Anyone who has listened to KKJZ during the winter break knows this. According to an article in Diverse Issues in Higher Education, Cal State Long Beach is one of the top institutes of higher learning to award bachelor’s degrees to minority students – we actually rank sixth in the nation.
This should come as no surprise. CSULB is located in an incredibly ethnically diverse place, with a thriving Cambodian community and a plethora of people of various other backgrounds making up the Long Beach population.
Among the minority students here on campus, Latinos make up a significant portion, with nearly 6,000 students identifying themselves as Mexican-American in 2005, a number that constitutes only a portion of the entire Latino community here on campus.
According to a recent article published in the Jan. 31 issue of the Los Angeles Times, most Latino/a students around the nation shy away from student loans, often taking longer to graduate or suffering academically in order to not be faced with cumbersome loans after graduation day.
According to the article, this can be detrimental to the academic performance of many Latino students, who often drop out or take longer to graduate than students who accept the burden of loans in the future.
Many attribute this aversion toward loans to a cultural difference between Latinos and other students, with a solid work ethic being a central part of the Latino culture, according to the article.
Sadly, this admirable ethic is working to the detriment of the academic well-being of many hardworking students and may often create hardships that could be avoided with students using the financial help that is available to them.
This problem leaves many first-generation Latino college students in a particularly difficult bind. They must either choose to struggle and work time-consuming jobs while attending school or venture away from a part of their culture in order to receive the diploma necessary to better their own future, all the while often facing pressures from family members to be the first to graduate from college.
What is often overlooked when students consider whether or not to take out a loan is that with a college degree, job opportunities and salaries are consistently higher and more available for people who have graduated from college. This advantage is incredibly helpful when paying off college loans.
Not only are college grads paid much more than those without degrees, but they also have the benefits that come with getting a higher education, something that is arguably priceless.
Latino college students should consider loans as an aid in reaching their goal of college graduation instead of considering them as hindrances that cause financial grief. Undoubtedly, many loans have high interest rates or, if attending private, more costly schools, student loans can haunt students well into their midlife.
But when chosen wisely, these loans can mean the difference between graduating and beginning a career as soon as possible or being stuck in college for more than four years. Even though CSULB has a lovely campus, it’s doubtful that many people want to spend unnecessary time here struggling to complete their education.
