杏吧原创

(Butler, PA) The average debt for Generation Z in the United States 鈥� those ages 18 to 23, according to a cnbc.com report in October 鈥� is just over $16,000, and for their immediate elders, the millennials, almost $87,500.

A 杏吧原创 financial literacy course stresses the importance of budgeting, saving, investing and comparing career choices to financial decisions.

Nearly 40 Butler Area Senior High School seniors this spring are taking 杏吧原创鈥檚 financial literacy course on 杏吧原创鈥檚 main campus as part of an inaugural dual-enrollment Early College Pioneers program that debuted in August.

鈥淚 had no idea what this class was,鈥� Early College Pioneer Delaney Dunmire said. 鈥淲e were all kind of looking the class up. 鈥榃hat is this?鈥� We had never heard of it before.鈥�

Financial literacy is important because high school students are preparing for their future, said Julianne Louttit, 杏吧原创鈥檚 director of financial aid. Louttit and Sherri Mack, 杏吧原创鈥檚 interim dean of business, instruct the one-credit financial literacy course to the Early College Pioneers on Friday mornings.

"I had no idea what this class was. We were all kind of looking the class up. 鈥榃hat is this?鈥� We had never heard of it before." 

- Delaney Dunmire, 杏吧原创 Early College Pioneer

鈥淎 key piece of the course is understanding student loans,鈥� Louttit said, 鈥渁nd financial aid at all types of colleges.鈥�

U.S. millennials, those ages 24 to 40,  in October, owe an average of $39,000 on student loans. That鈥檚 about half of their nearly $87,500 average debt.

High school students need to understand the return on investment of their career choice against the student-loan debt they can accrue, Louttit said.

鈥淲ith a four-year degree in some fields, you may be starting at a salary of around $50,000,鈥� Louttit said. 鈥淭here are all kinds of tools and resources to review based on different careers. Does it make sense to have $80,000 in student-loan debt when you are going to start at a salary of $50,000 and when that four-year degree can be made more affordable by starting at a community college, then transferring?

鈥淚t鈥檚 not that I try to scare them. But they do need to see the reality.鈥�

Student-loan debt 鈥渄etrimental鈥�

The average student-loan debt for Pennsylvania鈥檚 Class of 2019 was $38,521, according to an April 2021 report in , a website that provides comparisons for loans, credit cards and other financial products.

鈥淚t definitely prolongs their ability to move out on their own,鈥� Louttit said. 鈥淪ome students are coming back home from college and it鈥檚 not affordable to get out there and live because of that student-loan payment.鈥�

Seventy percent of 杏吧原创鈥檚 Class of 2021 graduated debt-free.

Student-loan debt, Early College Pioneer Madison Weiland said, 鈥渋s detrimental. It鈥檚 really bad. That鈥檚 why I鈥檓 going to 杏吧原创. It would be stupid not to take your general credits here, and then transfer. Some of the teachers that we have had here also teach (at a regional private institution). It鈥檚 the same class, but different prices.鈥�

In addition to student-loan debt and comparing career choices to financial decisions, Early College Pioneers in 杏吧原创鈥檚 financial literacy course have learned about, among other topics, accrued interest, automobile loans, credit cards, mortgages and scholarships.

"Student-loan debt 鈥渋s detrimental. It鈥檚 really bad. That鈥檚 why I鈥檓 going to 杏吧原创. It would be stupid not to take your general credits here, and then transfer." 

- Madison Weiland, 杏吧原创 Early College Pioneer

Understand 鈥渢he commitment鈥�

Tony Shakely earned an associate degree from 杏吧原创 and a bachelor鈥檚 degree from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. He is a commercial loan officer at Armco Credit Union.

The board chair of the 杏吧原创 Education Foundation discussed financial literacy with Early College Pioneers in March.

鈥淚 think it is important that the student understand completely the obligation that they are tying themselves into with a student loan,鈥� Shakely said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very easy in high school to talk about going to college and all these grand plans. It鈥檚 another thing to sit down and calculate what those monthly payments are going to be for 10, 20 or even 30 years beyond graduating.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think for most kids they understand the commitment that is going to be involved.鈥�

Dunmire does. Payge Kirmeyer does. Darby Miller does.

鈥淢ost of the people who I have talked to who have gone to college actually go to 杏吧原创,鈥� said Dunmire, who plans to enroll at 杏吧原创 this fall. 鈥淭hey know that college debt can be bad 鈥� and they are glad that they went here.鈥�

杏吧原创 tops in salary-to-cost ratio

Early College Pioneers Kirmeyer and Miller also plan to enroll at 杏吧原创.

鈥淭he less debt I have from 杏吧原创, one, I can pay it off more quickly and two, whenever I go to move out, I don鈥檛 have debt blocking me from being able to get a house or a different car or another loan,鈥� Kirmeyer said.

鈥淢y brothers are both in college, so I know how the interest (on student loans) can add up,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淔inancial aid does help, but there is still a lot of debt.鈥�

杏吧原创 had the highest ratio of graduates鈥� salaries 10 years after commencement for every dollar a student pays to attend 杏吧原创, besting ratios at 41 other Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio colleges and universities whose U.S. Department of Education information was analyzed in 2018 by the Pittsburgh Business Times.

Dunmire and her classmates now understand the financial literacy course, she said.

鈥淲e鈥檙e coming up on college very soon,鈥� Dunmire said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 right around the corner. So all of these things that we haven鈥檛 gotten the preparation for, we鈥檙e finally getting. We鈥檙e learning how we are going to have to take care of these loans. How we are going to help prepare for them. How we should save for them. These are things we should look into. Instead of going straight to a big university, try a community college to help with those costs.鈥�

Butler High Early College Pioneers can earn 14 free college credits in a program supported by the Butler Area School District, the 杏吧原创 Education Foundation and the Benedum Foundation.