As Washington D.C. liberals continue their fight for ‘free’ college education for all (which, of course, is just a nicer way of saying largely useless community college education crammed down the throats of taxpayers) and student loan forgiveness programs, a new study from LendEDU reveals some of the shocking realities behind where college students are really spending their $1.3 trillion worth of student debt.
Per a survey of 500 college co-eds, LendEDU found that 31% of students, or roughly 2.4 million kids, admitted to using student loan money to fund their binge drinking trips to Cancun and Daytona Beach for spring break.
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According to the LendEDU poll, 30.60% of college students with student debt claim that they are using money they received from student loans to help pay for their spring break trip this year. For reference, you can use student loan funding for living expenses.
The National Center for Education Statistics calculated that 20.5 million students will be attending college this year in the United States. Orbitz reported that 55% of students will be going on spring break. Using this data, we can roughly calculate that 11,275,000 students will be going on spring break this year. And, it is estimated that 69% of all current college students use student loan debt by the time of graduation. By doing some additional arithmetic, we can calculate that roughly 7,779,750 student debtors are going on spring break this year.
Factoring in our data, and assuming the claims made in our survey are accurate, this means that 2.38 million students are using money received from student loans to pay for their spring break excursion this year.
But don’t worry yourselves you silly taxpayers…it’s only $1.3 trillion (and counting) of debt that you’ll soon have to cover.
Adding insult to injury, 24% of students admitted to using their student loan money for alcohol and 7% use those federally-subsidized checks for drugs.
Nearly a quarter (23.80%) of respondents stated that they have used money received from student loans to pay for drinking some type of alcohol. This answer also included spending money at bars.
A third (33.40%) of students answered that they have used money received from student loans to pay for clothing and other accessories.
Similarly, the same amount (33.40%) of students said that they have used money received from student loans to pay for restaurants and take-out.
6.60% of respondents responded saying that they have used money received from student loans to pay for drugs.
Finally, 5.60% of students that participated in our survey stated that they used money received from student loans on gambling or sports betting.
“Students should minimize their borrowing during their college years and live a sparse lifestyle — but no one wants to hear that when their fraternity brothers or sorority sisters are packing up to Cabo for the week,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst of Bankrate.com. “It’s like putting spring break on a credit card, but this one is subsidized by taxpayers,” McBride added.
Meanwhile, as we pointed out before (see “Obama Student Loan Foregiveness Plan To Cost Taxpayers $137 Billion, GAO Finds“), the GAO currently estimates that taxpayers will ultimately have to cover $137 billion of student loan debt outstanding…an obligation we’re certain will only grow over time.
So fight on, Bernie…and while you continue your crusade for “free college,” America’s entitled millennials will be laughing all the way to Cancun.
Monies should be paid directly to the school for tuition only.
Sorry Dutch but I disagree. If colleges are teaching kids that taking on debt to pay for consumables is proper and sensible then that proves that college doesn’t come close to preparing students for the real world. They’d be better off running a vegetable stand on the side of a street.
@CC: You are a fool. You just don’t loan money to anyone, if you’re concerned about getting it back. Would loan a nigger $75,000 for a Mercedes? Just on his promise to pay it back?
Don’t know why you got down voted. It’s a simple solution to at least alleviate the students from misspending funds and also students will have less debt when they graduate if the loans are only for the exact amount of classes and books.
In our current system, kids can take $3000 worth of classes and $800 in books ( don’t get me started on the criminality of college textbooks) yet qualify for $7000 of loans for 1 semester ( as a rough example). The additional $3200 is often spent on I-phones, spring breaks, college bars, lattes and coffee houses or other frivolous indulgences that have nothing to do with their studies.
Dutch, that was the rule when I went to school. I borrowed $500 ($1 million in today’s money) to pay for tuition and books. The financial aid administrator, Col X ran a tight ship. I had to go to the financial aid office to get them to disburse the funds for books even.
Oh and before that even happened, I had to get a personal reference from our neighbor, my mom’s friend, Doña Amelia Cuellar. Since she was an old lady, I did some minor house repairs for her. Her son showed up to review my loan application and signed for her. He didn’t sign right away, I had to explain that she was only signing as a personal reference and not co-signing. Doña Amelia said, Es un buen muchacho, lo quiero mucho. So her son signed reluctantly.
Today, it’s a lot easier. Sort of like, ‘here’s $15,000, good luck’.
I don’t care what they do with the money as long as THE LITTLE PRICKS PAY IT THE F***K BACK LIKE I DID!!!
How fucking stupid can you get. We are loaning money to 18 year old ‘adults’ – who have never had a real job in their lives – and you expect to get paid back? You’re an idiot.
The tuition should be paid to the school, and then they should be allowed a certain amount to be paid for rent – and paid directly to the realty company / landlord.
Where are the parents in this equation. They should have some culpability in this mess. My son graduated with his degree in chemical engineering in 4 years with about $6,000 of debt. We as a family worked hard, saved, skipped vacations and drove 10+ year old vehicles. He paid off this debt within 3 months of starting his first job. My daughter is in the same school has worked as an RA and will be graduating with a degree in biology and a minor in Chinese. About the same amount of debt, maybe a little less. They were both in college a year together, there was no vacation that year. Parents who encourage this reckless behavior are setting their children up with a lifetime burden that will stunt their future opportunities. I often wonder where are the adults.
