More than 40 million Americans have student loan debt which is about 1 in 5 U.S. adults. For as long as education has been pursued, college has been a thing. Along with college comes tuition and other college expenses which are not cheap. Since the early 90s, students and parents have been suffering from student loan debt. In fact, according to the United States Department of Education, the average student loan debt has more than doubled from 1990 to 2010 and is continuing to rise (ProCon.org). Now as society advances into the 2020s, student loan debt is the second largest category of consumer debt in the country only following mortgage debt. However, because the cost of college education is so high, students have no choice but to borrow money …show more content…
When students are not worried about money, they can focus better on their school work. Even when students have loans, they may find themselves stuck worrying about how they will have to pay them back in the future. This added stress can negatively impact their focus during the time when they are supposed to be learning (Wiediger). Some other factors that go along with stress are anxiety and feelings of shame. A 2021 mental health survey indicated 1 in 14 borrowers experienced suicidal consideration. Among borrowers who were unemployed or making less than $50,000 per year, this rate jumped to 1 in 8 (Geiman). Not only in school but out of school situations are getting affected as well. Because of the student loans, students are unable to do extra curricular activities. This happens because students are too worried about how they are going to pay back their loans so they feel that they do not have the time to participate in those things. These examples prove that free college could help students thrive and not have to be worried about their financial