Page 9 - A Guide To Financial Health v2

Chapter 01: Americans are stuck

Conventional wisdom tells young people: Go to college, and you’ll succeed.

Yet between 1989 and 2016, the cost of attending college has doubled—

even after accounting for inflation. Meanwhile, the economic returns on

those degrees have flattened, leaving young people stuck paying back debt

—with interest—on degrees that simply aren’t as valuable as the ones

gained by past generations.

Is it still possible to “work your way through

college?”

In 1979, students could earn enough to pay for a year of college during a

single summer. Now, it would take over a year, leaving no time for actual

classes.