Bob.
I don’t care what they spend it on as long as they pay it back.
People have a right to be stupid but they don’t have a right to be irresponsible.
Anon, people here have a freedom of speech, they have a right to an attorney. Stupidity is a choice, it is not a right.
Moving on to obligations, men are obligated to register for the draft, people have to pay taxes on income. They are not obligated to marry according to the preference of the KKK or Al Sharpton.
Voting is a choice, not an obligation. Although not voting has its consequences. Having kids or not having them is also a choice with consequences.
You all missed the point of the student loan program. What it was all about was to keep as many young people off unemployment so as to help make Obama (piss be unto him) not look bad. It helped to lower the unemployment statistics. So obviously it was a great success given its intended purpose. You people keep complaining about a generation of poor young people whose lives are burdened with life altering debt, forget that. Instead you need to remember how great it was that Obama (piss be unto him) was able to claim at least a tenth of a percent lower unemployment rate. That was the purpose of the student loan program.
It’s similar to the “point” of Home Equity Loans.. People used those things for any manner of excess.. and TPTB looked upon it, and saw that it raised GDP (waste) and deemed it good.
The debt isn’t going away. Quantavious may not pay his loans back but the debt will sit on the balance sheet of the US government and constrain spending for other programs Quantavious and his kind depend on. Maybe his mom will lose her job as a Head Start aide or his brother’s prison GED program will be cut.
US government spending will be constrained by the ability of the US government to roll over its debt so the deadbeats are going to get the bill one way or another.
Let’s take it a step farther. If you’re getting a “Studies” degree, no loans/scholarships/grants for you.
Stupidity should not be rewarded.
Greetings,
“Where are the parents?” is a common theme but as the father of a millennial, it just isn’t that easy. You probably couldn’t meet a person more down on a University Education. After all, what knowledge is locked up in a University that can’t be obtained quickly and for free? Why would anyone pay for a “studies” degree?
My daughter was given $44k for two semesters at a school for fashion if you can believe that. She did it without telling me first but for the life of me, I can not understand who in their godd*mn right mind would loan my daughter $44k for anything? She works as a cashier at a grocery store and has no assets to speak of.
Even if she graduated from this school of fashion, what possible job prospect could ever allow her to pay back the nearly $100k of debt taken on?
Nickel,
While I agree that the kids in this case have a major portion the responsibility I would have to think any right minded student who has a concern for their future would not make such an irresponsible and would at least discuss this major financial decision with his or her parents. On the other hand I have seen parents go along happily with their kids borrowing these obscene sums and I find it tragic that a parent would allow such a thing. Often times the parents are as bad as the kids. As I have explained to my kids do things that allow you to have more choices in the future not things that narrow your opportunities.
Bob.
Student loans are much like home mortgages and car loans. They (the government with student loans and banks with home and auto loans) will give a loan out to anyone who can fog a mirror. The schools don’t care. They have their money. They know that when they jack up tuition the government will just jack up the amount of the loan. Banks don’t care. They get their money, one way or another. Eventually, from the government. The government don’t care. They are a non producing entity who can just print the money to begin with. Or they just add it to the national debt. Who gets left holding the bag? Hard working stiffs like most of us who end up footing the bill for these bad loans with higher taxes and inflation.
I really feel sorry for the kids who are working hard and making an honest effort to pay back their loans. Especially those who may not be employed in the field of their degree. They are trying to do the right thing and pay back something that was actually “loaned” to them. Hence the term. For that they have my utmost respect and admiration . (For what THAT’S worth). Those who have no intention of paying back their loans or who are not using their loans for school, are nothing more than thieves and losers. Destined to stay that way.
Federal funding for anything is FUBAR and anybody with 2 active brain cells knows it !
Went to work , moved out at 20 , attended school at night , after earning mechanical certifications ended up OK ! Partied like a rockstar for a while on my money !
I resent being forced by tax confiscation to fund support and educate somebody else’s off spring ! The reason College costs are so high is because the liberal mind set that has infected American society . Your all special snowflakes ⏰ ding ding NO YOU ARE NOT ! You all deserve opportunities regardless of your abilities ⏰ ding ding NO YOU DO NOT ! As for banks other than a parent consigning a student loan kid your on the hook for a financial debacial ! Just remember it was Obama that signed off that your student loan in many cases becomes federalized and not dischargable no bankruptcy so THE IRS WILL OWN YOUR ASS till you pay up ! As for us working taxpayers picking up the tab , forget it , get it out of your entitlement snowflake head and grow up ! Hope you who were irresponsible with your loan money had fun with it but THE PARTY IS OVER ? and the years you spend paying off that Cancun Hang Over I wish you fond memories !
I paid for my children’s education and if you cannot cover your children’s it’s not my problem but to discover a modest to large percentage is pissed up against the wall and I will be forced to cover the bar bill remember your rape education NO MEANS NO !
Mandatory gov’t service IE: Mowing Parks, Picking up trash ETC if you are late on loans. Be a great “second” job. No free rides on the loans. I paid mine back working three jobs. Debt free now.