Student Loan - Loans and Debt Consolidation

Q A WITH ELON ALUMNA DEALING WITH STUDENT LOANS

Q&A with Elon alumna dealing with student loans

Alumna Jaclyn Cabral was featured in a recent series by the Huffington Post about student loans. Photo submitted.

Five months ago, Elon alumna Jaclyn Cabral was $90,000 in debt with student loans and not sure what her future held. After graduating in May 2011, Cabral expected to enter the job market immediately, but instead she became one of the numerous students struggling under the weight of her loans.

Today, two-thirds of college students rely on loans to finance their education, up a third from 10 years ago, averaging $24,000 based on graduates from the Class of 2009.

President Barack Obama recently introduced a Pay As You Earn repayment plan, allowing those with student loans to reduce their monthly payments to 10 percent of their income and forgive all debts after 20 years. But many have resorted to defaulting on their payments, which then hurts their credit score.

Cabral originally claimed forbearance on her loans, indicating to her lender she was experiencing a financial hardship and was unable to pay. Though Cabral recently secured a job, her debt continues to influence her opportunities and future.

Q: Last time we spoke, you said you were hoping to find a job by January. How has that turned out?

A: I got an internship in October at Communispace, a company working in market research, and interned for three months and started a full job there the first week of January. I studi...[more]