Each year the families of dependent college students are assumed to pay a certain amount toward the cost of their children’s higher education.  But the expected amount reflects inaccurate assumptions which force students into into taking out high-interest private loans which cripple them with debt come graduation day.  

The federal government uses a formula to assess each student’sEFC (Expected Family Contribution) this number is calculated each semester and determines how much financial aid the university will award to each student.  The number is calculated based on the respective family’s taxed and untaxed income, assets and benefits; this number is then subtracted from the cost of that student’s attendance.  The remaining amount is owed by the student.  

This semester a UNC Wilmington student had an EFC of $6,994.   With the current cost of attendance for an out-of-state, off-campus student at $9,239 the student only needs to figure out how to come up with $2,245 in student loans this semester.  In theory, this sounds really good.  In actuality, the student’s parents weren’t able to give him an amount even close to the estimated $6,994.

In fact, they didn’t give him any money toward his education this semester– as in previous semesters.  So this student is responsible for obtaining all the loans necessary to cover the $8,489 he will owe — after his tuition offset grant of $750.  In addition to this he will need to work a minimum of 30 hours per week during the semester in order to pay for his bills, groceries, gas, rent and other living expenses.

There are plenty of well-deserved funding options available to UNCW students who come from families of lower income.  There are also students who belong to families of higher income whose parents do have the available funds to offer towards their child’s education.  

Unfortunately for the students who fall somewhere in between, their eligibility for financial aid is crippled by what the federal government admits is not even an accurate number.  A note on the FAFSA website states,

“Your EFC is not the amount of money your family will have to pay for college nor is it the amount of federal student aid you will receive. It is a number used by your school to calculate the amount of federal student aid you are eligible to receive.”

In reality, students of the middle class are not being awarded financial aid due to an estimated contribution that they will most likely never receive. These students are then forced to take out thousands of dollars of private high interest loans.

This being said, the cost is still worth it to earn at least a bachelor’s degree in some fields. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average college graduate will earn more money, experience less unemployment, and have a wider variety of career options.

This heavy debt wouldn’t be a tragedy for college graduates.  The students’ cost of education could be worth it because their degrees would eventually pay for themselves. The problem lies in the growing number of recent college graduates, which increases the competition for entry-level jobs. According to Current Population Survey data, the number of people aged 25 and older who have a college degree grew from 35 million to 52 million between 1992 and 2004, an increase of almost 50 percent. 

Considering the fact that our society is producing a higher number of educated individuals, the increase is a good thing.  For students, this could mean that these degrees we spend so much time on — while increasing in cost — could be decreasing in value.

So, while it is true that bachelors’ – or higher – will increase graduates’ marketability, whether that those individuals are able to obtain careers with a high enough salaries to pay their student debt is questionable.  It is a gamble; for students who receive little or no funding assistance, the stakes are high.