22 — Wednesday, May 27, 1982 - North Shore News

Is it worth going into debt to get an education?

GOING TO university can provide a shocking — even

**Going to school was valuable

devastating — education in debt management. And some personally and mentally — but
students feel that perhaps the degree isn’t worth the debt.

Janet Brook had never been in
debt before she decided — in
1980, at age 25 — to attend
Simon Fraser University.

‘*As an artist, I never had much
cash flow, so | always figured if I
couldn’t afford something without
borrowing, I didn’t buy it,’”’ she

id

said.

While Brook had no debts in
1980, she didn’t have any savings
either. She did work part-time in
the university pub for $10 an hour
but also took out $12,000 in stu-
dent loans over the next five years
while she studied dance and
theatre.

“T have been diligent in making
monthly payments since J gradu-
ated in 1985, but haven’t always
had enough to cover the interest,
let alone the principal,’ said
Brook, who worked as a freelance
choreographer until 1989 and still
works as an artist.

“With take-home pay today of
about $1,200 a month from my
secretarial job at the university,
Ym paying $50 a month on my
loan instead of $200. To pay the
full amount, { wouldn’t be able to

t.

“Phe loan now stands at
$19,000. It was quite a shock to
come out of the wonderful experi-
ence of going to school and have
such a large —- and growing —
debt.”” —

Kim Inskip, 32, owes even more
— $50,000. Married. with two
children (her marriage broke up
10 years ago), “I always wanted

DOLLARS AND SENSE

to go to university, so I took a
degree in psychology and sociolo-
she said. :

“I lived on campus with my
daughter in daycare and my son in
school. When money got tight, I
did various work-study programs
including media and public rela-
tions work, earning about $1,400
2 month gross.’’

When the student loans ran out
two semesters before Inskip’s
graduation last December, she got
special scholarships and bursaries
and worked at two jobs including

- cleaning restrooms.

Since graduating, Inskip has
been on income assistance; 40 job
applications have failed to pro-
duce results.

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devastating financially,’’ sae said.
“You tend to feel like an idiot,
you do this to yourself.

“The financial rewards don’t
seem to be that great after a basic
degree. Unless you have some sort
of inside job connection, possibly
it’s not worthwhile.”’

Added Brook: ‘‘Knowing what
I know now, [I wouldn't rush into
borrowing so much. Fd go to
schoo! over a longer period.’’

Both women, who said they
have considered bankruptcy,
decried the Jack of financial
counselling for students entering
university.

“Students tend not to have ex-
perience in financial matters,’’
Brook said. ‘‘They should con-
sider the field they will be in and
project the costs.’’

That’s good advice for future
university students who will need
to borrow before they graduate. If
parents, other relatives or univer-
sity counsellors cannot help with
cost, debt and income projections,
perhaps a banker or other finan-
cial adviser can. ‘

Always look at a worst case
scenario — the lowest income
from work, bursary or scholar-
ships during schcol and summers,
and a conservative income
estimate from a likely job after

graduation — as well as the cost
of living then. How much money
will be available to repay student
loans?

However, hindsight cannot help
those who, like Brook and Inskip,
have graduated and are trying to
cope with unmanageable debt.

Bankruptcy is always a final
resort. There is no easy way out,
but first see if you can:

@ Refinance the debt. ‘I was
stuck with a 12.75% rate and
didn’t realize that if I could bor-
row elsewhere at a lower rate, I
could pay off the more expensive
loan,’’ Brook said.

@ Spend less. Could you share
accommodation to cut costs? Or

perhaps barter your services? Bor-
row a ‘‘How to Live on Less’
book for ideas.
@ Earn more. Get another job,
perhaps something you can do
from home. Look for work in a
“hardship”? location with . sub-
sidized expenses, good pay and
nowhere to spend your money.
Note that if you have defaulted
on a student Joan and do get a
job, Revenue Canada. can take
your tax refund and apply it to
your debt.

The B.C. government grants a
remission of student loans beyond
certain levels of indebtedness,
provided the student gets a degree.

Daycare society meets

THE ANNUAL General Meeting
of the North Shore Adult Day
Care Services Society will be held
on Thursday, May 28 at 5 p.m. at
the Margaret Fulton Centre, 1044
St. Georges Ave. in North Van-
couver.

The guest speaker will be Mary
Segal, co-ordinator for the
Lionsview Seniors Planning Socie-
ty, and her topic will be Com-
munity Respo:zse to the Royal
Commission on Health Care.

The society operates the

wad,

Margaret
seniors and adults and the pro-
gram operates five days a week in
the auditorium of St.
United Church.

Members participate in a variety
of activities including crafts, card
games, music and a fitness ses-
sion.

For further
membership eligibility or oppor-

tunities for volunteers, call society .
administrator Margaret Kelly at

980-6116.

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