Are Student Loans Worth It? Majority Of Older Millennials With Student Debt Say No
The debate of whether or not college is worth it and if going deep into student debt to get a degree is worth it will continue to rage on for at least four or five more decades. In fact, a lot of older millennials don’t think their student loans were worth it.
Before we get into the data of the 1,000 person survey, we have to answer the question: Is college worth it?
Is College Worth It?
College is worth it. But, at the same time, college also isn’t worth it for a lot of people. That is not to say college has no benefit, but going deep into debt might not be totally worth it if you’re not pursuing a high-paying major. Want to be a doctor? You need college. An engineer? You need college. A lawyer? You need college. A blogger with a concentration on personal finance, passive income and investing? You definitely don’t need college, because lord knows they don’t teach that nonsense in school!
There is also the issue of people picking expensive schools. Are you $200K in debt because you refused to go to a 10K per year in-state school and insisted on going to a private university with $30K per year tuition?
That’s kind of on you.
That all said…
Are Student Loans Worth It?
According to a majority (52%) of older millennials (33 to 40) surveyed by Harris Poll on behalf of CNBC, the answer is no.
Per CNBC Make It
Respondents took out an average $21,880 in student loans for their education. Just 32% of those who took out loans have entirely paid them off, meaning the majority (68%) of older millennials are still paying down their student debt a decade or so later.
If the shackles of having to continue to pay off this debt for over a decade after graduation isn’t enough, the respondents listed all of the other potential life milestones that they have put off because of this financial burden.
The list of concessions made includes:
- Buying a home
- Saving for retirement
- Delaying marriage
- Waiting longer to have children
- Living with parents to make ends meet
- And more!
One respondent to the CNBC poll did not sugarcoat his feelings about if his student loans were worth it.
“You can’t accuse me of wanting someone else to take accountability for my student loans. I’ve paid my debts and I’m going to finish,” he says. “But I went through it, and I can tell you the student debt process was not worth it.
“I wouldn’t wish the student debt experience on anyone.”
Student debt should be, and NEEDS TO BE, more manageable. There needs to be mechanisms in place to protect kids from going too deep into debt especially when they are not pursuing highly specialized or advanced degrees.
Free college for everyone is probably not the answer, but capping the amount of debt someone can go into to obtain a simple marketing degree (or whatever) could be a start. And a solution as simple as that could entice more teens to pursue a degree.