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Students are hit hard by the rising costs of higher education, but they're not the only victims.
Debt
Debt
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College debt has become more and more an accepted, unavoidable cost of higher education. In fact, the higher cost has become falsely connected to quality, creating a fallacy in the minds of many that the more expensive school is better. There are some scary statistics on student loan debt that can easily be found in any online search engine. One of them being that Americans owe over $1.48 trillion in student loan debt, spread out among about 44 million borrowers in student loan debt. That’s about $620 billion more than the total U.S. credit card debt (10).
In 1985, the average in-state cost of tuition at a four-year public institution was $1,318— $3,118 when adjusted for inflation— while tuition at a four-year private college or university averaged $6,121— $14,479 when adjusted for inflation. Today, that number is $8,655 for a public four-year institution and $29,056 for a four-year private school. Clearly, the cost of college is rising, faster even than inflation can account for (2). To add to the issue of rising costs, it is becoming more difficult to be accepted to the higher institutions, as qualifications have risen from race and income.
According to the American Student Association, the average debt a graduating student faces today about $26,000 (10); however, according to a Gallup poll there's a tipping point in student debt at which the debt shifts from an "acceptable investment" to a "source of existential dread"... that point in $25,000 (9). Unfortunately, with the rising costs, students have been finding less value in their expensive educations as they face their crushing student debts. 50% of all graduates "strongly agree" their education was worth the cost, whereas only 38% of recent graduates feel the same (9).
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In the documentary Ivory Tower, a graduate with a masters degree from Hunter College stated: "The value of my education is priceless, but the value of my education is also not $140,000 in debt" (8).
The debt that students must face in order to get their degree is reaching a crisis level. Many students only ever get their Bachelors, and the cost of attending a university for another three years may be a deciding factor in that. This crushing debt is not fair to demand of students who were already forced to choose a field of work when they were 18 and picking their major, but it is increasingly becoming unavoidable.
Now, there's articles everywhere, proclaiming that Millennials— the most recent generation of college graduates— are killing every market from housing to JC Penny to diamonds. Older generations are criticizing the newer ones saying they're lazy, used to participation awards and far too entitled for their own good.
Not all of these criticisms are their fault, though. What young adult can afford a house or a diamond when they're buried in debt from attending college to get a degree only to be told they need more experience than they have to get a job that the degree actually applies to.
All the money students spend on their education and paying off their debts is money that isn't going towards the things they might want to buy. While in the short term, this hurts the graduate, it also hurts everyone and everything that isn't getting money from these graduates because that money is being used to pay off debt.
This creates something known as the Ancillary Effect.
The Ancillary Effect
The Ancillary Effect
Ancillary (adj.): subordinate; subsidiary; auxiliary; assisting (5).
It's not just college students that are suffering from the crippling debt they are bogged down by: its everyone who sells what they’re not buying, it's all the fields and jobs that don’t pay enough that these students are ignoring because it isn’t enough money to pay off their debts.
In a survey done by the American Student Association:
27% of respondents to ASA’s survey said that they found it difficult to buy daily necessities because of their student loans.
63% said their debt affected their ability to make larger purchases such as a car.
73% said they have put off saving for retirement or other investments.
75% indicated that student loan debt affected their decision or ability to purchase a home.
30% responded that their student loan debt was the deciding factor, or had considerable impact, on their choice of career field.
47% indicated it was the deciding factor, or had considerable impact, on their decision or ability to start a small business.
29% indicated that they have put off marriage as a result of their student loans.
43% said that student debt has delayed their decision to start a family. (2)
The ancillary effect of college debt is highlighted by this survey, with the implications to others clearly implied. Car dealers aren't selling to an entire demographic of students because of student debt, realtors aren't selling homes to young graduates because they can't afford a home and many have chosen to delay starting a family that would need a home because of students' debt, employers are missing out on talented students that need high paying jobs to dig themselves out of debt, and consumers are missing out on whatever small businesses aren't being started because young adults can't afford the risk to start them. The list could go on, the ripple effect is unending.
As one survey respondent put it, because of student loan debt, “Upon graduation you realize that you can’t really begin the life you imagined having after college" (2).
There are many kinds of freedom, but very few of them are possible to achieve without financial dignity. Debt is a happiness killer as graduates struggle to fill the pit they had to dig to pay for a degree that is supposed to get them a better life, and it's not just the graduates who are struggling with the rising, excessive cost of college.
"It's a crushing debt... thanks...."
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A Small Hope
A Small Hope
Of course, there are ways to pay for college as you go, and many ways to minimize the sticker price debt incurred based simply on the money available.
Some colleges and universities have responded to the debt crisis by creating financial aid packages for each and every student meant to minimize debt as much as possible.
One such example is, surprisingly enough, Princeton University. While it is an Ivy League school with a sizable sticker price of $67,000 a year, or $268,000 over a four year Bachelor's Degree, Princeton University's financial aid program is recognized as one of the most generous in the nation (1).
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Efforts are being made by certain universities to ensure that that the students they want to attend their school have the financial capability to do so. Through means such as generous grants, multiple scholarships, work-study programs and more, universities and colleges have made attempts to lessen the effects felt by so many young people across the United States.
