Is Social Media Good for Our Society?

Many students do not graduate and waste their own and their government's money

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• Student debt overwhelms many seniors.
• Learning a trade profession is a better option than college for many young adults.
• College degrees do not guarantee learning or job preparation.
• Student debt could cause another financial crisis.
• Tuition has risen quicker than income, making it difficult for the average American to pay for college without incurring debt.
• Too many students earning degrees has diluted the value of a bachelors degree.
• The total cost of going to college also includes the cost of missing opportunities to make money at a job.
• A college degree is no guarantee of workplace benefits.
• Colleges may be indoctrinating students instead of educating them.
• College stress can lead to health problems and other negative consequences.

Many students do not graduate and waste their own and their government's money. Over 25% of students who enroll in college do not return for the second year. [45] About 44% of students at four-year colleges dropped out according to a Feb. 2011 study. [46] The federal government allocated $176.83 billion for college loans, grants, tax benefits, and work studies in 2013. [48] State governments spent $81.2 billion supporting public colleges in 2012. [49] Students who started bachelor's degrees in the fall of 2002 but did not graduate within six years accounted for $3.8 billion in lost income, $566 million in lost federal income taxes, and $164 million in lost state income taxes in one year. [50] The government gets fewer tax dollars from non-college graduates than from college graduates who have higher wages. [50] Students who drop out during the first year of college cost states $1.3 billion and the federal government $300 million per year in wasted student grant programs and government appropriations for colleges. [50] Student debt overwhelms many seniors. Whether they co-signed for a child or grandchild's education, or took out loans for their own educations, in 2012 there were 6.9 million student loan borrowers aged 50 and over who collectively owed $155 billion with individual average balances between $19,521 and $23,820. [51] Of the 6.9 million borrowers, 24.7% were more than 90 days delinquent in payments. [51] Almost 119,000 of older borrowers in default were having a portion of their Social Security payments garnished by the US government in 2012. [52] Learning a trade profession is a better option than college for many young adults. Trade professions are necessary for society to function, require less than four years of training, and often pay above average wages. The high number of young adults choosing college over learning a trade has created a 'skills gap' in the US and there is now a shortage of 'middle-skill" trade workers like machinists, electricians, plumbers, and construction workers. One 2011 survey of US manufacturers found that 67% reported a "moderate to severe shortage of talent," [53] "Middle-skill" jobs represent half of all jobs in the US that pay middle-class wages. [54] According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, "middle-skill" jobs will make up 45% of projected job openings through 2014, but as of 2012 only 25% of the workforce had the skills to fill those jobs. [55] College degrees do not guarantee learning or job preparation. Many students graduate from college with little understanding of math, reading, civics, or economics. [56] In 2011, 35% of students enrolled in college reported they studied 5 hours or less per week and there was a 50% decline in the number of hours a student studied and prepared for classes compared to a few decades ago. [57] 36% of students demonstrated no significant improvement on Collegiate Learning Assessments after 4 years of college. [58] In 2013 56% of employers thought half or fewer of college graduates had the skills and knowledge to advance within their companies. [59] 30% of college graduates felt college did not prepare them well for employment, specifically in terms of technical and quantitative reasoning skills. [60] A 2011 Pew Research survey found that 57% of Americans felt higher education did not provide students with good value compared to the money spent. [25] Student debt could cause another financial crisis. As of 2012 student loan debt was over $1 trillion dollars, and more than 850,000 student loans were in default. [61] According to the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, student loans are "beginning to have the same effect" on the economy that the housing bubble and crash created. [62] Former Secretary of Education William Bennett, PhD, agrees that the student loan debt crisis "is a vicious cycle of bad lending policies eerily similar to the causes of the subprime mortgage crisis." [63] On Feb. 3, 2012, an advisory council to the Federal Reserve also warned that the growth in student debt "has parallels to the housing crisis." [64] As of Jan. 2013, the rate of default on student loans hit 15.1%--a nearly 22% increase since 2007. [65] Tuition has risen quicker than income, making it difficult for the average American to pay for college without incurring debt. The average cost for a 4-year degree (including room and board) increased 130% for private schools and 131.4% for public schools from fall 1982 to fall 2012, while median family income increased 10.9%. [41] Published annual tuition rates for 4-year public colleges increased 27% ($1,850) from the 2007-2008 school year to the 2012-2013 school year on average. [66] Tuition at public four-year colleges is up 27% beyond overall inflation. [67] Too many students earning degrees has diluted the value of a bachelor's degree. Rita McGrath, PhD, Associate Professor at Columbia Business School, stated "Having a bachelor's used to be more rare and candidates with the degree could therefore be more choosy and were more expensive to hire. Today, that is no longer the case." [68] A high unemployment rate shifts the supply and demand to the employers' favor and has made master’s degrees the "new bachelor's degrees." [68] According to James Altucher, venture capitalist and finance writer, "college graduates hire only college graduates, creating a closed system that permits schools to charge exorbitant prices and forces students to take on crippling debt." [69] The total cost of going to college also includes the cost of missing opportunities to make money at a job. The total cost of going to college means more than tuition, fees, and books; it also includes an opportunity cost which equals at least four years of missed wages and advancements from a full-time job--about $49,000 for a 4-year degree and $20,000 for a 2-year degree. [8] A college degree is no guarantee of workplace benefits. In 2013, 68.9% of employed new college graduates did not receive health insurance through their employers and, in 2011, 27.2% received retirement coverage (down from 41.5% in 2000). [41] Student loan debt may not be forgiven in bankruptcy and may not have the same borrower protections as other consumer debt. A 2011 study found 60% of people attempting to discharge student loan debt in bankruptcy were unsuccessful. [70] In order to discharge a student loan in bankruptcy, the borrower must prove "undue hardship," which can be difficult as in the case of Doug Wallace, Jr. who fought for six years to have his $38,000 in student loans discharged after becoming blind and being unable to work; his student loans were not discharged although his medical debt was immediately discharged. [71] Medical, legal, credit card, loan, and even gambling debt can immediately be discharged in bankruptcy. [71] Private student loans often do not have the same protections as federal loans like income-based repayments, discharges upon death, or military deferments. [61] Colleges may be indoctrinating students instead of educating them. According to William Hare, PhD, Professor Emeritus at Mount Saint Vincent University, "teachers may abuse their power and authority and seek to impose certain beliefs and values, actively discouraging their students from raising problems or objections." [72] A 2010-2011 UCLA survey of full-time faculty at 4-year colleges found 50.3% identified as "liberal" compared to 11.5% who identified as "conservative." [73] David Horowitz, MA, conservative activist and author, asserts that university "curriculum has been expanded to include agendas about ‘social change’ that are overtly political." [74] College stress can lead to health problems and other negative consequences. 40.2% of college students reported feeling "frequently overwhelmed" in a 2012 survey about stress levels. [75] According to the University of Florida’s Counseling & Wellness Center, "The competition for grades, the need to perform, relationships, fear of AIDS, career choice, and many other aspects of the college environment cause stress." [76] According to the Director of Student Health Services at Biola University, college stress can lead to "headaches, weight gain, chronic digestive disorders, fatigue, increases [in] blood pressure, insomnia, teeth grinding in sleep, general irritability, reoccurring feeling of hopelessness, depression and anxiety and low self-esteem." 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