Pasadena City College

Millennials Social Effects from the Unsustainable Student Debt in America

Catherine Serrano
Professor. Ogden
English 1A Sec.50680
June 24, 2016

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Research Abstract
This research paper is on the student debt crisis in America, and how it is having a negative
effect on students when they get out of school. Specifically, it focuses on the Millennial
Generation (those born between the years 1980-2000). It establishes the problem of student debt
growing at an unsustainable rate in America by providing statistics on student loans, including
government revenue from these loans and increased tuition costs as well as inflation. Once the
problem is established, it argues that the relatively higher cost of education compared to previous
generations is causing Millennials to prolong significant milestones in their lives, including buying
their first home, getting married, and having kids.

To strengthen the argument, statistics of these social changes are provided, as well as some
personal stories of Millennials who are struggling with this crisis. It also explores the cost of
getting a college education today, including the relative cost versus the benefit of an increased
salary over the lifetime of the average Millennial. This paper also attempts to determine at what
point will it be more cost effective to skip college and instead begin working full time immediately
after high school.

This essay concludes with determining whether or not the cost of obtaining a college
education today still makes financial sense, and whether or not a college degree is worth the related
social impacts on the Millennial generation.

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Research Paper Outline
i.

Introduction

Introduce the problem of student dent in America, state thesis of student debt and the

impact it is having on millennials

ii.

Paragraph 2-3

Personal background on student debt

Peer background on student debt

iii.

Paragraph 3-4

Provide statistics and quotes on student debt and tuition

Provide statistics and quotes in social impacts on student debt

iv. Conclusion
Summarize the problem of student debt in America

Close with an argument that despite social changes, Millennials will continue the American
dream.

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Introduction
Student debt is a growing financial problem in the United States. Graduates are having a
difficult time finding good paying jobs and are facing great financial hardships. There are great
implications for choosing the right school and making the right financial decisions in todays
economy. This research paper will focus on Millennials and will reflect on personal experience
from peers and share my personal doubts and fears about taking out student loans to return to
school and change careers. I will soon become one of the millions of Millennials that are faced
with a tough and globally competitive economy that cannot guarantee a job or decent salary, and
therefore face pressure to postpone significant milestones such as buying a home, getting married,
or having kids.

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Millennials Social Effects from the Unsustainable Student Debt in America

Im two months away from my first day of school in New York city. Im excited to move
to a new state that I have never been to before. While second thoughts grow in my mind due to the
high tuition and additional costs of attending school, Im coming to the realization that Im soon
going to be among the statistics of millions of Millennials who have substantial student debt.
Simply put -- student debt is growing at an unsustainable rate in America and it is having negative
financial and social effects on Millennials, such as waiting longer to get married, buy a home, and
have kids.
With this in mind, I come to question whether or not I should obtain a second college
degree in fashion, a profession Im passionate about. Being accepted into one of the most prestige
fashion schools is one great personal achievement, but to what cost? The high tuition and student
debt concerns me, and who asserts Im going to find a job with a decent salary that will give me
the financial freedom after graduation?

My family doesnt think it is a good idea for me to go to fashion school. They believe I
can use my valuable bachelors degree in finance or do something else with my money; they are
worried I wont be able to find a good paying job and end up unemployed for a prolonged period
of time. I feel excited, but at the same time, Im not working and I know school is expensive. I
wonder how do students do it -- do they have their parents financial help? Do they take out
several student loans and fall in a student debt trap? The more that I think about this dilemma,
the more I realize the magnitude and the importance to study student debt and for our
government and local schools to be more open about it. According to the article Millennial

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College Graduates: Young, Educated, Jobless, Millennials face higher university tuitions and
student loan debt than ever before, as well as stiffer competition when they enter the workforce
(Goodman). I can relate to this reality since I have been unemployed for more than eight
months, and I have only received job offers for positions that I am overqualified for and that pay
a minimum salary.

As my future financial concerns grow, I read more about millennials social concerns,
including the article Millennials faced with high student debt and a tougher job market will have
to be smarter money managers, so it's time to start now, which states Many of today's young
adults will have to make more financial compromises give up things like travel, owning a car
and renting in a cool downtown neighborhood (Carrick). I will soon be taking the same risk as
millions of other American Millennials who have substantial student debt, a lack of good paying
job prospects, poor job stability, and are postponing starting a family or purchasing a home until
they find themselves in a better financial state.

Let me give you an example of someone going through a similar struggle. Imagine a
normal day at your job. You are told someone new is coming to the office. Your boss tells you
that she is a professional Lawyer and Therapist, then you start thinking, who might this person
be? Later that day, I was introduced to this lovely African woman, in her early thirties, perfect
English, and abig girl who seem to be a really nice person. This is a government office, where
the salaries are okay, but not good enough. I remember asking myself, what made her apply to
this job? Isnt she a lawyer? Ill call this person Ysu.

