Student debt is a nationwide problem that many people are underestimating. It’s also a problem that is accelerating in severity. Let’s take a quick look at the problems and errors made in this field.
Things have changed. We don’t have to go back very far to see just how bad the debt problem has gotten. Let’s go back to the early 90s or so, when downward turns were beginning to manifest. The average student ended up with roughly $10,000 worth of debt. Not pretty, but no atrocious, either. Today, your average student may leave college $35,000 to $50,000 in debt.
How did fees and debt get so high? The government got a bit too involved. They tied their financial interests with those of colleges. They started letting students borrow money in order to afford college. This sounds good on the surface, but has sparked a problem. Knowing that the government would pay whatever they charged a student, colleges all across the country started charging incredibly high fees.
Another problem is that colleges are focusing much less on courses that actually teach students how the world actually works and more on courses that deny science and act as ideological indoctrination. These degrees are getting increasingly expensive – and increasingly useless.
Are students destined to be swallowed by debt? No. Thankfully, students do have access to quite a lot of help in this regard. They can look into consolidation, income-based payments, and loan forgiveness are all options. These debts can get in the way of your goals – especially when it comes to getting loans for housing, so you should be looking anything that can relieve the financial pressure.
Are we giving young people the right message? For a long time, teenagers have been made to feel deathly afraid of failure by their parents and society at large. It could be argued that a problematic fear of failure has permeated social thinking for a long time. But sometimes it feels like we’re sending a uniquely wrong message to millennials. They become afraid of never going to college and spending even the slightest amount of time working in “dead-end jobs,” such as in the fast food industry.
What we seem to forget to instill in teenagers is a desire to work hard, even if that means going through some rough patches. After all, a degree isn’t something that will guarantee you success, and a lack of one won’t guarantee you failure. There are many successful businesses like the King Kong Digital Agency that weren’t founded by people with degrees.
The long-term consequences. High levels of debt are hardly helping our nation’s economic situation. This problem undercuts the opportunity that a young person has. Your economic mobility can be very limited when you’re tied down with debt. College should be seen as an investment, and recognized as one that isn’t always a smart one. Most people end up in jobs that don’t actually require a degree.
Many young people are emerging from college just as disadvantaged, or even more so, than they were before they began. It’s a state of affairs that must change.
Mia Guerra
Latest posts by Mia Guerra (see all)
- Five Wedding Details You Shouldn’t Forget While Planning - July 17, 2023
- Essential Considerations When Planning an Extension - July 17, 2023
- Easy Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint and Contribute to a Greener World - July 17, 2023
