College tuition has climbed an alarming 193% since 1963 after adjusting for inflation. To put that in real numbers, let’s say that in 1963, to attend a school like Penn State, your tuition would be roughly $21,652 (adjusted for inflation). Whereas, according to the official Penn State website, in 2025 to attend Penn State, your tuition is a whopping $41,790. That being said, in order for people seeking degrees, they’re more than likely going to take out some sort of loan to pay for their education. These loans can end up being a crippling amount of debt. Interest compounds, tensions rise, mental health declines, and the thought of ever owning your own home becomes more and more of a fairy tale.
Not only does student loan debt have concerning effects on mental health, but it’s a facilitator for the rich to get richer and the poor to stay poor, reinforcing existing socioeconomic gaps. With all that into consideration, student loan debt is one of the most pressing issues of the 21st century. When you take a step back and look at how college debt even became such a massive problem, it’s pretty shocking. 50 years ago, college wasn’t meant to drain your wallet or haunt you for half your life. Tuition used to be something an average family could save up for or at least manage without going thousands of dollars into debt. Universities were actually funded by states, and schools didn’t need to treat students like means to profit.
As time went on, states cut funding, colleges raised tuition to make up for it, and suddenly the cost of simply getting a degree skyrocketed. Meanwhile, society started telling everyone that college was the only way to get a decent job or to achieve the “American Dream.” With wages barely budging and tuition climbing nonstop, students were basically pushed straight into the arms of lenders.
One of the worst parts about student loan debt is the mental toll it has on graduates. It’s something people carry around every second of their lives. The constant stress of owing tens or even over hundreds of thousands of dollars makes it almost impossible to have a shot at the “American Dream”.
Many graduates feel like they’re already behind in life before they’ve even had a chance to start. Some individuals post on social media, such as @lightweightlyssie on TikTok, who posted a video of her breaking down because of her 17% interest loan. She went into despair after realizing that she most likely won’t be able to overcome this debt and even is going as far as selling her reproductive eggs to pay.
Every month brings another payment, another reminder that the future you imagined is even more out of reach. It’s no surprise that student debt is linked to major mental health issues like anxiety and depression. When your finances are unstable, everything else suddenly becomes unstable too. The rabbit hole goes deeper than individual stress. Student loan debt is also feeding into this country’s already huge wealth gap. It’s practically designed to. Students from wealthier families either don’t need to take out loans and if they do, their parents can pay.
Therefore, they graduate already ahead of the game. All while students from low-income families end up borrowing the most because they don’t have another choice. They walk into their post-graduate life already at a major financial disadvantage. Given that interest compounds so quickly, they fall further and further behind.
The Journal of Business Ethics published a paper called “The Business of Stealing Futures: Race, Gender, and the Student Debt Regime,” in this article they stated, “Black borrowers simply do not have the wherewithal to weather adverse financial events and end up defaulting on their loans, which triggers huge penalties that trap them in debt further.”
It’s a system where the rich get a clean slate and the poor start burdened by debt. That difference affects everything: buying a home, building savings, starting a business, and even retirement. Universities are robbing the poor from any social mobility.
Though it may feel like we have no control over student loan debt, there are actions we can take as citizens. Firstly, we need to make college affordable again by having states properly fund higher education instead of pushing the costs onto students. On the federal level, lowering interest rates, improving repayment plans, and offering real loan forgiveness would make a huge impact.
It’s clear the system we have now isn’t working. As citizens, we can help drive change by voting for leaders who take student debt seriously, supporting policies that make education accessible, and speaking out about how debt affects people. One person can’t fix a national crisis, but collectively through voting we can.
In the end, student loan debt is much more than a financial inconvenience. It’s a major life altering problem that affects mental health, personal goals, and the basic ability to move forward in life. It deepens inequality, traps people in cycles of stress, and makes something as simple as getting an education feel like a burden instead of an opportunity. If we want a future where education opens doors instead of locking people behind debt, serious changes need to happen. Rising tuition, unfair loan policies, and the overwhelming mental burden of debt can’t just be accepted as a part of our American culture.
However, voting is also a part of our American culture. Through voting, we can change the future for ourselves, and our children. Student loan debt is one of the most pressing issues of the 21st century, and unless we make major changes, it will continue to shape the future of millions of Americans.
