Social Issues in College Education and the Student Debt Crisis. Hayley Engelman Central Methodist University SO101-OA: Intro Sociology Professor Barwick March 3, 2024. Introduction For many high school graduates, receiving a college degree is a huge step towards achieving success in the workforce, in the United States. However, the average cost of a college education in the U.S. continues to rise. At the same time, the salaries of Americans without a college education continue to fall. With the rise in costs for everything in 2024, a college degree is still extremely important to a person’s career. It will increase your chances of finding a job while still receiving a great salary. Although, college education has become more expensive …show more content…
This exaggerates the existing inequalities of limited access to education. Mental health is another social issue with college, as significant student debt will not doubt lead to anxiety and stress. Another issue is that because of the rising costs of college, individuals get stuck in terrible economic standings and cannot seem to find their way out. Many people question if it is worth the cost, but many eventually say it is. Receiving a college degree is more important now than ever, due to low wages, high inflation, and increased chances of finding a job. Student Debt Crisis When students go to college, the majority of them cannot pay full tuition, so they use federal student loans to help pay for it. The majority of the student debt crisis is due to federal loans, and a small portion of it is private loans. Due to an increase in average debt and decreasing average salaries, student borrowers are in a very tough crisis. Many graduates are finding difficulties in paying the debts, and these debts have interest, so repayment becomes more difficult and because of that, debts are less …show more content…
2023, August 22. Is rising student debt harming the U.S. economy? Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us-student-loan-debt-trends-economic-impact Hanson, M. (2023, January 30). Student loan debt crisis (explained): Facts, causes & effects. Education Data Initiative -. https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-crisis Henslin, J. M. (2019). Essentials of sociology: A down-to-earth approach (13th ed.). Personal Education - Personal Education
Over the past decade, it has become evident to the students of the United States that in order to attain a well paying job they must seek a higher education. The higher education, usually a college or university, is practically required in order to succeed. To be able to attend these schools and receive a degree in a specific field it means money, and often a lot of it. For students, the need for a degree is strong, but the cost of going to college may stand in the way of a successful future. Each year the expense of college rises, resulting in the need for students to take out loans. Many students expect to immediately get a job after graduation, however, in more recent years the chances for college graduates to get a well paying job isn’t nearly as high as it used to be. Because students can no longer depend on getting a job fresh out of college, it has become harder to repay the loans. Without a steady income, these individuals have gone into debt and frequently default loans. If nothing is done to stop colleges and universities from increasing the cost of attending their school, the amount of time it takes for students to pay off their loans will become longer and longer. The extreme expenses to attend a college or university may leave a student in financial distress: which may ultimately lead to hardship in creating a living for them and affect the country’s economy.
Although a college education grows more and more expensive every year. People begin to question whether college is a good idea to invest in or not. “As college costs continue to rise, students and their families are looking more carefully at what they are getting for their money. Increasingly, they are finding that the college experience falls short of their expectations”(Cooper. H Mary). Many people believe that the cost of a college degree has outstripped the value of a degree.Studies show that a college degree will increase your earning power. A lot of people say that a college degree now is worth what a high school diploma was wor...
Many Americans today tend to believe that a college education is valuable financially, yet some others strongly oppose this, since they look at the college education as being both time and money consuming. A person who successfully completes a college education may obtain one or all of the following; an associate’s degree after two years, a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or a PhD. The institutions that provide the college education can be public or private. Whereas a college education might be seen as being very expensive, it actually increases people’s chances of getting higher paying jobs, instills knowledge into them, and raises their enjoyment levels.
Imagine stepping into the halls of college, filled with dreams of a promising future, only to be met with the harsh reality of overwhelming student loan debt, as shared by individuals like Philip Rogers and Chloe Peterson. In recent decades, the landscape of higher education in the United States has undergone significant changes. The cost of college tuition has skyrocketed, far outpacing inflation rates. This trend has led to an unprecedented surge in student loan debt, with graduates facing substantial financial burdens upon completing their education. Additionally, job prospects and median salaries have not kept pace with the rising costs of education, exacerbating the challenges faced by recent graduates in repaying their loans and achieving financial stability.
backgrounds, is greater than ever, access and opportunity in American higher education is more complex and a lot less optimistic. Also, the majority of jobs requiring a college education doubled over the past 40 years (Carnevale, Smith, Strohl, 2010). While half of all people from high-income families have a bachelor’s degree by age 25, just
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.
