Millions of students around the world receive an education that's subsidized by the country they live in, but in other areas students must pay steep tuition fees in order to educate themselves. This has led to an educational crisis in the United States, where young adults must earn a college degree if they want to land a good job for themselves but struggle under the weight of the financial burden. The modern university student has to jump through various hoops that didn't exist for previous generations when it comes to financing their education, and some of them are getting seriously creative to do so successfully.
Here's an exploration of how the modern university student pays for their education in areas lacking subsidized higher ed, and what financial difficulties this could present in the future.
Americans students are drowning in debt
There's no denying that American students are drowning in a sea of student loan debt and a part time job at a commercial mobile tire service won't help. This is because the costs associated with going to college have skyrocketed over the past few decades, and it's now substantially more expensive to get a bachelor's degree in almost any field than it was just two or three decades ago. According to one analysis put forward by Time, American students are dealing with an astonishing $1.5 trillion in student loan debt. In order to make their loan payments on time, these students rely on a variety of ways to generate an income for themselves.
More commonly, many students work one or more jobs to ensure that they can make ends meet when it comes to financing their education. One survey from 2017 noted that more than half of college students are working a job in an effort to pay for their education, though they're usually earning minimum wage or something near it. Getting a degree from American International College or a similar university could change your life for the better, but students applying for colleges are increasingly relying on scholarships and loans even if they have stellar grades.
This student loan crisis could come back to haunt the United States sooner rather than later; when many students find themselves incapable of paying off their loans. Huge numbers of debt defaulters will imperil lending institutions, which will, in turn, lead to a broader economic crisis that can easily impact businesses as well as students and everyday citizens. Students nevertheless embrace these loans because getting a degree in the modern world isn't really an option; more than half of well-paying jobs require a bachelor's degree or a greater level of education.
How are modern university students paying for their education? Largely by relying on jobs, scholarships, and above all else, costly student loans that will be paid off over years if not decades. While this may not be a sustainable way to educate the workforce, it's certainly profitable and beneficial to lending institutions who are owed billions by tomorrow's professional class.