College Debt: Institutional Greed or Misguided Student Choices?

College education and costs are a hot-topic as the country’s economy continues to struggle. The American Dream is in part synonymous with the belief education spawns prosperity. However, as the cost of college continues to rise—a 5% increase from 2009 to 2010—the American Dream seems less and less tangible. The blog article “Creating a Brighter Future” highlights this topic. The article emphasizes students’ struggle for prosperity by means of a college education, which results in anything but success. Instead, college graduates average $25,000 in debt and they struggle to find jobs. While the blog article accurately illustrates the struggle for a better future weighed down by college debt, as confirmed by Huffington Post and CNN articles, there is more to the story than meets the eye.

While the cost of college, and consequently students’ debt, continues to climb, there is sophisticated investment and half-hazard investment. Three factors come into play when considering college investment: 1) the school of choice, 2) the form or source of student loans and 3) the chosen career path. According to USA Today, twenty percent of college-bound high school graduates attend out-of-state schools, which significantly increases the cost of college. Moreover, half of those out-of-state college-bound students attend private institutions, which naturally result in increased college costs and debt.

Besides the initial cost of college, the form of borrowing to pay for college matters. Lauren Asher, the TICAS president, eloquently emphasizes smart borrowing in her quote “How you borrow, not just how much you borrow, really matters (Huffington Post).” Twenty-two percent of 2010 college graduates’ debt is in the form of private loans, which are notorious for “higher interest rates and fewer borrower protections (Huffington Post).” Students are encouraged to utilize federal government loans before seeking private loans; however, evidence indicates many students do not heed this advice.

Furthermore, certain career paths are bound to encounter more roadblocks to success than others. Engineering and health care majors tend to be the most lucrative college degrees, while the social science, fine arts and education degrees tend to be the least profitable college degrees (CBS News). While enjoying what you do professionally is invaluable and tends to lead to success in that given field, it does not guarantee a job out of college or financial stability and success. Consequently, choosing a college major is an art and must be bound by the reality of the job market. 

Thus, while the blog article highlights an important and relevant current issue, it is not as simple as depicted. Yes, college debt is escalating but is outrageous college debt a product of poor personal investments and decisions or organizational factors of the education institution? Granted, it is a combination of the two but people can take an active role in minimizing their college debt and jump-starting their path to success. Moreover, while additional opportunities to minimize college debt are bound to be successful and helpful, there are already an array of tools in place to help people tackle their college debt as detailed in the CNN article, “Student loan debt—how to get relief.”