As shown in the graph of college tuition, the cost of attending university is expensive and getting more so over time. This cost forces students to rely on other means of paying for their education, such as student loans, which starts a vicious cycle of debt and economic problems.

Seventy-one percent of college graduates graduate with student loan debt. With an average of $29,400 in debt each (increasing at a rate of 6 percent each year), the national total of student loan debt adds up to over $1 trillion.

Because college expenses are so high, over six million graduates cannot pay back the debt they accumulate. Tuition costs causes 1 in 6 students to default on their student loan debt, adding up to $67 million in defaults.

A big contributor to this problem is the lack of employment opportunities graduates have after university. Of people age 20 to 24, 12.1 percent are unemployed. Out of the 50 percent of graduates that find full time jobs after graduation, 1 in 5 have jobs that don’t require college degrees. College students are settling, for there isn’t much available to them upon leaving university.

The median annual salary of college graduates is $18,373, which is $6,000 lower than that of a McDonald’s cashier. With these earnings, 1 in 10 graduates have loan debts that exceed their incomes.

This combination of debt and low incomes causes graduates to struggle to support themselves, and 85 percent of them have to return to their parents after graduation.

Dozens of news reports have asked the question: is going to college really worth it if it leaves you unemployed and in crippling debt?

What do you think?
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