For many years, college has been described to be the most important and most impactful decision of one’s life. For some, college is a helping tool in their career path that would set them up for success. For others, college is a dreadful nightmare that they do not wish to remember again. One of the biggest reasons that students stress and don’t finish their education is because of college debt. It has been said that “as prices soar, a college degree statistically remains a good lifetime investment, but it often comes with an unprecedented financial burden.”(Martin and Lehren 4). With this in mind, there are many solutions to avoid and/or reduce college debt such as getting scholarships and working a job, however, the best solution is to …show more content…
For example, Kelsey Griffith, a student at Ohio Northern University graduated on Sunday and the first thing she started to do was to pay her “$120,000 in student debt [by] working two restaurant jobs and ..giving up her apartment to live with her parents.”(Martin and Lehren 4). Such shows that there are sacrifices one has to make due to being in debt. Moreover, college debt is so horrific that a number of students end up “becoming mired in a financial morass” because they struggle to pay them off. (Martin and Lehren 6). As a result, not many students finish their college experience and end up dropping out for jobs that do not require a degree, however, there are solutions to prevent that. One solution to avoid college debt is scholarships. Students can fund their education through getting as many scholarships as they can. It has been said that there are scholarships for almost everything; one would be surprised by how many they can find. Furthermore, working a job and saving up is another way to avert college debt. Just by working 20 hours a week and saving $6 per hour can save a person around $24,000. Lastly, attending an affordable institution is also a way to hinder college debt from stacking up. Besides, tuition and fees for community colleges are way cheaper than
The second chapter of this book advocates students to attend college, even if they must take on a moderate amount of student loan debt. They give statistics showing the tremendous gap in wages between a college graduate and a non-college graduate. The third chapter of this book argues the opposite viewpoint of the second chapter. The author states that the cost of college today is too high and that there are too many college graduates flooding the job market causing many of them to go unemployed or seek low level jobs that do not pay enough to pay off their student loans. Both of these chapters will help me to show the two main ...
"Debate on Student Loan Debt Doesn 't Go Far Enough." Applebaum, Robert. Hill (2012). Print.
Many people would agree that our country’s young adults have and continue to incur a lifetime of debt by enrolling in college. It’s become an almost acceptable understanding that if you plan to attend college, you might as well expect to graduate with an enormous amount of debt. Robin Wilson, a reporter for the “Chronicle of Higher Education,” and author of “A Lifetime of Student Debt? Not Likely” suggests student loans are very real and can be life altering.
Everyone knows that going to college and getting a degree is the most effective and guaranteed route to ensure a prosperous financial future, right? College is considered by most to be the best investment you can make in life, but what happens when that investment leaves you drowning in thousands of dollars in debt right after graduation day. This is the situation that millions of college graduates are faced with in 2016. Rising college tuition perpetuates student debt and is on a sharp incline and it seems to have no ambition of ever slowing down. The effect of this catastrophe is felt by millions of families across the country who now question, “is college really worth it?”
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, college tuition and relevant fees have increased by 893 percent (“College costs and the CPI”). 893 percent is a very daunting percentage considering that it has surpassed the rise in the costs of Medicare, food, and housing. As America is trying to pull out of a recession, many students are looking for higher education so they can attain a gratified job. However, their vision is being stained by the dreadful rise in college costs. College tuition is rising beyond inflation. Such an immense rise in tuition has many serious implications for students; for example, fewer students are attending private colleges, fewer students are staying enrolled in college, and fewer students are working in the fields in which they majored in.
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.
With tuition rising every year, students face the challenge paying the debt achieving a college degree comes with. “Student debt surpassed credit-card debt in June 2010 for the first time in history, rising to about $830 billion — or nearly 6 percent of the nation 's annual economic output”(Clemmitt, Marcia). Not everyone has a ton of money just laying around. Being that financial trouble is the biggest problem for students, they begin to question whether college is worth it or not. In recent years, students have taken out loans to help with expenses. Most students choose to attend a community and junior college to help minimize the debt. Even after graduating with a degree, students still face the struggle of finding a job in this economic time. For higher class families this may not be a problem to them. But for the middle class and low income families, they face tougher times being that they don 't have the financial help like higher class families do. For the middle class and low income families, it makes more sense attending a community and junior college rather than a four year university.
There is no escaping the fact that the cost of college tuition continues to rise in the United States each year. To make it worse, having a college degree is no longer an option, but a requirement in today’s society. According to data gathered by the College Board, total costs at public four-year institutions rose more rapidly between 2003-04 and 2013-14 than they did during either of the two preceding decades (Collegeboard.com). Students are pressured to continue into higher education but yet, the increasing costs of books and tuition make us think about twice. Sometimes, some of these students have to leave with their education partially finished, leaving them with crushing debts. It is important to find the means to prevent these students that are victimized by skyrocketing tuitions from dropping out, and encourage all incoming high school seniors to continue their education.
College is not worth the financial burden, it isn’t worth the average 23,000 dollar debt. Many of us choose to go through with college regardless of price because a rich fulfilling education is the best thing an individual could ever receive, but only one in three individuals believe their college education is worth the money. In Michelle Adam’s “Is College worth it?” she gathered a lot of evidence from a survey by the
“Is College Worth it? Clearly, New Data Says” by David Leonhardt, “The Value of a College Degree” by Emily Hanford, “New study shows the value of a college education” by Hope Yen, and “Is College Worth It Anymore” by Kristen Sturt, all primarily discuss the advantages of a college education and its true value. In the United States, the student debt is over $1.2 trillion dollars. It is the second largest cause of debt following mortgage debt. When the media spends so much time talking about the limitations of a college education, they are discouraging some students from attending college. Regardless of all the debt, attending college and attaining a higher education is the best decision a student pursuing a bright future, could make today.
Children of the twenty first century spend nearly 13 years in school, preparing for what is college, one of the only ways to achieve the so-called “American Dream”. College is the best way to start an advanced career and go further than one possibly could if college degrees were not available, allowing people to achieve their view of the American Dream; whether it be large houses, shiny cars, multiple kids, or financial comfort, college is the stepping stone to achieve the American Dream. But all great things come with a price, college dragging along debt. Students who attend college struggle to find ways to pay for it, leading to applying for student loans. These loans a great short term, paying for the schooling at the moment but eventually the money adds up
College can lead to satisfaction in life that may benefit you in the long run; however, the price to attend an institute of higher learning can be quite expensive. Going to college could be an advantage, helping you to potentially get a job, but it could leave students in debt and without a plan to pay off their student loans once studies are complete. Everyone should have a chance to increase their education; however, higher tuition costs can decimate someone’s possibility of achieving the dream of graduating from an institution of higher learning. The cost of going to college needs to be lower in order to make higher education accessible to everyone, provide greater career opportunities to more people, and lessen the amount of debt students
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.
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.
“Student loans can turn what should be a blessing—an education—into a burden” (Dave Ramsey). Student loans can cause many graduating students to feel lost and helpless because they have so much debt after graduating. Because of student loans, college students think they can just get through college and pay the loans off easily after they graduate since they will be making money. However, sometimes it isn’t that easy. You can graduate college without taking out one single loan!