”U.S. student loan debt has ballooned in recent years, outpacing most other forms of consumer borrowing. In 2022 almost two-third of recent high school graduates took out student loans. Students are borrowing more, because college tuitions have grown many times faster than income.” says Council Foreign Relations.
If two-thirds of student who graduate from high school needs to borrow money for college, many will be paying back their loans for decades. They are putting them and their families in debt, and many who go to college, a large percentage of students will not graduate.
The reason that students go to college is to get a higher paying job, and be in a better financial shape to pay back the loan. Since forty to fifty percent of students don’t graduate, they struggle to pay their bills.
College is definitely not for everyone who gets accepted, and some families are taking out a second mortgage for their children. Making good sound decisions about finances is important, based on what individuals and families can afford. At certain universities the tuition, and room and board will cost $40,000 for one year.
There is also a racial disparity in student borrowing, where Black, Hispanics, and people of color take on more debt than they can handle financially. Many of these students and families are likely to default, and depending on the amount of the loans, bankruptcy is a solution.
As of 2023, forty-three million U.S. borrowers collectively owed $1.7 trillion to the federal student loan, and private loans. In the last two decades cost has doubled and nothing is slowing down. Student debt has exceeded debt from auto loans, credit cards, and only home mortgages are larger.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Donald Trump administration provided tens of millions of student borrowers with temporary relief from paying their loans. President Biden extended a moratorium on paying their student loans, until October 2023. Since October 2023, only half of the borrowers’have resumed paying back their loan.
Based on the high cost of tuition, and the many loans in default, the federal government is starting to step in and forgive some borrowers. The Biden administration has forgiven $153 billion to 4.3 million borrowers’ relief, and the president wants to do more.
Some experts say in the last two years the price of college education has leveled off and gone down. But when you address the families and students paying the bill, the loans are getting larger.
Making college affordable for all Americans should be the goal and plan for education. Community college should be free in the country, and after two years, there should be jobs available for students who complete their studies. After every level of studies, there should be a higher amount of pay and responsibility. ROTC should be a way many lower income young men and women can move forward with a lack of money.
Legislators, Governors and the President must make education a priority in schools in America. Families and students should have information and not go broke getting an education, because there is money available. Making every level of education affordable will keep families and student from filing bankruptcy.
