Unfortunately, not everyone can afford a college education in the United States. And with student loan debt in America closing in on $1.5 trillion in 2017, more and more people are asking if going to college is even worth the investment?
While the pay gap between those with a college degree and those with just a high school diploma has never been greater, depending on what area of work a person is wanting to pursue it may not be worth spending the tens of thousands of dollars it takes to earn a degree.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is just one group who is trying to make the choice about whether college is right for any given person a little easier by trying to encourage colleges and policymakers to provide clearer and more comprehensive data to help potential college students make better-informed decisions.
Another company that has put forth some interesting new data on the pros and cons of paying tens of thousands of dollars for today’s college education is CreditLoan.com. In their project, they sought a clearer measure of the merits of college debt by asking 1,000 borrowers about it. They surveyed participants about the total amount they’d borrowed and whether they felt their investment was worth it.
Here’s some of what they discovered…
Predictably, those with higher loan balances were far more likely than those with lower balances to express regret. Over 80 percent of borrowers with more than $60,000 in loans regretted their debt decisions. While those in lower debt brackets were more likely to feel comfortable with the debt they’d taken on, the majority in every group felt regret about their loans.
