Casey Curtis of the University of Arkansas at Hope-Texarkana discusses the problem of student loan debt in Southwest Arkansas and the Ark-La-Tex. He has a solution to help.

The student loan crisis in the U.S. has become a serious issue for college students. Right now, the total amount of student loan debt in the U.S. is coming in at over $1.5 trillion.

The Sobering Stats on the Student Loan Crisis

  • National student loan debt has exceeded credit card debt—by over $1.5 trillion.
  • Student loan debt has seen almost 157% growth since the Great Recession and is the fastest-growing portion of the total household debt in the U.S.(3)
  • There are currently about 44 million student loan borrowers in this country.
  • 65% of college seniors who graduated from nonprofit colleges in 2017 had student loan debt.
  • We’re seeing over $28,000 in student loan debt per student at the time of graduation.
  • As of 2018, roughly 1 out of 10 people with student loans were late with (or completely missed) their payments. That’s the highest 90+-day delinquency rate of all household debt—outranking auto loans, credit card debt and mortgages.(7)

The Good News of how U of A Hope-Texarkana Can Help

At the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana (UAHT) you can earn a quality college degree without being weighed down by college debt for up to 30 years.

The average yearly cost of tuition at UAHT for Arkansas residents and border county residents is $2,310 per year.(8) Compare that with the average in-state tuition cost for public four-year universities of $9,970(9), and you save thousands right off the bat.

High school seniors in Arkansas may also qualify for the Academic Challenge Scholarship that awards students at UAHT $1,000 their first year and $3,000 their second year.

 The Academic Challenge Scholarship lowers tuition and fees at UAHT to just $2,255 the first year and a minuscule $255 the second year.

Also, 89% of UAHT students qualify for scholarships or federal financial aid, and the college offers over 120 privately funded scholarships.

Students who qualify for the maximum Pell grant of $6,195 during the 2019-2020 academic year have enough funds to fully cover all tuition, fees, and books at UAHT and can use the funds above those charges for living and transportation costs.

The good news doesn’t stop there. The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville recently announced the new Arkansas Transfer Achievement Scholarship program.

The scholarship enables students who graduate with an associate degree from UAHT to transfer to the U of A Fayetteville and pay UAHT’s affordable tuition rate.

Therefore, students who graduate with an associate degree from UAHT can attend U of A Fayetteville and save over 71% on tuition per credit hour.

A world-class college education is within your grasp without falling victim to the student loan debt crisis, and UAHT can help.

Editor's note: Casey Curtis is the Communications Coordinator for UA Hope-Texarkana. For more information or to enroll in classes at UAHT call 870-777-5722 or visit uacch.edu.

Photo above: Alanis Flores is a UAHT student from Hope, Arkansas.