Student loan debt to me is a necessary evil. I don’t want to borrow money for school. But I also want a degree that’ll allow me to get a kickass big kid job, one with benefits and everything. Hence, I borrow money for school with the assumption that it’ll pay off down the road. This means I look at my debt balance with annoyance and some doubt.
I do not share these students’ feelings:
I'm totally NOT getting paid to smile!
Know where I got that image of all those incredibly satisfied people? My student loan provider’s website! At the top of every page are these 3 – subtly telling me that student loans are the only way I’ll ever have amazingly white teeth and good self-esteem. Seriously, look at the guy in the green shirt – I’m 99% sure he got laid last night.
But wait – it gets better when you actually make a payment on that loan:
Why are the black guys always wearing green shirts?!?
Two things to note here. First, why do they have my name so close to that guy’s picture? That’s not me. Second, notice that this picture is continuing the theme of racial and sexual diversity – including everyone. This is probably to reinforce the fact that student loans are for EVERYONE. If you have white, straight, teeth. With any luck, I’m sure there’s a picture of an Asian or black woman…
I'm not making this up.
Debt, even “good” debt like student loans, is bad. Nothing about paying back all that money makes me feel good. I’d much rather make direct payments to my university. All of these people pictured above may be loving their student loans, but I feel nothing towards them. A bit of contempt, maybe.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Youre a funny kid Ryan. For some of these “people”, student loans allow them to have experiences they otherwise wouldn’t be able to have. This doesnt apply specifically to the classroom. People spend student loans on a variety of good and bad expenses.
Haha thanks Julian. I’m using students to have experiences I wouldn’t normally have either, but the majority of those experiences are going to increase my future earnings potential.