In regard to the Oct. 21 article, “Mismanaging loans could lead to financial ruin,” I was just wondering how Mr. Oleson came up with his numbers for “a reasonable debt.” He states that “a reasonable debt load for a graduating student is between $15,000 and $18,000.” Assuming a student has no financial help from parents (as Mr. Oleson states) and student loans would be used only for tuition, the average student would still need $21,600 to pay for 4 years of college (since tuition is $2,700 per semester.)

I don’t know what kind of part-time jobs Mr. Oleson expects us to have, but working the hours that allow me to keep up my GPA doesn’t even pay enough to cover my rent.

Mr. Oleson’s estimation of debt is completely inaccurate and misleading. I’m not advocating taking out excess loans to fund your spring break trip, but why don’t we just all be honest with each other — unless you are lucky enough to have bountiful grants and scholarships or generous, rich parents, you will be in a ton of debt when you get out of college — deal with it. Hopefully, that degree will get you a nice high-paying job like it’s supposed to.

Erin Blasdel

Junior

Marketing