Alumni love to use the phrase, “college is the best four years of your life,” but fail to mention the years’ worth of debt looming over them. This phrase, while outdated, is starting to feel simply delusional.
For today’s students, college is less about education and more about endurance, financial endurance to be exact. The modern college experience is less about the pursuit of wisdom and more about trying to graduate without a financial hangover that lasts into our 40s.
Instead of prioritizing getting involved and obtaining a high GPA, many college students are spending their time calculating how many hours at the campus coffee shop will cover next month's rent. The supposed “academic journey” has turned into a scavenger hunt for side hustles.
College is marketed as an investment, yet the return feels more like a subscription to lifelong debt. In fact, “About a third (35%) of those ages 25 to 39 who have at least a bachelor’s degree and outstanding student loan debt say the benefits of their degree weren’t worth the lifetime financial costs,” Pew Research Center said.
The statistics make their own argument. It’s been found the total average student loan debt, including private loan debt, may be as high as $42,673. It is also interesting to note, student debt has more than doubled since 2008.
The amount of student debt in 2023 totaled $1.6 trillion, more than twice the amount outstanding in 2008, which at the time reached $600 billion. For many students, these numbers not only dictate how they study, but what they study. A passion for the arts? Too Risky. Curious about philosophy? Financial suicide. Degrees are no longer choices made through passion; they are bets placed under economic coercion.
The disconnect is striking. Universities preach “critical thinking” and intellectual freedom, while their students are forced into financial tunnel vision. Debt becomes the silent syllabus every student must follow, shaping majors, career paths and even mental health.
Meanwhile, the playful notion of college as an “intellectual playground” feels laughable when tuition costs more than some students’ families earn in a year. It is difficult to romanticize biology 101 when you’re rationing dining hall swipes and wondering if your Wi-Fi bill is a luxury. The lesson most students actually learn is how to survive on caffeine, side hustles and the slim hope their degree will eventually pay off.
Maybe the unintended curriculum of modern higher education is resilience under pressure. Students graduate not only with diplomas but with a masterclass in financial stress management. Critical thinking is still a part of that package, but is usually applied to budgeting instead of classroom debates.
Until higher education becomes accessible without the financial prison sentence, it is dishonest to claim college is primarily about learning. For most students, it becomes about financial survival.
The diploma has become less of a symbol of wisdom gained and more of a receipt for the financial endurance of years passed. In the end, college teaches its students plenty, but too often, the lesson is not about philosophy, science, or literature. It is about the cost of wanting an education in the first place.
Heidi Bartolone is a sophomore studying communications at Ohio University. Please note the opinions expressed in this column do not represent those of The Post. Want to talk to Heidi about her column? Email her at hb963023@ohio.edu.
