Right now, America’s students we between $902 billion and $1 trillion in student loan debt. The average debt of graduates from the University of Oregon in 2012 was $24,528. That year, 48 percent of students graduated with debt.
Some graduates entering the work force are tasked with deciding between a dream job and a job that will help pay loans quicker.
Currently, the UO has the highest tuition rate of Oregon’s public institutions of higher learning. According to the Oregon University System, the initial proposed tuition and fee rates for the next academic year put the state average at $8,305. The UO’s proposed total is $9,918.
The school with the lowest proposed tuition and fees is Oregon Institute of Technology – Wilsonville at $7,347.
UO law student KC McFerson will graduate this May with a joint JD and masters in community and regional planning. She is facing her own student loan debt of over $200,000 and career decisions.
“The debt load is an enormous reality to communicate, especially to the older generations who went through school in a very different reality where you could work your way through and you wouldn’t end up having to choose between paying back your loans and a house and a family,” McFerson said.
To address these problems, McFerson had an idea and launched a campaign to get the word out.
“I was thinking of all this passion that can be wasted by going for salary instead, and all the capital that is put into different missions… If we could make the right connections, that potential could be unlocked,” McFerson said.
The idea is called “Sponsor a Young Professional.” Potential donors can visit the website and look through profiles of post-graduated students entering the work force on a professional basis in areas the donors have interest in.
The idea is something McFerson cannot do alone. On May 20, McFerson will move to Denver, Colorado, to begin studying for the Bar Exam and she will have even less time for the campaign.
“It needs the experienced hands of a business person,” McFerson said.
McFerson emphasized that her idea is very different from a scholarship program since the donor and reciever would have a very different relationship.
“I think it’s lovely to support institutions and scholarships, that absolutely should stay. This is a separate approach,” McFerson said.
In March, U.S. Congressman Peter DeFazio sat down for a Q&A with the Emerald and addressed what was happening in the state of Oregon in regard to college costs and student loans.
“The average debt for a graduating undergraduate is over $20,000 in our public universities. The state has pretty much walked away from its responsibilities to higher education,” DeFazio said.
Though it may appear to some as though McFerson is looking for a way to pay her own personal loans off, she was more driven by raising awareness to the bigger issue.
“Some people took it as I just want money for myself … but that is not the purpose,” McFerson said. “When it comes down to it, I just wanted to say something about an unfortunate situation.”