Why Attending University In 2024 Destroys Your Opportunity for Success

Before you commit to the school of your dreams, here are a few statistics to consider before you enroll.

According to University Statistics, [UNIVSTATS], For the academic year 2022-2023, the average graduation rate of US colleges and universities was 23.74%. 43% of students who attend college or university never graduate, and half of those end up in careers not requiring a degree just 10-years after graduation.

According to the Pew Research Center, the unemployment rate for recent college graduates, between the ages of 22-27, was 41%, which is HIGHER than for workers without a bachelor's degree. [ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/04/12/10-facts-about-todays-college-graduates/ ]

In 1960, 7.7% of working adults were college graduates or higher, meaning applicants with higher education degrees were in very low supply, and in high demand. Today, 37.9% of adults are college graduates, which means a much greater supply, and therefore, much less competitive, much much more common, and thus, much less valuable.

What else has changed in the last half a century?

Let's look purely at debt, given the prevalence of student loan debt all but eliminating opportunities for home-ownership/mortgages and self-employment/entrepreneur/new business loans.

In 1950, Household debt-to-income ratio was 35.76%, which increased to 59.70% in 1960, compared to 180.38% for those living in the US today. (Q3 2022 average household income was $74,755 [Census Bureau, most current] compared to 2024 average household debt, which surpassed $134,845. [According to Federal Reserve Bank of New York, citing the latest "Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit."])

According to the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency, the All-Transactions House Price Index was at 59.88 in 1975 compared to 657.67 in 2023. (Just for comparison, during the Subprime Mortgage Crisis in 2007, the USSTHPI only reached 380.76.)

[Source: U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency, All-Transactions House Price Index for the United States [USSTHPI], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.]

Why does this matter?

Banks do not lend to families with a high DTI, especially not high-value loans, which are necessary for first-time buyers to even be afforded the opportunity to purchase a home at their current prices. This is precisely what is being examined and reviewed for comparison in these statistics.

Furthermore, due to this lack of opportunity for homeownership, while also competing with corporate interests with much deeper pockets, families are now unable to borrow against the equity in the home they do not, and cannot own, putting them even further behind in the market. (To clarify, sure, some families can afford to purchase a home in the present market and economy, but as a whole, a much higher percentage of the population cannot.)

This is a huge problem, because everyone knows homeownership is the primary method by which families (especially within the middle class) gain wealth. If their largest bill each month is paid into their own pockets and equity, they can keep the majority of the money they earn, compared to the alternative which is leasing or renting, where no wealth is being built as no equity is being obtained on assets which continue to increase in value. This further adds to the problem as the overwhelming majority of American families will never be able to catch up and get ahead of the problem of debt and no opportunity for ownership. Without the opportunity to purchase a home or to afford to pursue ownership, in general, wealth will continue to fall, as debt will continue to rise.

I would not wish this ill fate upon anyone. Do not destroy all opportunity for success and financial freedom, just because its what everyone else is doing or because it's what your favorite teacher or coach might have motivated you toward. Opportunity does not come through debt without a promise. It comes through hard work, and being willing to take a risk. But make sure the gamble is one where the odds are in your favor. And the U.S. University system is currently the worst place for the majority of would-be students.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my argument. I hope you learned something and found some value which could change the course of your life, forever.