"Young men and women are leaving college with debt loads that would break the back of a mule," wrote New York Times columnist Bob Herbert in his March 22 op-ed "Stepping on the Dream" (subscription required).
"Families in many cases are taking out second mortgages, loading up credit cards and raiding 401(k)s to supplement the students’ first wave of debt, the ubiquitous college loan."
Davidson is part of a small movement in higher education to fight excessive student loans, and is leading the way among liberal arts colleges as the first to eliminate loans as part of financial aid packages.
Herbert reported that nationally "Two-thirds of all graduates now leave college with some form of debt. The average amount is close to $20,000." At private four-year, not-for-profit colleges the average amount is more like $27,600, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Across the country students currently borrow a total $53.8 billion per year to cover college costs.
"I’ve spoken recently with a number of law students who have already decided to go into corporate practice because their first choice — public interest law — would not pay enough to cover their loans. Many students have turned their backs on teaching for the same reason," said Herbert.
"At that stage of life, you shouldn’t have to choose between a job you would love and one that you would take simply because it would pay the bills. Talk about stepping on a dream."