The student loan debt is troubling.
But, students and families have to be realistic about things.
Students should focus on majors which help them into job and career paths, in my opinion.
Why major in women’s studies, for example? Studying women may be fascinating in some ways, but, how many jobs look for women’s studies majors as a qualification?
It may make sense to take on student loan debt, if you are getting a degree in a field which leads to a good paying career. But it makes no sense to take on debt, to major in women’s studies, or history, or many other areas which won’t qualify you for a job at which you earn high enough pay to pay off that student loan.
Some observers have said that tuition and fees have risen dramatically in recent years, precisely because of the availability of student loan funds to pay the freight.
It’s funny, my daughter goes to a pretty “significant” university for her art major. Most of her recently graduated seniors had decent jobs before they graduated. For her small group, they averages $45k-$60k.
In addition, they were all making pieces that would sell in your run of the mill finr art store for a couple hundred dollars a piece.
I think we might want to rethink the “BFA is a ticket to nowhere” thought process.
Although, this is no “state college art history” degree.
I was surprised how many people were majoring in “social justice” in a PhD level class I took last semester.
Same reason that health care costs skyrocketed once we got Medicare, and people relied on insurance to pay for it. When somebody else is paying, you don't care how much something costs.
A smart path is to have a job skill or a plan to be able to work instead of taking on student loans.
Nothing really new here.
There have always been niche fields where the only jobs where expertise in that field was a qualification was in teaching it to the next generation.
History, for the most part. How many businesses are looking for a PhD in Byzantine History?
Or a major, like Rita of Groundhog Day, in Medieval French Poetry"
The difference is that those with a degree in these fields were assumed to be well-rounded and able to learn quickly how to do business administration, become a bureaucrat, etc.
Not true for today's Hispanic, black, womyn's or gay "Studies" majors. If I were a businessman, I'd assume their education was an actual negative in practical terms.
Of course, they are always needed by large businesses for their "diversity education" indoctrination departments. But nothing actually productive.