The info in that article should be considered by all families facing choices amg various levels of debt load for different colleges.
From my family’s experience/real outcomes, the low cost/debt-free option has not limited employability, salary, or had any negative consequences. Reading the posts of “pie in the sky, my career will be a rocket ship to the top as long as I graduate from XXX” need to be tempered by the reality of employment statistics.
My kids don’t fit the profile of the students in the article. I think having zero debt has given them a huge leap forward.
My family members’ kids do fit the profile. Their kids have lots of debt, live at home with mom and dad or in apartments with roommates, and struggle paycheck to paycheck.
Ignoring how debt impacts life is just not prudent. The real scenario at the end of the 4 yrs needs to weigh in heavily at the beginning of the process, not postponed until it becomes a reality. The debt will be very concrete reality. Connections to someone else’s coat tails making none of it matter–maybe not so much.