The student loan "debt has passed $1 trillion... Nearly 20 percent are in default on their student loans" in the United States. Many schools and jobs encourage students to further on their educations but how could students keep up with the total cost of college? Ironically, a strong educated workforce is what will help maintain America in shape but college prices have been going nowhere but up. This can create a strong effect on many of the younger students thinking about attending college, "today 's teenagers might be experiencing more and more "financial anxiety" and aversion to debt than previous generations."(Jake
When young adults complete high school they’re encouraged to enroll in a higher education program. With the constant talks of soaring tuition costs, in addition to the massive student loan debt, taking this step can be worrisome. Reyna Gobel, a journalist on financing college education and repaying student debt, states. “It’s easy to stop believing that a college education is worth it when the nation has over a trillion dollars in debt, but college graduates still earn more over a lifetime than those without a degree. Plus, they’re more employable.” More than three-quarters of all college graduates agree that higher education is indeed still worth the cost. Additional education in a field you’re passionate towards
” Higher education is the single-most important investment that Americans can make in their futures, increasing their future potential earnings and lowering their risk of unemployment. Despite these benefits, the cost of attaining this education has skyrocketed over the past few decades, putting college out of reach for too many low- and middle-income families.” If a degree is expected from many employers for most entry level jobs, it should become more affordable to attain one.
Most students will acquire a huge debt in college forcing them to find a job or multiple jobs to support themselves. In the study, “The Myth of the Student Loan Crisis” it disagrees that student loans are a problem, but the numbers of students who have earned a degree and do not use it in their field of work is astronomically growing. Student loans are causing people to have to settle for low-paying jobs, because they are having to pay month to month. Per a study by Jesse Rothstein most people with college loans will have a low-paying public job like waiting tables or becoming a secretary. People go to college and major in a subject because they want to love and be successful in their job. The debts they acquire push them away from their dreams and into a mountain of debt that some people never recover from. This will also stop people from buying houses, cars, and other any luxuries they might have
With the ever-increasing tuition and ever-tighten federal student aid, the number of students relying on student loan to fund a college education hits a historical peak. According to a survey conducted by an independent and nonprofit organization, two-thirds of college seniors graduated with loans in 2010, and each of them carried an average of $25,250 in debt. (Reed et. al., par. 2). My research question will focus on the profound effect of education debt on American college graduates’ lives, and my thesis statement will concentrate on the view that the education policymakers should improve financial aid programs and minimize the risks and adverse consequences of student loan borrowing.
“In addition to causing difficulty for repayment, increased student loan burdens may affect other life-cycle behaviors of college students as they enter careers or family formation” (Hershbein and Hollenbeck 6). The issues of student loan debt should cause students to pursue other routes of education and careers. “Isolating the causal impact of student loans on future behavior is problematic because the same set of problems that influence student loan behavior may also influence the type of education pursued, academic success, and later earnings” (Hershbein and Hollenbeck 6). Those individuals who are going to the same college and going for the same degree will pay the same amount of tuition. This is not true because some student has more scholarships
In today’s society, the idea of receiving a college education has been pondered quite a bit as to whether or not it is actually worth it. According to Michelle Adam, many people “…today believe that getting a good education is key to success in our society, this revealed surprising issues that challenge the notion of higher education being worth its price tag” (59). Naturally, many high school graduates apply for college right before or after graduation. Others decide to go into the work force, armed forces, or simply remain unemployed. The question that many people debate about is, is a college education worth it in the long run? Though some people believe a college education will benefit ones’ career, others believe it will cause a mass of debt and loans for college students and graduates, and postpone life events.
In that year, the number of college graduates was only 432,058 (Sourmaidis) and ever since the demand continually increased as did price. This trend allowed for the student loan crisis to occur, which is a problem we face today. As of 2016, American students have accrued a massive 1.3 trillion in student loan debt. Just 10 years ago, the nation’s balance was only $447 billion (Clements). This ever-present cumulative burden has caused many post graduate Americans to delay important life events such as marriage, homeownership and children because of this substantial encumbrance (Clements).
The ability to gain a degree in any field of study is highly important in American society, possessing skills and knowledge over your job emphasizes the significance of higher education. Especially, for job promotions that would cause someone to make more than their fellow colleagues. In our increasingly competitive economic society, having the minimal of a high school diploma is not enough to provide financial stability nor will it help to compete in a workforce in which the best-educated are the ones that are rewarded the most. Therefore, higher education is a crucial necessity in order to move up the socioeconomic ladder and qualify for higher paying jobs. The rising costs of college, however, is making it harder for Americans to obtain