I was born during the Roarin’ Eighties. The Savings and Loan crisis of the 1980s had not yet occurred, MTV had recently launched, and Ronald Regan had just been inaugurated as president. The Cold War had become more of a background noise than a daily shadow of fear, and by 1983 our country was out of the recession. America had optimism coming out of orifices we didn’t even know existed. I was told when I was young that if I wanted to go to college, I simply had to save my pennies in the bank and someday I would have enough to pay my tuition.
I know now that was terrible advice.
If today’s children were to ask me how to pay for college, I would suggest that they save their pennies in the bank…as well as their nickels, their dimes, their quarters, and every single one of their dollar bills. Then I would suggest that upon reaching the age of 18, that they rob a bank, consider becoming a prostitute, or become involved with the mob.
That should at least cover the first year of their education.
A lot of ink and megabytes have been spilled in articles and columns during the past few years about the difficulty that a modern college graduate faces in paying off loans and finding a job. The bitter vinegar of graduating college with over $20,000 in debt, mixed with the discouraging baking soda of a deep recession, has left many students with a volcano full of anxiety and despair.
According to a recent Wall Street Journal story about the rising amount of debt that students are taking as souvenirs from college: “average debt for college seniors who graduated with loans in 2008 rose to $23,200 in 2008, up from $18,650 in 2004.” This article then goes on to state that “the unemployment rate for recent college graduates, those age 20 to 24, rose to 10.6 percent by the third quarter of this year, the highest on record.”
What happened to working hard in school, being rewarded with a good job, and a life full of financial solvency? With rising college costs and an increasingly competitive and difficult job market, it is becoming more likely that one will find success and paid bills with a profitable blog or a popular YouTube channel than with a college degree. As Lauren Asher, president of the Project on Student Debt put it, “Just like other investments, some people are realizing that past performance does not guarantee future returns."
With apologies to Charles Dickens, we truly do live in the best of times and the worst of times. On the one hand, we live in an era in which more money can be made than at any other time in human history. On the other hand, we live in an era in which economic disparity is the widest it’s ever been. On the one hand, more students are going to college than ever before. On the other hand, student debt has never been larger. On the one hand, we live in an era of unparalleled communication with cell phones, the internet, and other modern miracles. On the other hand, we now have a faster way to tell everyone we’re broke, unemployed, and just defaulted on our student loan.
What can a future student do? According to the Project on Student Debt, Utah currently carries the lowest student debt with $13,041 on average, while the levels of debt in the District of Columbia are an average of $29,793. But short of moving to The Beehive State, students may be left with little other option, other than simply paying significantly more in student debt than past generations. Commented Asher on the rising debt: “It shows just how high a hurdle we build for students and families figuring out how much college is going to cost.”
At this rate, future children won’t have pennies to spend on college, because they will have already spent the pennies on dinner. Top Ramen is surprisingly versatile.
