Tag: Loans

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Setting the Example: How First-Gen Students Raise the Bar & Their Debt to Better Themselves

Setting the Example: How First-Gen Students
Raise the Bar, and their Debt, to Better Themselves


University of Arkansas first-generation students have decreased over the years, but the student loan debt has steadily increased and exceeded Arkansas’ average over the past 5 years, according to the College Scoreboard, a Department of Education database.

By Elena Ramirez
The Razorback Reporter

When individuals gain higher education, they accomplish the most effective way to raise their families’ income, according to research from the National Center for Children in Poverty. Yet higher education is expensive and intimidating, especially for first-generation students, who often have little background in navigating through the unknown world of federal loans, private loans and applications. 

Emily Beltran is a Rogers New Technology High School senior and prospective UofA Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design student. Photo by Emily Beltran.

“It’s harder because in a way, you’re guiding yourself,” said Emily Beltran, a Rogers New Technology senior and a first-generation student who has been accepted to the University of Arkansas. “Your parents can’t give you much advice … it’s definitely hard not being mentored by your parents.”

The complexity of paying for college is just one of the many issues first-generation students need to resolve on their own. The average debt for first-generation students at the University of Arkansas has increased by 12.3% to $14,423 in 2018, over the past five years, according to College Scorecard, a Department of Education database. Dekarius Dawson, first-generation senior music major studying voice, said he has struggled with his out-of-state tuition rate. The native of Memphis, Tennessee has attended the UofA for three years and will be graduating in December with more than $29,000 of federal student loan debt, double the amount for first generation students at the U of A.

Despite that amount of debt, Dawson notices the important precedent of his work.

“To me and my family, this is a huge accomplishment, because I’m setting an example for my brothers and others in Memphis,” he said. “Receiving a degree is the new standard I’m trying to start.” 

Dekarius Dawson is a first-generation student at the UofA. He will graduate this fall with a vocal music degree that he completed in three years. Photo by Elena Ramirez.

Dawson became a part of the UofA’s First-Generation Mentoring Program. He was paired with professor Timothy Thompson, who was also a first-generation college student in 1971.

Thompson recalled he was able to receive his undergraduate degree without acquiring student loans. “I can’t imagine being an undergraduate student these days and coming into these five sometimes six-figure loans and not having any idea if you will have a job when you get out of school,” Thompson said.

The three-year-old program, funded by the Honors College, provides students a mentor on campus. Students have to be the first in their family to attend a four-year college.

Despite the 12.3% increase in debt for first-generation students, enrollment for trends are heading in the other direction:  first-generation enrollment has declined 3% over the past four years. The decrease of first-generation students is something that Chancellor Steinmetz is focused on with the new student success center that will open in the Spring 2021, said Ramon Balderas, student development specialist. “We grew very fast over the past 10 years. We are still trying to adjust to the changes,” said Balderas. “Our resources are very spread out and the new student center will help students.” About 26% of the UofA’s student population is first-generation.

Thompson has been a leader in the First-Generation Mentoring Program. Photo by Elena Ramirez.

The UA Student Support Services is a federally funded program that helps first-generation and low-income students. The program serves 325 students a year.

One local high school is working to support first generation students for life after campus. Two counselors at Rogers New Technology High School are pursuing initiatives on their campus to ensure students have a plan for after high school. Counselor Cindy Caudle said the Rogers New Technology High School principal wants “no graduate to be left on their parents couch in June.” Brenda Walkenbach, who has had 25 years of experience in high school counseling, wants to present high school students with multiple options. “It may not include college, it may be the workforce or the military,” she said.  Caudle added that a number of students enlisted in the National Guard or fully enlisted in a branch of the military as a means to pay for college.

Every second Tuesday of the month, students and their parents meet at Rogers New Technology High School for a “Senior Wrap Session” where they are provided with guidance about post-secondary school options and resources.

High school counselors Brenda Walkenbach (left) and Cindy Caudle (right) help students prepare with the next steps after high school. Photo by Elena Ramirez.

