Splicetoday

On Campus
Jul 25, 2008, 05:26AM

Squeezed Dry

A new report illustrates what many students have felt on a personal level: debt is crippling our nation's recent college graduates. The educational tools that are increasingly essential are also increasingly expensive, as colleges run by business people seek to maximize dollars instead of knowledge. Meanwhile the number of uninsured graduates continues to rise because too many are forced to pay back student loans. If higher education is going to remain meaningful in the future we must start looking out for the students.

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Photo by Omar Omar

The study illustrates some deeply disturbing facts about the young adult age bracket. Three out of four young people report having gone deeper in debt over the past year. One in five reported having had their phone, cable or utilities cut off, and one in seven have faced repossession or had their credit card cancelled due to non-payment. One in three young people who owe money on a credit card owe more than $10,000 overall.

Yet perhaps the most disturbing fact: Qvisory states that more than half of all young people have gone without health insurance at some point in the past five years - including 75 percent of those who currently have medical debts.

College is just not the same as it was in much of the 20th century. The costs involved with a college education have risen exponentially faster than the overall inflation rate, causing many students to be financially strapped throughout their college career or forcing them to take out costly loans. Rising costs are due in part to increased demand for college educated workers, corporate greed on behalf of companies that see college students as a giant ATM and fiscal irresponsibility by the government.

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