A college education can also allow for students to make more money in the future. According to data compiled by the Economic Policy Institute, college graduates earn on average 56% extra than their high school counterparts. In fact, data shows that an engineering graduate from the University of California, Berkeley, will be over a million dollars better off than someone who graduated only high school. However, the opposing side may say that the price for college is too much. According to data collected by Consumer Reports, around 42 million Americans owed about 1.2 trillion in debt altogether. The average student debt varies from state to state. “Residents in New Hampshire owe the most in student loans with an average of $32,795, while New
One statistic that Owen and Sawhill presented was “Hamilton Project research shows that 23- to 25-year-olds with bachelor’s degrees make $12,000 more than high school graduates but by age 50, the gap has grown to $46,500 (Figure 1). When we look at lifetime earnings—the sum of earnings over a career—the total premium is $570,000 for a bachelor’s degree and $170,000 for an associate’s degree. (Owen, Sawhill pg 641). Owen and Sawhill also mention that “with tuitions rising faster than family incomes, the typical college student is now more dependent than in the past on loans, creating serious risks for the individual student and perhaps for the system as a whole, should widespread defaults occur in the future. Federal student loans now total close to $1 trillion, larger than credit card debt or auto loans and second only to mortgage debt on household balance sheets” (Owen, Sawhill pg 642). Basically, what the authors are saying is college is expensive, but for some career paths, the training and education received in college is necessary to have that job and the benefits outweigh the costs. With a high paying career where a college education is necessary, paying off student loans is no problem. On the other hand, people who go after low paying careers that don’t necessarily need a college degrees,
When coming to college your whole money situation changes, suddenly you're bombarded with housing costs and student loans that you have to pay back or you will spiral into debt. Your whole life changes you don't have your parents paying for your voluptuous wants and needs, you’re on your own. The move from high school understudy to college undergrad is a standout amongst the most upsetting and essential times in an adolescent's life. Not only is your day to day life going to change but your spending habits have to change. The school years are a period where a high school student leaves their support team behind,
The debt associated with higher education is one of the biggest factors of deterrence for most people who are interested in college, and it is not at all surprising. 71 % of college seniors who graduated last year had student loan debt, and the average debt for a college student with a four-year degree is $29,400.This number has gone up an average of 6 % each year. Keep in mind that this is just the average debt, and there are students who are in debt upwards of $30,000 dollars (projectonstudentdebt.org). Now in order to understand why the debt is so high it is best to break down the different costs of higher education. The first and most important of which is tuition.
Employers consider a degree necessary for getting a job at their company. However, not many people can afford college. The solution is to take out loans, then college becomes affordable. These loans create a whole different issue, student loan debt. This can affect people their whole lifetime and has been happening for years upon years. But, in the more recent years America is starting to shed more light onto the issue and are becoming curious on why colleges charge twenty five thousand dollars, or more, for a year of education. Many different countries offer free college, but in America student loan debt keeps getting worse.
Most people today accept the debt that comes from college. Students consider student loan debt as a “good debt.” They see other students make this mistake but follow their path anyway. Nearly 80% of college-bound students have not projected the total amount of money they will need to graduate college.
Student loan debt makes up a large portion of the debt in this country today. Many defaulted loans are the demise of high interest rates, poor resources to students in educating them on other avenues and corruption in the governmental departments that oversee education and financing. There are many contributing factors that lead to the inability to pay off student loans which need government reform to protect the borrower’s best interests.
No matter how much students work to pay off their tuition, chances are they are still stuck paying for it. There is no easy way around debt, which is the main reason why many students begin to obtain jobs in college. CNBC reporter, Stacy Rapacon explains that new studies show tuition is unavoidable because no matter how much we work, it still isn’t enough to pay off tuition. Tuition continues to rise year after year, less and less students are able to actually afford going to a college they desire. In “Degrees of Debt”, by New York Times editor and reporter, Andrew Martin, the discussion of college students taking out loans are due to the belief of investment. However Martin argues that in the end, once they received their education, they still have a
It is a norm and expectation in society today for students to pursue higher education after graduating from high school. College tuition is on the rise, and a lot of students have difficulty paying for their tuitions. To pay for their tuitions, most students have to take out loans and at the end of four years, those students end up in debt. Student loan debts are at an all time high with so many people graduating from college, and having difficulties finding jobs in their career fields, so they have difficulties paying off their student loans and, they also don’t have a full understanding of the term of the loans and their options if they are unable to repay.
College debt is a universally known issue that remains one of society’s largest burdens today. Over the past ten years, high school students and graduates realized that they must seek a higher education in order to find a job that keeps food on the table. Attending a college or university is practically required in order to succeed in life today. Millions of people seek a higher education to pursue a degree, graduate, and acquire a quality job that supports their everyday needs. It often means a lot of money to pursue and earn a degree nowadays. What they don’t realize, is that paying their tuition and housing deposits is essentially signing a contract, costing them thousands of dollars in the near future and leading them down the dark path
Nevertheless, after applying for federal financial aid, the average total tuition and fees of a public four-year college, is only about two-thousand dollars. (Source D) To help with the costs of college, around 83% of people who graduate with, at minimum, a bachelor’s degree, will earn around twenty-thousand dollars greater than those without a degree. (Source F) This means that although the cost of college can be extremely high, after graduating, the amount of money one will make compared to someone with no degree, will in turn help them to pay off any existing student loans or
The cost of college tuition continues to increase each year. If this keeps increasing the way it has been, students will be indebted the rest of their life. Author of “The Looming Student Loan Crisis”, Jackson Toby states that student loans have increased along with the increase of tuition costs. In 2004, the average unpaid student debt was approximately $18,650...
However, college education is very expensive. It costs an average of $20,000 per year in the U.S., 38% of the average entire family income. The average student debt is 26,500. That is not necessarily a reason not to get a college education, though. Most graduates’ degrees pay them back in the long run. There are also options such as scholarships, FAFSA, and student loans available to many students. If an individual wants a college education, there will be some way for them to get it, whether it be community college or some other
I’ve routinely seen estimates that two-thirds of students take out loans for college. The New York Times, however, conducted an analysis that concluded that 94% of students who earn a bachelor’s degree borrow. That’s up from just 45% in 1993.Only 7% of students at public colleges and universities graduate without borrowing while only 5% of grads at private schools can pull off this feat. The average debt is $23,300, but 10% of students borrow more than $54,000 and 3% borrow more than $100,000” (O'Shaughnessy 1). This number is increasingly high compared to what many people think. People do not realize how much money is actually borrowed in order to complete
Not everyone graduates college. Or maybe they do but then spend all their time afterward trying to pay back their massive student loans. Every year, millions of students enter American colleges and universities and pay an average of seventeen thousand dollars per year just to enter a public college. A private college costs an average of forty thousand dollars per year. The high prices for their education often cause students to drop out, have a burdening debt, or not even apply to college at all.
Those who think a college education is not worth it believe that college can become a setback in life due to the thousands of dollars that college students are spending on tuition and books. Students who attend college will not have the money to purchase a home, spend money on family, vacations, or any other costly items and bills. On the other hand, most college students end up paying for their college loans all of their life or go into debt. They will never have money to rely on since their credit cards will be racking up interest for college loans that need to be paid off. As stated by Paul Taylor in Michelle Adam’s report, the cost of a college education has been at a record level and the cost of tuition and fees has more than tripled which is causing a rise in student debt (58). With rising prices, the economy is making it more difficult for people to afford a college education.