Education can have so many benefits to students in the future but at the cost of lifelong debts and regrets. High schoolers are faced with many decisions before graduation being capable of perusing a strong education, but it comes along with pricy tuition that eventually piles up and becomes unforgiving later in life. Debt can deprive from the potential life, uncontained without piles of debt resembling a financial status for a lifetime. High schoolers are faced with the challenge of deciding how to chase their future at such a young age that can have huge benefits, or major drawbacks.
Students brought up with immense challenges such as the decision to choose education or save money for their life, and choosing a mediocre college for an understandable cost can be life changing. Although unforgiving, student loans can become a good alternative for students that become financially successful, paying off debt and achieving education that can bring in more income for the future. Loans can also teach students to be financially responsible if they can learn to manage their debts properly. According to EducationData.org the average federal student loan debt is an average of $38,375 when the average salary is around $65,000 in the United States. Having substantial amounts of debt, let alone student debt, can put finances behind and cause lots of stress on students managing such loans. On top of school, students must be working more often to pay for their loans which can become stressful and inefficient to balance when studying. Junior, Autumn Rydberg states “My dream is to study Biomedicine in college, but I now understand the price can come with and make it hard to balance work and school.” Rydberg shares how she will be working before she goes off to college to prepare for the costs that come along with the education she dreams of. “I can’t wait for college and start my life, even though it may come with some challenges,” Rydberg states, “I can work through this one by getting a better job before I go off to college.” Even if she is unsuccessful on earning enough for a 4-year college, taking out a loan can be beneficial to many students with an expectation that they repay the loan over a certain period. Many choose a 10-year repayment plan over their student loans, which would last until you are about 32, depending on the path you choose.
According to Study.com “The more time you spend in college, the more money you will have to pay. What is one way to decrease the time you spend at university? By minimizing the number of classes, you have to take.” One example they gave was AP classes, and by-passing AP tests, college credits can be earned for that course. Therefore, when you get to college, you have enough credits to graduate early resulting in less of a cost. Sophomore, Campbell Garvey describes how she piles on her AP class schedule and balances it to maintain good grades to potentially get on scholarship, but if not, she will be ahead of many students when it comes to AP classes, because of the intense schedule she balances, putting a lot of work and stress onto herself for the benefit of her future self. Garvey states, “I put a lot of hard work into my education” and describes her excitement for her future, going to college and getting a good education for her future because it has significant importance.
Feeling stressed over college tuition and wondering how to use good judgement when deciding factors that determine their future is exampled all around in high schools. Best Colleges mentions, “High school students are looking toward the future with a mix of hope, concern, and uncertainty. In a new BestColleges survey of 1,000 currently enrolled high school students, 52% say they feel pressure to make decisions about their future too soon.” Some students feel hopeful, concerned, and uncertain. Sophomore Taylor Chan is a mix of emotions. Chan is excited for college but is also nervous about how the effects of deciding too early can affect her in the future. Chan has decided to take a few AP classes in her sophomore year and will be working soon so that she can go to her dream college in California. Chan shares that she has done significant research on USB, and her tuition would be about $31,000 a year for an out of state student. With a 4-year college, the money adds up, and Chan says, “it’s too early to decide what I should do, because I might make a mistake, I am only 15.” Feeling pressure to make an impactful decision at such an early age can and does affect many students in their high school experiences.
Other students have worries about how the cost of college might limit their career options, and some do not have to worry about the money. For other students, the mental health aspect and stress over college applications and tuition is already a lot to handle. Hindu American describes “The pressure to be perfect in an instagrammed world, to live up to the expectations of elders who have made sacrifices to give us opportunities or to tie our self-worth to our academic achievements can be a very heavy load in a vacuum, much less in a brand new academic and social setting.” Which means it is hard to look up to such successful role models, in hopes of achieving the same with big goals, but as generations pass, prices for education continue to increase. Sophomore, Alex Solinsky shares how “it’s hard to look up to others who are successful and wondering if I’m going to be able to achieve the same.” and states she feels this way, because costs are increasing for college, and applications get denied more and more often, because of such academic people applying, so regular students, or even advanced students like herself can be less applicable to getting accepted, because overachieving is so normalized in today’s modern era of education.
Although many students at Issaquah High School also feel impacted by the costs of their future and wonder if there is an alternate way to achieve an education without breaking their bank account. As the standards become higher to get accepted into a prestigious college, the costs increase also. This is challenging for students everywhere, because financial instability is one of the hardest experiences to go through as a person, let alone a student. To make the cost worth it, your education should be increasing your income to pay forward to the expenses that got you there. Worrying about so much debt at a young age causes stress to young adults and if being able to live up to family standards, or societal ideals for top students. The cost of education can get in the way of your dreams.
