This heavy piece from the The New York Times points out the unfortunate state of higher education costs in the U.S. and the effect it is having on families.

“With more than $1 trillion in student loans outstanding in this country, crippling debt is no longer confined to dropouts from for-profit colleges or graduate students who owe on many years of education, some of the overextended debtors in years past. Now nearly everyone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is borrowing. As prices soar, a college degree statistically remains a good lifetime investment, but it often comes with an unprecedented financial burden.”

The trends in education costs (and debt) have followed every other market, such as housing and healthcare, in which access to superficially cheap financing hides total costs from consumers. An interactive graphic visualising this growing debt makes the information that much more forceful.

I was lucky not to be a part of this since I only attended graduate school in the U.S., and that too with financial support, but some of the comments following the article are heartbreaking. I hope that the online learning initiatives we follow here everyday on Wisdemy will soon improve this situation.