I half-agree with your post, and as I stated up-thread, I would, with modifications, make college debt dischargeable in bankruptcy.
On the other hand, many young people are lazy and do not think about the hard choices they face. For instance, several years ago a good friend mentioned that some colleges gave large merit based scholarships for good ACT scores. Since that time, I have been trying to help my now 17-year-old son and encourage him by giving him bonuses for good scores on standardized tests.
In June 2018 my son scored 30 on ACT. (About top 6%). I knew he could get in to most places. However, I knew the real money would kick in at about 32 or 33. So in June I set up a generous bonus system for my son, and by working 30 hours a week over the summer, raised his score to 33. (Top 1%) He earned a $5,700 bonus and saved me $50,000 in tuition to the good public school where he is going. He could go to an expensive private school such as Pepperdine that would be fun, but that is out of the question, which he agrees with.
The point being that I have been evaluating the financials for a long time, and I am not having my son go to any school that will take him without very seriously considering the financial implications. My son is very self-motivated and has already formed 3 businesses (none made money) and has written a full-length screen play. I am constantly asking myself what benefits business school has for him and if there are ways to reduce the cost (mainly room and board), I will take advantage of them. If I think business school is a financial waste (Think Gates and Jobs), I won't hesitate to withdraw my financial support. I am not passively sitting back and saying my son is going to a good school (which he is) and everything is hunky-dory. I think many young people and their parents don't give enough effort and thought as to how to reduce their expenses and get the most out of schooling [or other paths they could take]
Excellent post! You are exactly right that a lot of students and their parents put little thought into the ramifications of obtaining a college education or even researching the cost.
I coach at the local high school, ask kids what their plans are, most have no concept of what college costs and the long term ramifications of its cost, many of the parents are of little help for a variety of reasons (some because of ignorance, some don't give a shyte, some just are not in a position to help).
Many kids do not even look at private schools, immediately turned off by the cost on the website. Reality is that a private school if the right match for the student can give huge amounts of financial aid (not loans) to a student with excellent grades/test scores, particularly if the student is poor.
Kids do not understand the consequences of debt. One kid I coach has to pay for college himself, parents cannot help. He is going to a state school and is going to graduate with $75K in debt. I asked about attending the local community college and saving $25K for the first 2 years...wants to go away. Tough way to start adult life.
Kids and parents do not know how to read/understand the financial aid letters they receive. I have to explain to the kids the key to reading the letter is identifying the loan amounts the school is offering...they don't realize this has to be paid back. Focus on the scholarships and grants offered in the financial aid letter.
Many kids have no idea what they want to do, how much money you can make with a certain degree, job availability and job growth using a specific degree. One kid plans to study 'environmental studies', said doesn't know what she will do with it and admits she doesn't like math, hence the studies instead of science degree. She is positive and says she will figure something out. She probably will, good person, hard worker, good attitude and good looking too (doesn't hurt if you are a woman). OTOH, 100K over the next few years and no real plan...big gamble.
Admittedly, these are big decisions for an 18 year old that can have life long consequences...many of these kids are not equipped to make those decisions (really at what point in time were most 18 year olds prepared for those decisions). Now the cost of college is so expensive, a bad decision and you are f*cked for a long time.
When it is this complicated the logical conclusion is it is intentional to fool people into signing on the dotted line. Debt is a boat anchor around the anchor and too much of the economy is relying on people borrowing money to keep the gravy training running. Going to be real interesting with the credit markets lock up tight again.