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Ysu was a great addition to the office. She was funny, friendly, but acted very much like
a lawyer always saying, I dont know, I dont like to assume, If I was you, Ill get that in
writing. Yet Ysus friendliness and bubbly personality caused her to became a distraction to the
office. She was always very loud (she wouldnt hold any words), and always talking and walking
by the aisles of the office. She was our entertainment. Ysu had a busy life outside this job, you
could tell Ysu was busy, always taking calls and leaving early. The more I got to know her, she
became a friend. She was a personal therapist to me, a go-to person. She was someone to
admire, but I wanted to know why wasnt she working privately or at a law firm. As a good
friend and being in that office for so long, I knew Ysu could do better. After graduating from
graduate school, Ysu mentioned to me that she had difficulty finding a law job, so she continued
to be in school to avoid paying student loans by deferring them. Ysu had mentioned to me that
she had more than two hundred thousand dollars in student debt. Most of the money she had
spent on her degrees, but it didnt result in good opportunities for a job related to her field of
study.

I remember her saying to me once during a work lunch break, I went with the ratings,
the networking and with what people told me was the best for me choose wisely on the
budget. This concerned me; it made me think about how many other people are in Ysus same
situation. I was intrigued by the fact that student loans affected peoples lives and the economy. I
wondered if I wanted to pursue a higher education (Graduate degree or Ph.D) and told myself,
will I find an employer that will value my degree and pay me for my efforts? I thought of the
students that dream of their perfect school and future career, yet will be faced with significant
life compromises from the effects of unsustainable student debt. I started to think of how many
people are affected by this situation in our community, and once I knew how difficult it is to

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afford college, I decided to look at the statistics to help me understand and visualize the
problems our Millennial generation is going through. The statistics tell it all.

High college tuition is a major concern to lower class students with no financial
resources, and to those who would still need an income to provide for their families while
attending school. I believe that students today are graduating from high school stressed out and
already thinking if they are able to afford their dream or college of their preference. As a young
adult myself, I find going to college more of a hassle than something that I should be excited
about. All the financial aid and tax forms that a student or parent has to fill out is just one of the
unreasonable tasks a young fresh-out-of-high school student has to go through. Further, college
tuition is increasing. According to the article, "What's the Price Tag for a College Education?"
costs ranged from $24,000 at an in-state public college and a moderate $47,831 for a private
institution for the 2015-2016 school year. Some might dream of the day that college is free and
that the taxes we pay would benefit us by making it affordable to study and become professionals
with no college debt. High college tuition may be a factor for why there are so many students
dropping out of school today. With Hispanics dropping out at a national 10.6 % rate, it is
noticeably higher than blacks at 7.2% and whites at 5.2% according to the article, Status
Dropout Rates. Here you can see that the most affected portion of the population that is not
completing their education or that might be taking longer to complete it is Hispanics. Not having
the financial resources is often the main difficulty for students from the lower class or those that
belong to a minority group.

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None the less, according to the report The Young Population and Workforce, from 1989 to
2013, Young people have continued to increase their education attainment...more young people
report having earned at least an Associates degree in an academic program (Department for
Professional Employees). We are seeing more people obtaining their degrees, however this is
accompanied with great student debt. More than 69% of graduates in 2014 had student loans with
an average of $28,950 per borrower, and from 2004 to 2014 graduates with debts increased from
65% to 69% while college debt increased twice as much as inflation (The Institute for College
Access & Success). In California the average student debt is about $21,382 from a four year public
or private nonprofit institution; these figure dont include the additional amount for a graduate or
Ph.D. education. We are seeing more graduates, but these graduates are having difficulties making
it to the workforce with high levels of unemployment in our country.

The unsustainable college debt in our country has raised student debt within the past decade
from $260 billion to $1.2 trillion from 2004 to 2014. According to Debt.org, college debt is the
number one source of income for our government with revenues up to $120 billion in the last five
years. The government sees these debt repayments from all the student borrowers as a great source
of revenue, however the ones who suffer are the families and students (me) who go to college and
have to repay these loans back in a harsh economy with employment rates only slowly increasing,
and with salaries still not rising at the same rate as the high cost of living. The result of Millennials
graduating with high debt and less financial freedom is that they are prolonging the purchase of
their first homes, getting married and having kids.

Consequently, you see more students living with their parents, having roommates and

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renting until their late 30s. Another example of these social impacts on Millennials is the choice
of employment and the delay in opening a business. The less financial freedom, the more pressure
for young adults to drop out of college and engage in a relationship, and this consequently drives
graduates to take any job that is not necessarily related to their studies or desired professional
careers. For the first time in many years, couples are delaying lifes most important milestones:
buying a home, getting married and having kids. We can see a trend that is increasing as more
young adults will put off all major milestones until they are financially free from college debt or
have a more stable job with a better salary and are free of all other credit debt. Consequently, we
will see less young homeowners, marriage rates possibly declining, and first time parents
increasingly in their late 30s or early 40s. According to Paul T Convey, President of Generation
Opportunity, The No. 1 issue defining this generation is lack of full-time, meaningful jobs and
economic opportunities overall, which means that the economy is increasingly a major social
factor that affects Millennials and new graduates (Collins).

