With Commencement swiftly approaching, I find myself considering options for my post-grad experience. Should I try to find a job in D.C.? If I go to law school, should I go sooner rather than later? Should I go to graduate school?

The price tag of a higher degree will play a large factor in my decision. I find myself wondering about how much I will have to take out to pay for my plans. And how long will I be paying for my education?

I’m worried because of the talk surrounding student loans – some financial experts are even likening the student debt climate to the housing bubble.

And a report released Wednesday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that the total outstanding student loan debt of U.S. borrowers surpassed $1 trillion. The report said the U.S. may have passed this mark “months ago.”

William Brewer, president of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, told the Washington Post earlier this month that student debt “could very well be the next debt bomb for the U.S. economy.” 

If the bubble pops, it could have lasting effects on the way students borrow money for their education. As Brewer noted, in the long-term, students may be unwilling to run the risk of taking out loans.

This risk may be even higher because the country is still battling an 8.3 percent unemployment rate. If the job market is improving but still remains less than favorable, students might continue to struggle with finding high paying jobs – or jobs at all – to pay their loans back on time.

So what can we do about it?

Part of the responsibility falls on institutions to make it easier for students to pay. Schools must be willing to stop, step back and scrutinize costs. And they must be willing to dole out large amounts of aid, so as to help ease the burden on students. Historically, our school has been generous in its financial aid packages, which is a great step.

But that success does not necessarily make a dent in the high tuition, city living, room and board and the extra costs it takes to be a Colonial. Of course, GW could not start slashing costs altogether, but it is important for administrators to realize that every penny really does count.

Any fee not integral to the University’s operating budget needs to be cut.

This would mitigate some of the pressure on students who take out large loans to come to GW.

The government also has a role in helping students avoid a debt dropout. This has become evident in the current debate in Congress over a law that has helped students take out loans by making the interest rate for Subsidized Stafford loans about 3.4 percent over four years. This low rate is a result of a 2007 law that is set to expire July 1. If the law is not renewed, students with the Stafford loans may have to pay over four years the pre-recession interest rate of 6.8 percent instead.

The Hatchet reported last week that Subsidized Stafford loans “provided about 4,700 undergraduate students at GW with more than $30 million in education funding this year.” It is not fair to burden students with a high interest rate when most current students took out the loans under the pre-recession rate.

Students, current and future, should also take an active role by calling on Congress to support higher education by keeping these interest rates low, because students simply can’t afford the new rates. And when students can’t afford the new rates, debt rises and the bubble continues to grow to the point where it just might pop.

Lyndsey Wajert, a senior majoring in journalism, is a former Hatchet opinions editor and a senior columnist.