Should it really take a personal finance class? The vast majority of people on the planet have never had a personal finance class. And what can that class do, tell them don’t sign up for college debt unless you’re smart enough to make the money to pay it back? How about the kid who blows his money on hotrods, drugs and girls at 18, do we need to bail him out too?
And how about for their second, third, fourth and fifth years of debt—are they still somehow too idiotic to be responsible for that too?
And how about for their second, third, fourth and fifth years of debt—are they still somehow too idiotic to be responsible for that too?
You are acting like student loan debt is similar to other forms of debt with immediate cost/benefit. That is not how student loan works. Kids are brainwashed to believe it will all work out! Take on all this debt. You don't need to pay a penny while in college! You'll get an amazing job and the cost of this debt will be nothing! For a lot of people it does work just fine. What about the 50% who don't complete their degree because they realize they aren't truly cut out for college? What about those who were sold a bill of goods on a crappy major? What about those who enter the economy in a recession? What about those who just aren't that bright and even if a local college says they have a degree simply aren't smart enough to cut it in the real world for a high paying job? By the time the person realizes 2 or 5 years post college it was a mistake the debt has long since been incurred.