Student loans and college tuition raise concerns for futures of students
In 2025, pursuing higher education is often seen as a necessary step in achieving one’s goals, both personally and professionally. Although there are many students who aim to attend their dream college, the cost of living, tuition and debt are significant factors that for many cannot be ignored. This issue has been amplified for many students who rely on federal funding for scholarships and cannot succumb to thousands of dollars of debt, with many programs facing potential cuts and several universities increasing their tuition.
One option for students is to attend community college after high school, which is the pathway Brooke Bingham chose, an early 2025 graduate, as she will attend Moorpark College in the upcoming fall. Bingham took enough dual enrollment classes to skip a grade. For her, Moorpark College allowed her to continue her education without having to take out lots of student loans, thus preventing her from any potential financial burden. “Many people will never get that opportunity and the people who do will be stuck in debt for the rest of their lives,” Bingham said. Bingham also believes that the significance of obtaining certain degrees has decreased over time. “People don’t realize that the dream of doing what you love with that degree isn’t necessarily prominent anymore,” Bingham said.
According to the California Community Colleges website, there are 116 community colleges in California alone, with 2.1 million students enrolled across the state. “I think that people are starting to realize that even the college experience isn’t worth the money. And so I think there’s just a general kind of growing popularity in community colleges,” Bingham said. Bingham is a proponent of attending community college, rather than getting the typical “college experience.”
College and career guidance specialist at NPHS, Amanda Renaud, weighs the options of how financial situations play into where students choose to go after they graduate from high school. Renaud sees what goes into applying for college and what could make or break a student’s decision. Scholarships are a major part of the college process and can sometimes be the deciding factor. “Make applying to scholarships your part-time job while you’re in high school,” Renaud said. Since there are so many different types of universities and colleges all around California, students have the choice of what type of establishment they want to attend, but the current federal funding cuts towards financial aid make the decision process much harder for said students to apply to certain places. “It is really important for students to open up as many options as they can for themselves, so that they’re not stuck in one area that might have a funding cut,” Renaud said.
Renaud also believes that no matter where someone goes to college, they will need to stay as motivated as possible. “There’s always the pitfall of not being quite as motivated when you’re somewhere local, but I think as long as you stay motivated, it can be a really smart decision,” Renaud said. Renuad also emphasized that surrounding yourself with driven peers can help with academic success throughout college.
Allison Kaufman, a college counselor from Today’s College Solutions for ten years, advises her students to think of their long-term situations when choosing a college. “It’s wise to make decisions that won’t put you in debt,” Kaufman said. She also encourages students to think of their plans after college. “If you intend to go on to graduate school, then you should think about how much you want to spend for an undergraduate education and then graduate school,” Kaufman said. However, Kaufman also sees the value in attending a four-year university. “I’m a big believer in a four-year college because I think it’s a really special experience you only get to do once in your life, so I’m a huge proponent,” Kaufman said. Despite this, Kaufman believes that going to community college is often the right call for many students, depending on their finances. “I think people make the mistake of letting their egos get in the way of knowing that they can get a very good education [at community college] and not have to bleed money,” Kaufman said. In addition to the decision-making process required from students, Kaufman believes college planning is an issue that involves a student’s entire family, as the expense directly affects all family members. “Parents must be comfortable with the price tag as it is often the largest expense they will ever have other than their homes,” Kaufman said.
Through her time at Westlake High School, Abby Flamer, sophomore at Brown University, always knew she wanted to attend a four-year college. Upon admission, Flamer was offered a full-ride scholarship to the University of Southern California [USC], but ultimately chose Brown, despite financial questions that arose. “[Brown] was fairly generous with financial aid, but not nearly as much as [USC], so it was really difficult,” Flamer said. The financial implications also had to be weighed amongst other factors like location and social elements. “The financials were kind of pointing towards one school, versus the social aspects [of Brown],” Flamer said. When making her final decision, Flamer spoke in detail with her parents and other trusted adults about how to manage the tuition costs and avoid taking on student debt. “I think if I had kind of planned out the finances and I realized that I couldn’t have come to Brown without taking out loans, I honestly don’t think I would have come,” Flamer said.
Recently, USC’s tuition has been expected to increase to nearly 100,000 dollars per year. USC has already been reported as the third most expensive university in the country, according to a report from the 2023-2024 school year by College Tuition Compare. “A lot of private schools are nearing $100,000 a year, which I just think is insane, and I feel like education is so important…this is so disappointing and sad that there are students out there who just can’t afford to go to college because they can’t afford to be in thousands of dollars of debt,” Flamer said. According to the New York Times, this growing financial barrier has sparked a lot of conversations about the long-term impact of student debt on younger generations as well as how finances impact student’s choice on which college to attend.
As for at the federal level, according to NPR, Donald Trump’s recent funding cuts have impacted tuition by cancelling over 1 billion dollars worth of university research funding. “[The] Trump administration talks about handing this work off to the private sector,” Elissa Nadworny said in an interview on NPR. By putting responsibility in the hands of the private sector, universities lose funding and absorb costs that were previously paid by federal grants. This will affect the price of tuition for students and their families as schools try to fill these holes by increasing tuition. Free Application for Federal Student Aid [FAFSA] has likewise been impacted by the Trump administration’s attempts to cut federal funding of the Department of Education and university research funds. According to AP news, over 300 employees from Federal Student Aid were let go since Trump’s reelection and this number will rise as more federal cuts to education are put into place. These cuts have raised concerns among higher education advocates who warn that reduced federal investment could contribute to inequality.
Debt has become an apparent issue for many students, although there are many opportunities which California offers for students. Attending a four-year university is a possibility that, for many, will take years to pay off. Attending community college is just one of the options on the horizon for graduating seniors, yet it is often the most costly. “It doesn’t matter what degree you have, it matters what you do with that degree and what you know,” Bingham said.
