By Lauren Olson

I was slightly alarmed the other day when my boyfriend asked me about how much debt I had accrued in student loans, and I didn’t know.Olson

I thought about it for a second and said, “Probably about $6,000-7,000.” But as I thought about it, I realized that probably the number was closer to two or three times that.

Having attended three different colleges in the past four years, memory has faded a little when it comes to my financial debt. I forget how much money I borrowed and what kind of loans they were. I have forgotten which year I paid for school and which years I had to take out loans. And who exactly did I borrow from that semester that I had to choose which company to borrow from? Not a clue.

My only comfort, I suppose, is that I am sure that these people will get a hold of me just as soon as I graduate. Then, I expect it to hit like a ton of bricks.

The thing that scares me about it all is that I might still be paying for this college experience 10 years from now. Ten years! That’s almost half my lifetime. It’s like a big bulky commitment that I am going to be stuck with for the rest of my “young” life, and I didn’t even think twice before signing that sheet of paper. It makes me feel old.

I don’t mean to play it up like it’s some kind of tragedy. It could be a lot worse. If I had gone to college out of state, or if I had gone to a private school, I could be more than $100,000 in debt.

Instead, I took the path that a lot of college students are starting to take. I started at Normandale Community College to save money and then went to Metro State University, which is also pretty inexpensive. I got all of my generals done at these two colleges and then transferred to the University of Minnesota, where I will graduate next fall.

Although this is a good route for college students who are having trouble paying for higher education, there are some downfalls. What was the cost of starting out at a less-expensive and less-renowned school? Well, just that. Normandale College accepts pretty much every student who applies, and Metro State isn’t much more selective. No matter how good the education is at these schools, people will always assume that they are second-rate schools that provide a second-rate education.

My personal experience is that as far as workload, professors and overall quality of education are concerned, they are pretty close to the same. However, I have definitely noticed a difference in the reaction I get from people now that I say I go to the U of M.

Although loans and debt are a pain to deal with, all in all they are a tremendous help to students who can’t afford to pay for school up front. I have to say that although there is a ton of talk about how less and less money is available to students, there is still a whole lot of money out there. The good thing is that now schools are making it easier for students to apply.

This semester was the first time I ever applied for scholarships, and I only did it this year because the university e-mailed me a list of scholarships that I might qualify for and told me to apply. They just made it too easy not to. I had to fill out one form to apply for over 30 different scholarships, and guess what? I got one.

I just wish I had taken advantage of these opportunities sooner. They are out there for people who need them.

 Lauren Olson is an intern from the University of Minnesota who’s working with the Prior Lake American this spring.