UW-L students among tops in nation at paying back loans

All that financial aid education at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse is apparently paying off.

UW-L is 13th among four-year colleges for paying off pell grants. For students receiving the grant in 2010 or 2011, 82 percent from the school are paying it off.

“Our students are, you know, leaving the institution with the skillset and the ability to find a good job,” UW-L financial aid director Louise Janke said. “They leave with the knowledge, if you will, with good financial behaviors such as budgeting and saving.”

Janke said their office reaches out to students having trouble making their payments and try to offer assistance. She also said education on keeping up with payments starts early.

“Families and students come to campus in the summer prior to their freshman year,’ Janke said. “We spend some times with the parents and the students talking to them about borrowing responsibly and borrowing only what you need to borrow.”

Janke says the number of scholarships offered by the college has increased steadily over the last few years to help students stay out of debt.