now, says which she remembers was though Belanger says it was
students in 1978. But half a century ago, Sandy Baum, a nonresident around $100 per semester a stretch for her family.q
Here's what paying for col- college wasn't affordable fellow at the Center on Ed- for tuition, room and board.
lege looked like back in the for everyone. Those who ucation Data and Policy at "I worked in a bank every
day, and what today's stu- couldn't pay out-of-pocket the Urban Institute, a non- summer at minimum wage,

US consumer borrowing gains slow in February

WASHINGTON (AP) — Con- rowing for credit card debt pected to rebound this a modest annual rate of 2.2
sumer borrowing rose at a rose by $2.95 billion, the quarter following a slow- percent in the fourth quar-
slower pace in February as biggest increase since No- down during the winter. ter with economists believ-
the increase in auto and vember. The Labor Department re- ing growth slowed further
student loans was the slow- The overall increases ported Friday that employ- to around 1.5 percent in the
est in eight months. pushed consumer bor- ers added a solid 196,000 current quarter. But they
Borrowing increased by rowing to a new record of jobs in March, up sharply are forecasting a rebound
$15.2 billion in February, $4.05 trillion. from the February gain. to around 2.3 percent GDP
down from a gain of $17.7 Household borrowing is Analysts saw the job gains growth in the current April-
billion in January, the Fed- watched for signs of how as a good sign that borrow- June quarter.
eral Reserve reported Fri- confident consumers are ing and spending should The Fed's monthly report on
day. in taking on more debt to post good gains in coming consumer credit does not
Borrowing for auto loans finance their spending, months. cover mortgages or other
and student loans rose by which accounts for 70 per- The overall economy, as loans secured by real es-
$12.2 billion, the smallest cent of economic activity. measured by the gross do- tate such as home equity
gain since last June. Bor- Consumer spending is ex- mestic product, slowed to loans.q