I grew up in a very small, rural town in Nebraska called Weeping Water. A lot of people talk about how beautiful that town must be with a nice name like Weeping Water, and I guess it is. It's quaint and there's a nice creek running through it. But the land of opportunity it isn't, especially when it comes to higher education. Neither of my parents went to college, and most of the kids my age in the town were the same. When it came time to choose colleges of our own, the bulk of students chose community college -- it was close, they could get through it in two years, but most importantly, it was affordable. With small student loans, students who had never even considered Ivy League schools and could not afford 4 year schools like University of Nebraska-Lincoln could get an education.
But now, the educational opportunity available to so many blue collar, low income and rural students is in danger, because the business of 2 year education just isn't profitable enough. Student loan lenders like CitiBank are passing up 2 year community colleges and "less competitive" schools in favor of lending to the big money 4 year and Ivy League schools.
Thankfully, some lenders like Nelnet have renewed their commitment to helping students get an education regardless of what institution they decide to attend, but they can't stop the big business of education. Tuition rates will continue to raise at out of control rates and lenders will continue to create ways to turn a profit, all while higher education becomes less and less accessible to the neediest students.
Instead of profiting off our students, we need to invest in quality, accessible higher education and provide opportunities for all students. Accessibility and affordability of higher education isn't just an individual benefit for the student; higher education serves the public good as well. Strong economies, healthy communities, and a thriving society are all in our future if we make the investment today.
I was fortunate enough to snag a scholarship for musical talent, but I'm still up to my ears in student loan debt and probably will be for most of my life. But my student loan debt is nothing compared to the utter lack of opportunity that students from my very own hometown are facing because their educations aren't valuable to lenders like Citibank.
