Post-Secondary Education Gap Analysis

When pupils have to make the decision of filing costly student loans and also have a harder time finding a job in today’s societies, they usually end up having issues compensating these debts. In fact, in 2015 more than half of students at 347 colleges and vocational schools in the US defaulted on their loans or failed to pay down even a single dollar of their debt after 7 years (Fuller). These debts have only added to the 18 trillion the US owes as of 2016. The average repayment rate among all colleges in only 73% (Fuller). This proves that most of students that have to attend college end up not being able to pay off their obligations, and struggle with them in the recession US citizens encounter currently. Post-secondary educational costs …show more content…
A new study from the Institute for Policy Studies states that the richest 400 Americans have a combined net worth of $2.34 trillion, equal to that of the bottom 61 percent of the U.S. population (Frank). The growing rates of post-secondary institutions have in fact contributed to this divide. A study by Christine Armario proves that the growing divide between the rich and poor who earn a degree by age 24 doubled during the last four decades in the US. Contributing to this growing divide is the lack of access to information and support needed to enter college and graduate for lower income families, the lack of college readiness, and, most importantly, the lack of availability of high education that meets needs for lower income families. More specifically, there are absences of lower-priced schools that lower and middle class publics are able to afford. If students are unable to afford a college, there are clear consequences the societies of America can face. Also, even though many students from all incomes enrolling in institutions has grown significantly in the past 40 years, studies show that graduation rates reduce among lower-incomed families, as opposed to higher-incomed. In fact completion by age 24 from high-income students in college has grown to 99%, while only 21% of students from low-income families graduate from their education by this age (Armairo). When high-income students are able to graduate on time and begin taking in a salary at an earlier age than low-income students, the higher-income pupils are able to build up more revenue for themselves, further widening the wealth gaps in America. This problem will only wound America’s economic stance even more than seen currently, and, thankfully, many have addressed these