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It's the time of year when newly minted degree holders don their academic robes and ill-fitting caps and march up the aisle to receive their certificates. For many new graduates, however, thoughts of massive debt overshadow their joy in finally achieving their lifelong dreams.
Today's college graduates have accumulated more student loan debt than any generation before them. As of 2017, the average student loan debt per graduate was $39,400, a number that shows no sign of decreasing in the coming years. While older Americans remember a time when it was possible to pay for college with a minimum wage job, those days have passed for today's youth. The increasing costs of college tuition, cuts to federal and state financial aid programs, and the stagnation of salaries for unskilled jobs has led to a nation drowning in $1.48 trillion of student loan debt.
This means, of course, that young people today are beginning their adult lives in difficult financial straits, which hampers their abilities to become home owners and even encourages them to delay getting married and have children. In fact, according to recent studies reported in the Washington Post, today's college graduates delay homeownership by as much as seven years compared to previous generations because of student loan debt. People who choose to go on to earn graduate degrees are even more likely to delay homeownership and marriage because of student loan payments.
Although the problem is pretty plain -- student loan debt is a significant burden on college graduates -- the solution is not so obvious. Some people argue that people who cannot afford to pay for college should choose a different path, but that excludes intelligent, hardworking young people who are neither economically disadvantaged enough to obtain grants nor wealthy enough to write checks to pay for them.
Another argument, of course, is that some people should learn a trade instead of attending college. It's a great idea, but it works only for a certain percentage of the population: those who are mechanically inclined or who desire being hands-on specialists. Yes, we need well-trained plumbers and electricians, but we also need social workers and teachers.
Some states, like New York, have made two- and four-year degrees free for young people whose families make less than $100,000 a year. Although it will take quite some time to determine if this experiment is a success, this plan offers a glimpse into the future to come for higher education.
I remain the only person in my family to graduate from college. Although I earned grants and scholarships for all three of my college degrees, I paid for books and living expenses with loans. I graduated with a Ph.D. in 2003 owing $120,000, a fact I do not regret.
Since that time, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program was passed into law. Under this directive, persons who work for the public good, pay 120 loan payments and are enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan can have the remainder of their loans forgiven. Most of us who should be eligible for this forgiveness have found that we have been lied to by our lenders and are disqualified for the program. Multiple class action lawsuits have been filed to fight these unscrupulous practices, but few of them have gone to court as of this writing.
Our nation has arrived at a stalemate. That is, we need a well-educated populace, but we claim to not be able to afford it. Meanwhile, my student loans will be paid in full when I turn 64. I have 20 years to go at $650 a month.
Christina Fisanick, Ph.D., is an associate professor of English at California University of Pennsylvania and a 1996 graduate of West Liberty University. She lives in Wheeling.