That's crazy.
That's way more than I earned in the first year after I graduated from college.
I look at my own outstanding college loans (I still owe over $20K, even though I graduated in 2002) and have to wonder what the kids who will graduate in four years will owe. $50K? $80K? $100K?
How on earth can it be beneficial to strap all the bright, young 22 year-olds in this country with tens of thousands of dollars in debt? Is college worth it?
It's frustrating to me because I'm a big supporter of our nation's youth going to a four-year university... preferably more than a town away from Mommy and Daddy.
Why? Because I think of the four year learning experience as a nice ramp from childhood to adult independence. College is the time for kids to first experience living away from home. To drink for the first time. To do their own laundry. To think for themselves, make their own decisions, to learn to live with the consequences. To figure out what they're interested in, what they're passionate about and what they want to do with their lives.
For a lot of kids, college is the first time that they set their own schedules and take care of themselves. It's when you learn that staying up all night is awesomely fun, but that hangover is a bitch. It's when you learn that your actions have consequences. Want to forgo studying for a month? Go ahead. But have fun explaining those F's to your parents. Want to skip class? Go nuts. But don't be surprised when your professor won't let you reschedule that exam.
It's a time for kids to royally screw up.... but in a safer environment than the real world. Sure, you might fail a class or pass out from drinking too much. But, it's better to do that stuff in college, where you can retake classes and where there are (real) adults around to help you get out of trouble. It's the real world lite. And I think we underestimate how important that is.
But, is this sheltered gateway to the real world worth $35,000 a year? I'm not so sure.
Of course, at the same time, a lot of today's high schoolers are being told that if they don't go to college, they won't get a job (and, that might be true... it's certainly harder to get a job without a degree) and the better school they go to... the better job they'll get.
Four years later, those kids are armed with fancy degrees, but also a huge pile of debt... a pile of debt that severely limits their freedom in a time of their life when they should be able to most enjoy their dependence. It's no wonder that those of us who graduated 10-ish years ago are now finding it hard to buy a house or travel or have a kid.. because we're all already saddled with huge debt and we can't take on any more.
This problem is only getting worse. And I think it's hurting the whole country. How can we be competitive if our best and brightest are forced into jobs they hate just so they can pay off their loans?
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