College graduates get more relief on loan payments

[Posteritatis]

15. As often as not there isn't much of a choice

This isn't the 1950s anymore; people can't segue smoothly into home ownership a few years after graduating from high school anymore, and even most low-yield jobs out there "require" a college degree as a result of high school diplomas being so watered down anymore. (Also, the whole fad of requiring one for its own sake.)

The question isn't "can I afford this loan?" in this market, it's "can I afford to spend the next ten years bouncing from one minimum wage job to another until I get a lucky break somewhere?" and with things the way they are the answer to that has never been further from "no" than it is.

"Just pick up a trade" isn't becoming any easier these days either, before that riposte shows up.

On top of that, tuition tends to skyrocket over the course of a degree. Someone's last year being half again as expensive as their first year is not unusual. It's entirely possible to believe you can afford it when you start only to have another $20,000 on the bill by the end that you weren't anticipating because an institution decided to raise their rates to build that third new business school or something.