The University of Missouri provides resources for students who are unsure about how they begin planning to pay back their student loans once they complete their academic career.
Students can enroll in sessions through the Office of Financial Success in which a counselor will review the loans they have accumulated during their time in college and explain the different options they have for repaying them.
The exit requirement is mandatory for students who have opted for federal student loans, and they can complete that mandatory session in one of two ways. They can either read through the information themselves, or they can work with an individual with a background in personal finance.
“I don’t want to insult the Department of Education, but there’s only so much you can do to try to bring that level of finance, and that knowledge down to the average person,” said Jim Green, an assistant teaching professor and director of the Office for Financial Success.
Green has conducted the sessions and said students have several options to repay their student loans depending on their financial situation. They range from the standard payment that will allow them to zero the balance in 10 years to others that will adjust depending on their job situation.
Getting some understanding of student loans is important because they can have such an impact on an person’s financial future.
“Debt is an obligation,” said Cynthia Crawford an extension professor with the University of Missouri.
Students can set up an appointment using MU Connect.