Numerous individuals who replied to a CNN social media prompt this week claimed that their college debt had severely damaged their credit and depleted their income.
Many of the respondents stated that they were getting close to retirement age but that they couldn’t fathom being able to quit their jobs and would carry their debt with them forever.
The primary reason given by respondents for not pursuing postsecondary education is cost, according to Courtney Brown, the head of the Gallup Lumina research for the previous four years.
In an interview, Brown stated, “People who are deeply in debt are not only not starting their own businesses; they’re not buying homes; and they’re not having children.” “And that will be a problem because we need innovation and our local businesses, and that will be detrimental to us as well.”
According to a Gallup Lumina study, one in three American students presently enrolled in college or other post-high school programs said they have thought about stopping their coursework in the previous six months. Of those, 31% place the blame on cost, which comes in third place after personal mental health issues and emotional stress.
“People value a degree; they just want to get one,” said Brown, vice president of impact and strategy at the nonprofit Lumina Foundation, which promotes higher education beyond high school. “I believe that in addition to the high cost, they are becoming more and more irritated because it is difficult to comprehend the cost.”
The boundaries of debt relief
The perception of the worth of a college degree is starting to shift due to skyrocketing tuition fees. A different Gallup study from 2015 found that 57% of Americans felt “quite a lot” or “a great deal” of confidence in higher education.
That percentage fell to a record low of 36% last year. The Gallup poll stated that growing costs “probably play a major role,” although it did not specifically address the reason for the declining confidence.
The size of the US higher education system, with hundreds of nonprofit institutions vying for students and talent, and the fact that many upper-class and middle-class parents are willing to pay top dollar or even incur personal debt in order to provide their children with the best education possible are contributing factors to the issue.
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