Beltran, a Rogers New Technology student recently accepted into the UofA’s Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, said she will be the first in her family to attend a four-year college. She is a part of the Early College Experience program, where she attends Northwest Arkansas Community College while enrolled in high school. She will graduate from community college with an associate’s degree. 

Beltran has applied to approximately three scholarships so far and is relying on family support for the amount that cannot be covered, she said. She isn’t familiar with the loan process and has been intimidated by the essay portion of scholarships.

“Writing has always been my weakest subject, but I can go to NWACC’s (Northwest Arkansas Community College) writing center and I know they can help me there,” Beltran said.

Being first-generation motivates her to accomplish school and to better herself, she said. It will bring a change for her family. 

She knows that school comes at a high expense, but said getting her prerequisites out of the way “is like a stress taken off of [her] shoulders.” 

The cost of school, she said, will not hold her back.

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Students Juggle Jobs, Adopt Ways to Tackle Loan Debt

Students Juggle Jobs, Adopt Ways to Tackle Loan Debt

By Abby Zimmardi
The Razorback Reporter

Students are struggling to finance their college education by working two jobs or even changing their residency to manage the cost and stress of escalating student loan debt.

Gabrielle Abbott, a UA junior majoring in electrical engineering, said she is paying for her education by herself with the help of loans and scholarships.

Gabrielle Abbott sits in the Arkansas Union Dec. 4. Photo by Abby Zimmardi

Abbott has collected around $25,000 to $30,000 in student loans because she has taken out loans for five semesters and two summers.  In the end, these loans will equal the cost of a brand new car.

“It’s a very big burden to have as a student and I think it’s crazy that inflation is so much,” Abbott, 20, said. “I work two jobs to pay my bills so I take the money that I make over the summer and I work during the school year too, to pay all my bills.”

Alec Morris sits in front of Old Main Dec. 2. Photo by Abby Zimmardi

Abbott works on campus for the College of Engineering as a peer mentor and she also works an average of 20 hours at Chick-fil-A on the weekends, she said.

In the summer of 2019, Abbott worked a paid internship as a power transmission engineer for Arkansas Electric Cooperatives in Little Rock, she said. She saved the money she earned to pay for living costs during the 2019-20 school year.

“All of the money I have from that is what I’m using to try to ride out all of my rent through May,” Abbott said. “So, from August to May. So, my rent, my water, my electric and Wi-Fi.”

Although on average, females have more student loan debt than males, Alec Morris, a UA senior majoring in chemical engineering, has more loan debt than Abbott.

Morris has around $42,000 in student loans from his first seven semesters at the University of Arkansas, he said. In order to lower the amount borrowed, Morris changed his residency to Arkansas from Tennessee in order to have in-state tuition, he said.

Because Morris has in-state tuition, it will take him 10 years to pay off his student loans if he does the maximum payment of $500 a month.

“I’m just gonna max it out whatever it is,” Morris said. “So, it’ll probably take me like seven to 10 years.”

Morris also has more debt than Ellie Hobbs, a UA sophomore majoring in civil engineering. She has around $4,500 in student loans from her first three semesters at the university, Hobbs said. She is planning on taking out more loans for her remaining years at the UofA.

Hobbs, 19, is also considering taking out loans for a potential study abroad opportunity, she said.

Freshman Ellie Hobbs, majoring in civil engineering. Photo courtesy of Ellie Hobbs

Although Hobbs will be taking out more loans for her education, she is not focusing on paying back her loans while in school, she said. 

In contrast to Hobbs, Abbott is thinking about how she will pay back her loans and she has the aid of scholarships to help her clearly map out a plan, she said.

Abbott has received $18,000 in scholarships in total since her freshman year, she said. She has received the Academic Challenge Scholarship for $4,000, she also received a $2,000 scholarship from the university and a $2,500 scholarship from Chick-fil-A for her junior year.

It will take Abbott five to six years to pay her loans off after she graduates, but she wants to pay as much as she can and try to pay them off in one or two years, Abbott said.

“My current plan is to just take my salary and subtract how much loans I have and then obviously a livable salary as far as rent and bills and everything and try and pay it back in one to two years,” Abbott said. “Just because it’s such a big burden, it’s very overwhelming.”