A college degree is widely considered necessary in present-day American society. In previous generations, many citizens were able to find a well-paying job, without enrolling in higher education and earning a degree. Today, many businesses and companies require a minimum level of education in order to qualify for a position within the organization. Teenagers are pressured to attend higher education colleges and universities after they graduate high school. In our country, the cost of attendance for these universities is extremely high, and more and more students are forced to borrow money in order to chase their degrees. Many students cannot afford to borrow money due to a lack of employment and/or credit history. These students are turning to friends and family members for financial aid in order to receive a loan to attend college. Tuition rates are rising, and so is the number of students who are becoming overwhelmed by debt. The co-signers of these students loans are getting stuck paying back these various debts, which in the long run is hurting them in many ways- not just financially.
Many students simply cannot afford the cost of attending college. Many of these students set the bar high: they assume that if they can borrow money today, they will be guaranteed to find a job and be able to easily repay the money later. A vast majority of students turn to older family members who are financially stable enough to back them up on loans. "So where does this leave someone trying to help and tempted to co-sign? The tough-love reply goes like this: If you need a private loan as an undergraduate especially, then your college of choice is simply not affordable. Federal loans plus savings and current income should be enough to pay all of your costs, and if they aren't, then it's a community college and living at home for you. And no, we won't take the debt on in our names only or yank money from home equity, since we need to think about retirement and not be a burden to you later" (Carrns, 2016). This quote is a good example of logos because it uses common sense, and shared values and is rational. It is only logical that if you need to take out more money, then you will be further swamped in debt. This quote also touches on the precedence of retirement; co-signers recognize the negative impact of borrowing too much money. Therefore, they simply will not take on more debt than they can afford.
"'Many private student lenders require co-signers since students are usually borrowing the money based on their future earning potential, rather than current income,' said Persis Yu, director of the Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project, a program of the National Consumer Law Center. But Ms. Yu said, 'A lot of people don't realize what they're getting into. Parents or grandparents may think that they are providing a sort of character reference for the student, she said, rather than committ...