Not obtaining a degree in this modern era is equivalent to settling for low income and laborintensive jobs. For students who do not graduate, student debt is coupled with lowered earning
potentialcreating a future that is even bleaker, in comparison to obtaining a degree (Garrison).
The average median salary that a graduate can earn is between $50,000 thousand to $65,000
thousand a year, versus just having high school diploma, in which median salaries are only in the
$30,000 range. Furthermore, earning a degree is a major event in life for every single individual,
and should be encouraged (as long as the debt is reasonable and manageable). Studying and going
to college will allow for individuals to develop new ideas, new friendships, long-life experiences
and networking that potentially will lead them to a great job.

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Student debt is something that should be carefully thought about. Attending a less
expensive local community college for the first couple of years or working an extra year to save
for college are just some of many ways in which students can opt out of taking out student loans.
Another solution to financial freedom is to work fulltime while obtaining a degree part-time.
Studying and funding shouldnt be an impediment for our society and young adults to pursue their
dreams and have the lives that their parents had. As I and millions of Millennials face this struggle,
along with the government statistics of high unemployment rates and lack of new jobs, we must
find a way to make a living and live up to our responsibilities in an unstable and competitive
economy. I hope that our generation of Millennials can still keep alive the American dream of
having the security of a decent salary and a home, as long as we are willing to work hard to achieve
it.

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Works Cited

Carrick, Rob. "Preparing Gen Y for a harder path forward; Millennials faced with high student
debt and a tougher job market will have to be smarter money managers, so it's time to
start now". 23 September 2013. Globe & Mail. 2 June 2016. Web
Collins, Lois M. "Life, Delayed: Couples Putting off Marriage Due to Economy, Changing Views." .
24 Nov. 2012. 2016 June 2016. Web
Department for Professional Employees. "The Young Population and Workforce." Report. 2013.
12 June 2016. Web
Garrison, David L. Eisler and Scott. "Addressing College Student Loan Debt Strategies for
Success." College & Research Libraries News. 75. 374-391. 2014. Print
Goodman, Leah M. "Millenial College Graduates: Young, Educated, Jobless". 27 05 15.
Newsweek.com. 16 06 16. Web
Greenhaven Press. "Student Loans Sow Seeds of Economic Ills.". Ed. USA Today. 30 sept 2007. 2
June 2016. Web
The Institute for College Access & Success. State by State Data. Data. Washington: The Institute
for College Access & Success, 2015. Web

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Annotated Bibliography
Carrick, Rob. "Preparing Gen Y for a harder path forward; Millennials faced with high
student debt and a tougher job market will have to be smarter money managers, so it's
time to start now." Globe & Mail. Globe & Mail. 23 September 2013. Web. 02 June
2016.
This article by Rob Carrick mentions how Millennials today are having difficult, and that
professionals are compromising on part time jobs and giving up and delaying some of the
most important aspects of life, due to the substantial student debt and lack of good paying
job prospects, poor job stability, and are postponing starting a family or purchasing a
home until they find themselves in a better financial state. This article helps me support
my thesis and gives me examples of real persons and scenarios were Millennials are
faced by tougher job market.
Collins, Lois. "Life, Delayed: Couples Putting off Marriage Due to Economy, Changing
Views." DeseretNews.com. Deseret News. 24 Nov. 2012. Web. 22 June 2016.
In this article the author talks about why couples today are delaying marriage and kids
due to the financial hardship. This article explains todays couples concerns and financial
struggles for middle class people and the reasons of economic hardship, student debt and
the lack of fulltime jobs in this generation. This article helps me with my research paper,
Im able to get more information and examples of todays couples and young adults
concerns about college and the economic point of view for this generation to put off some
milestones in their life.

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DPE Research Department. "The Young Population and Workforce." Dpe.com
Department for Professional Employees. Report. 2013. Web. 12 June 2016.
This report by the DPE Research Department provides statistical and historical data on
student debt and young professional in the workforce, specifically between ages of 18 to
34. It provides information, numbers and statistics from different occupational groups,
employment and earnings, gender, race and unemployments. This article helped me
collect data to provide facts and some of the effects that the professional workforce and
young adults are facing in todays unstable economy.
The Condition of Education. "Status Dropout Rates. National Center for Education
Statistics. Report. May 2016. Web. 12, June 2016.
This article by the National Center for Education Statistics provides information and key
data of some of the student dropout rates from 1990 to 2014. It helps my research paper by
providing key information on which minorities are being affected by the high college
tuition. This helps me understand which race or ethnicity is mostly being affected in the
United States.
Nasiripour, Shahien. "Obama Student Loan Policy Reaping $51 Billion Profit."
TheHuffingtonPost.com. The Huffington Post. 14 May 2013. Web. 12 June 2016.
This article by Shahien, talks about the revenue and some of the estimates that student loan
debt provides the government as one of the most profitable sources of income for the
government. Student debt is also a concern for the whole student and families, it represents
a significant problem to our society. This article provides statistics of how the government
is profiting from all the student debt, and the significant problems and debt, economic
hardship our society is left with.