The Hidden Debt

There’s another debt college students are unfortunately graduating with.

College costs have ballooned far faster than inflation in the last thirty years, leading to the well-known ballooning in student debt. But that deficit isn’t the only one students have when they leave.

So many students I know necessarily have to pare down their college studies to the absolute essentials – if it’s not required for my major, I don’t have time to take it…because of my two jobs, work study, internship, etc. This leads to a deep deficit in experiences beyond what are required in the curriculum. It is so valuable for students to explore new extracurriculars, try classes outside their major, or just join clubs or other societies. But these opportunities to expand horizons are lost in the present environment.

We can’t keep going like this and not experience a profound loss: the loss of adults not enriched by voluntary experiences outside their intended career trajectory.