The education system is the one federal government branch all United States citizens will pass through. The system was established to give all United States citizens an understanding of the world socially and economically. The education system can become more costly and difficult for most students as they age. According to the Washington Post, climbing tuition, changes to the financial aid system, and the labor market's demand for higher education have resulted in a rise in student loan debt. As of 2021, one in seven students will owe the government money on their degree. K-12 education is considered a necessity, but after the age of eighteen, education is viewed as a bonus to your repertoire; in today's world, a degree is necessary to maintain a decent lifestyle. Especially with the rise in the cost of living in most cities, without a higher-paying job from an adequate education, it is almost impossible to sustain yourself. The federal government should not put its citizens in a position where they have to decide whether to pay their student loans or electricity bills at the end of the month. Students and their families should not worry if their child needs to take a semester off because they cannot pay for their tuition. Every year, the tuition costs at each college and university will rise by seven percent on average. This means that in the year of twenty-twenty-one, the tuition is twenty-six thousand dollars, and the following year will be almost twenty-eight thousand dollars. The United States was built on liberty and freedom; in other words, students should have the liberty to attend the college or university of their choice and have the opportunity to graduate free of debt.

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The average American family brings home fifty-five thousand dollars annually after taxes and has two kids and one home. For this family to comfortably send their two children to college, one must have at least half of their tuition covered by scholarships and grants. Although some feel this is a solution to the student debt problem, doing well in school and receiving funding for your academics and or athletics causes excessive stress for the family. The student has to maintain specific grades at all times, which can mean they do not have a job. Many students receive grants and scholarships but are told they must participate in work studies programs. Yes, they work around their course schedule, but when do the students get a moment to themselves? According to new research, one in three college students will be diagnosed with anxiety or depression (Druckenmiller, 2022). The stressors contributing to these diagnoses are coursework difficulty, changes in eating or sleeping patterns, faculty assessments, and tuition payments. Students are now expected to have at least one of these diagnoses, which then lead to a series of other health conditions and trauma.

 

According to South Florida State University, "Work Study programs provide students with part-time employment that assists with their educational costs. The Financial Aid Office oversees work-study programs that place students in a working position in various college departments to assist with clerical work and perform other duties". According to The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, also known as FAFSA, over fifty percent of students are in work-study programs. Students who participate in work studies are more likely to graduate with their bachelor's degree a semester or even a year later than they should. They are so focused on staying afloat financially that their academic work falls through the cracks. Many apply to a work-study program with the notion that they can do their studies while clocking in the hours at their job, which is not the case. There are no guarantees about what position a student would receive upon applying for a work-study program. Not only are there no guarantees, but it also provides students with a new layer of stress. Research from Anthony P. Carnevale, Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, states, "Working while learning takes a greater toll on low-income students... There are about six million working learners who are also low-income, and they are disproportionately women, Blacks, and Latinos. These working learners are more likely than their higher-income peers to work more than 15 hours per week, leaving less time for their studies. And rather than pursuing a professional position, many devote more weekly hours to dead-end jobs. Working longer hours at these jobs may allow low-income students to earn more money in the short term. But it's usually never enough to cover their college and living expenses". (2019) In addition, work studies take time away from the students' scholastic endeavors, meaning they have less time on their hands to be full-time students. This starts a downward spiral; the less time the student devotes to their work and study, the less time they have to do other things, and they subsequently fall back on their schoolwork, dropping their GPAs and even failing a class. In research from Anthony P. Carnevale, Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, "This is sometimes the case for low-income working learners, who are less likely than their higher-income peers to graduate on time" (2019). In many instances, students fail a class and have to take it over again, but they do not have the money for the second time around, so they take out a student and start accumulating student debt.

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Since 1990, tuition and fees at four-year institutions have grown more than the average American family income. They are causing more families to take out loans, second mortgages, and credit cards to get themselves or their children through higher education. According to the Education Data Intuitive, the average undergraduate student will graduate with approximately thirty-eight thousand dollars worth of student debt. Students who graduate believe they will flourish, but in some cases, it is almost impossible. When a student collects debt, it affects their credit drastically; there have been many instances where someone who graduated ten years ago still can't get a homeowner's loan because of their debt, and for more recent graduates, many can't even buy a car under their name. Students can no longer have the freedom to earn a debt-free degree. Three in seven students will graduate debt-free; two of those three students have upper-class families.

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In Conclusion, students should not have to go to extremes to achieve an education. High school students go above and beyond to make a solid resume to get into college, but once they are admitted, they are burnt out. They have no motivation to finish any work, and they fall behind and lose their scholarships. Which then leads to the cycle of student debt. Earning a university education is worth the effort and privilege, but this privilege should not harm the students' achievement. A university degree should not push back a family from affording a house or being able to buy a car. In today's economy, to keep afloat, you need a career with a hefty salary, which usually comes from a degree. Students should not have to sacrifice their mental health for an education that will later lead to more mental health issues. Education is worth the money but not the amount that makes families question their next steps.

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