These schools, however, are exceptions to the crisis/epidemic that is sweeping the nation today. As early stated, the average debt facing a recent graduate is $26,000, not the $0 that 83% of Princeton graduates face (1).
Many schools offer things called Federal Work Studies that offer students employment while in school. Usually, these jobs are part-time, either on campus in association with the school or off campus in association with a nonprofit or public agency. These jobs are attempts to lessen the financial burden students face while also preparing them for work in their preferred field. Students will make at least the minimum wage, but can make more depending on the type of work and what skills are required; however they will not be able to work more hours than the work study's monetary amount provides for (6).
Not all schools offer these programs, and not all students are awarded these opportunities. Additionally, none of these Work Study awards will pay for the entirety of tuition, usually not even half, which creates a need for students to find second or third jobs in addition to their work-studies and scholarships to try to minimize the debt they will face.
Since college, especially a high-quality or prestigeous one, is clearly expensive, and the costs are not always equal to the benefits, perhaps a better course of action would be to attend a local community college. After all, community college is much cheaper than the other options and it also gives degrees.
There are, however, many misconceptions about community college that discourage people from attending and assigning it a lesser value (3). There is a general misconception that the more expensive a school is, the better it is, which is the first contributor to the devaluing of community college to both prospective students and possibly employers.
Community college suffers from a pervasive belief that it is easier than other colleges and universities with less qualified teachers.; however, the professors are usually expected to have a Master's Degree to teach at community colleges and are less involved with the research opportunities that professors at more prestigious universities tend to be, which implies that they have more time for their students (3).
While Community College may be a great value education, the stigma surrounding is crippling to the reputation and respect of the college and the students who attend, and therefore community college is not quite a viable alternative for the epidemic of student debt. At least it isn't as long as the stigma around it exists.
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Another option to offset the costs of a secondary education is online college. There are multiple reputable universities that offer inline options for a lower cost, but with the same degree.
While there is no stigma around this option, the access to professors and other advisers is much more limited and likely of a different nature.
Online colleges are indeed a much cheaper option, but they limit the education received and don't offer the same kind of on-campus experiences such as study abroad or diverse learning environments.
To conclude, while there are many options that could lower the cost of a higher education for a financially-savvy individual, there are no great alternatives or guarantees, and it doesn't change the overall rising cost of colleges and universities across the nation.
References
References
1. "Affordable Princeton: Financial Aid Allows Students to Graduate Debt Free." Princeton University, Trustees of Princeton University, 31 Mar. 2016, www.princeton.edu/news/2016/03/31/affordable-princeton-financial-aid-allows-students-graduate-debt-free. Accessed 22 May 2018.
2. American Student Association. "Life Delayed: The Impact of Student Debt on the Daily Lives of Young Americans." American Student Association, www.asa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/life_delayed_whitepaper_2013.pdf. Accessed 22 May 2018.
3. Barrington, Kate. "Overcoming the Stigma of Community College: Spring 2017 Trending Topics." Community College Review, 27 Apr. 2018, www.communitycollegereview.com/blog/overcoming-the-stigma-of-community-college-spring-2017-trending-topics. Accessed 22 May 2018.
4. Crabtree, Steve, and Sean Seymour. "Recent Grads Less Likely to Agree College Was worth Cost." Gallup, 29 Sept. 2015, news.gallup.com/poll/185819/recent-grads-less-likely-agree-college-worth-cost.aspx. Accessed 22 May 2018.
5. "Definition of Ancillary." Dictionary.com, www.dictionary.com/browse/ancillary. Accessed 22 May 2018.
6. Federal Student Aid. US Department of Education, studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/work-study.
7. "It's an Avocado !" YouTube, uploaded by :D, 22 Aug. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG2-y5Yf1Oo. Accessed 22 May 2018.
8. Kamenetz, Anya. "$50,000 in Student Loans? You Probably Don't Think College Was worth It." NPR, National Public Radio, 29 Sept. 2015, www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/09/29/444169254/-50-000-or-more-in-student-loans-you-probably-dont-think-college-was-worth-it. Accessed 22 May 2018.
9. Landrum, Sarah. "The Impact of Student Loan Debt on Millennial Happiness." Forbes, 20 Oct. 2017, www.forbes.com/sites/sarahlandrum/2017/10/20/the-impact-of-student-loan-debt-on-millennial-happiness/#f4509247125e. Accessed 22 May 2018.
10. "A Look at the Shocking Student Loan Debt Statistics for 2018." Student Loan Hero, 1 May 2018, studentloanhero.com/student-loan-debt-statistics/. Accessed 22 May 2018.
11. Samuel, Sajay. "How College Loans Exploit Students for Profit." TED, Feb. 2016, www.ted.com/talks/sajay_samuel_how_college_loans_exploit_students_for_profit?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare. Accessed 22 May 2018.
12. Vosganian, Ed. "How Much Does Online College Cost?" Affordable College Online, www.affordablecollegesonline.org/financial-aid/online-college-degree-cost/.
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