Student loans offer financial support for students who would otherwise be unable to attend college. It’s a massive deal, and it’s only getting bigger. According to Bloomberg, the debt owed by these students is now over $1 trillion and it is expected to be $7 trillion within 10 years. This is where those options found on websites like https://www.sofi.com/refinance-student-loan/ come in handy.
But there’s more to the growth in student debt than just the higher cost of attending school.
One of the most profound problems has been the increasing number of American students dropping out of college. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the amount of students that dropped out of college in 2013 was 29.3 percent.
Additionally, many of these students are choosing not to go back to school at all. Many decide they’ve had enough and get rid of the degree that they were denied before. It is currently estimated that close to half of all undergraduate students drop out of college by the end of their freshman year.
It’s important to note that there are numerous factors that have contributed to this state of affairs. The U.S. economy has struggled in the past few years. The health care crisis, financial fears, and decreasing productivity among the workforce all contribute to the seemingly infinite number of dollars the nation is willing to spend for education.
But one of the greatest factors, at least for some, has been the rise of the millennial generation. What started out as a relatively young group of children with unrealistic expectations of the economy has now transformed into the largest generation of citizens in the history of the nation.
These people don’t want the American dream anymore. They’ve grown up with a different, more humble idea of what a college education could be.
What You Need to Know About College Debt
Regardless of what you make, getting a college education is incredibly difficult. This is a fact that many graduates find to their dismay.
It has become a cornerstone of American society that the highest paying jobs require a college degree. Those with degrees tend to be highly rewarded in the workplace and earn an average of $32,900 a year, while people without a degree earn only $24,300. That doesn’t leave a lot of money left over for college.
Young people are continually bombarded with surveys that claim that college is the ticket to success. But when you dig a little deeper, it becomes clear that there are far more students with high aspirations that are unable to go through with their dreams.
According to a 2014 report from the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, only 25 percent of students who start college report being able to complete a degree within four years.
There are more of these students than ever before, but very few universities are willing to admit them. Colleges are being forced to open doors to higher learning and offer financial aid, but it’s unclear how this will solve the problem. The most experienced colleges are also failing to attract students. A study from the National Center for Education Statistics recently showed that only 54 percent of students who enter community college are able to complete their degree within six years.
All this makes it extremely difficult for young people to start out their education without many of the resources that are offered by the most expensive universities. There is a growing sentiment in the nation that college is no longer affordable, and this is being seen in a number of different ways.