Higher education is something that’s been heavily promoted to America’s youth for generations.
The narratives that are espoused in support of higher education are no secret. Young people are told that by attending college and university, they’re much more likely to earn more income over the course of their lives.
Furthermore, America’s youth is advised that college and university provide great networking opportunities and places where they can meet potentially lifelong friends.
There’s no doubt that higher education has been valuable to some people; however, over the past several years, there’s been an increase of people questioning whether or not alternate paths may be best for them.
Meanwhile, Fox Business reports that college dropout rates are on the rise.
Understanding the Rise in College Dropouts
The University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) provides some very interesting details about not just college dropout rates, but also the future of higher education in America.
According to UPCEA, 42% of individuals who ended up dropping out of college did so due to reasons involving money. Other college dropouts left school over family matters and the conditions of their own medical health.
College is the biggest scam in the 🌎 https://t.co/ZesK4TkAIf
— Brian Colarusso (@smallbrahh) January 11, 2022
Interestingly enough, a grand 30% of college dropouts are due to people determining that this form of education simply turned out to be the wrong fit for them.
Money-driven reasons for dropping out of college are especially prevalent amongst students whose households bring in no more than $50,000 on an annual basis.
Meanwhile, only 2% of students who come from households earning at least $100,000 cited financial reasons as the cause for them dropping out of college.
Student Loans and More
Amid massive dropouts, some colleges have reported issues with getting students to sign up in the first place. To make college sign-ups more appealing, some institutions are waiving application fees and employing other comparable measures.
Advocates of higher education often point to student loans as the answer to people who are struggling financially with college. However, student loan debt is a nationwide crisis that’s quickly spun out of control.
Right now, there are countless individuals who owe the federal government thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars in student loan debt. This doesn’t even take into account the interest that’s tacked onto these debts.
I’m sure that will help the inflation problem we have now….(sarcasm if you can’t tell).
— Pseudome (@Pseudome17) January 14, 2022
Individuals who take out student loan debts often struggle to pay them back. This has led to a rise of people calling for the federal government to eliminate student loan debt altogether.
This is something that President Biden himself ran on; however, he’s only issued various moratoriums, rather than debt cancellations altogether.
This has landed Biden in hot water with progressives who want him to make good on his promises of causing their student loans debts to disappear.
What do you make of the rise in people dropping out of college in America? Let us know in the comments section.
