Why do you need our $500 scholarship?

Department of Education mission statement: “Our mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.”

My time spent searching and applying for scholarships has illuminated the flaws in our education system. The costs for university degrees have risen precipitously over the span of the last 100 years. According to the differences in the tuition costs for Harvard University between 1988 and 2018, the current cost is more than two-and-a-half times as much as it was – a markup of 163 percent. This is not an isolated incident; it is a national phenomenon. The increase in college costs has forced students to search for alternative methods of payment: loans, grants, and scholarships. The once “alternative methods” have now become the primary option for students trying to pay for their education. According to the Federal Reserve, loans have become the most popular option and account for $1.48 trillion of US personal debt – $620 billion more than the total US credit card debt. The extraordinarily high costs for a degree have subscribed aspiring academics to decades of debt.

An ordinary student loan in the United States demands a first payment 6-months post-graduation. Are students expected to neglect their final year of studies to search for a way to pay off their loans? Sadly, the statistics suggest students should.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary of people aged 20 to 24 year-olds is $528 per week or $27,456 a year. When the average salary is compared to the average student loan debt in 2017, $39,400, it is obvious how disproportionate the costs of a degree are to the income of recent graduates.

To further illustrate how high-priced degrees are subscribing young people to decades of debt, using the average student loan debt, $39,400, and the median monthly payment for student loans, $203 according to the federal reserve, it can be determined that it would take 194.09 payments or 16 years to pay off a 4-year degree.

During that same 16-year span, individuals have a high probability of getting married (median age for men 29.5 and women 27.4), having children (the average decade is from 30 to 39), and purchasing their first home (median age is 32) - all of which incur their own forms of debt.

Why should students have to explain why they need a scholarship when these statistics reveal the shared story of most students?

Students face the fiscal consequences of earning a college degree, yet are not given the opportunity to create enduring and innovative solutions. Initiatives to change this vicious system have been ignored far too long. Rather than forcing students to spend time applying for scholarships, they should be given the space and time to critically analyze the education system.

We – students – need a system where we do not need to beg for money to cover the costs of our own education. The time to engage in national dialogue regarding educational reform is long overdue. We as a nation need to ask ourselves, are we fulfilling our duties as citizens by holding the Department of Education responsible for not successfully pursuing their mission statement?

This was not a sob story, this was the real story.