Nikki Trummer isn't looking for a bailout. Her college loans total about $140,000, and she still doesn't have a degree to show for it. Though the 24-year-old student owns up to her debt, she argues that high schools should do a better job teaching students basic financial literacy and that the loan companies should help young people understand the full burden of debt in easy-to-understand language.
U.S. student debt has tripled to $1.2 trillion in the past decade, much of it taken out by a generation of young people who struggled to find good-paying jobs during the economic recession. The issue permeates national policy discussions about college loan reform and efforts by government and private business to relieve the debt burden and encourage young professionals to save for retirement.
Trummer's loans mushroomed when she decided to attend college in another state. Now back in Minnesota, she works up to 30 hours a week while taking classes toward an associate degree at South Central College in Mankato. She plans to attend Minnesota State University Mankato and complete her bachelor's degree in the next two to three years.
Trummer participated in a town hall forum convened last month by U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar on issues facing millennials.
Q: Many people question why anyone would allow themselves to take on six-figure college loans when there are less expensive options for getting an education. How did this happen?
A: I attended an out-of-state school for three years at the University of Missouri, and took out extra money to pay for my rent, bills and books. My dad co-signed on the loans. He did not attend a university. He went to a technical college back when college was affordable. He was a supportive parent and wanted me to do what I always dreamed of doing. I didn't think I had any other options but to take out these loans. I wanted to be a journalist, and my teacher pounded it into my head that Mizzou was where I needed to be if I wanted to make it. That's why I went there. I ended up switching majors once before deciding to move home to Mankato. Journalism was just not for me. When you're 18 and fresh out of high school, you should not be making huge financial decisions. I was doing what the loan officers, financial aid and my peers were telling me to do. At the time I did not think I was doing anything wrong.
Q: How are you dealing with it?
A: I actually just quit my third job because working so much left little time to study and I was not doing very well in one class in particular. Now I have more time to study, but I feel the impact of that loss of income. My loans are in deferment right now. I try to make payments each month, but I'm also trying to attend college this time around without taking out more loans. I qualify for the Federal Pell Grant. I also apply for every scholarship I can get my hands on. I absolutely feel weighed down by this debt. I've actually only recently been able to talk about it; it's an emotional subject for me. I live with my boyfriend and we live in an apartment with fairly cheap rent. I am absolutely putting stuff off. I currently don't have a car and don't plan to buy one. My boyfriend and I have talked about marriage, and I do not want to marry him because I don't want my debt to become his debt. I love him so much and I know we'll be together forever, but it's not fair to make him take on this financial burden.
Q: There is a rule of thumb about college debt: Don't borrow more each year than one-fifth of your expected annual salary the first year after graduation. What range of salary can you expect as a medical lab worker or researcher?
A: It's interesting that you call that a "rule of thumb" because I've never heard that before. I think it's a problem that knowledge like that isn't widespread. I guarantee most college students have not heard of that "rule of thumb." That is the problem. There is a huge assumption that millennials should know stuff like that, and that it is "common knowledge" when in reality it's not.
Q: Looking back, do you believe you were unprepared to handle the responsibility of taking on college loans?
A: High school does close to nothing to prepare you for the major life decisions you'll be making. Teachers pound it into your head that you need to go to college, but they neglect to pound real-life lessons into there, too. I wish someone had sat me down when I was 18 and explained my financial future at this out-of-state institution and at an equal one in state. I wish someone had explained to me — in words I could understand — about interest, credit and how the decisions I'm making will affect me in the future. Nobody tells you taking out these loans today might make you put off marriage to a man you are head over heels in love with. Honestly, the only reason I've chosen the career path I did [to work in medical research or a lab] was because it is one of the highest-paying four-year degrees. I would love to get my doctorate, but I do not believe I'll have the chance.
Jackie Crosby • 612-673-7335
