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<p>This is better advice than one may believe. It is absolutely true that many high school students contract loans without knowing what they are getting into. This isn’t necessarily due to predatory lenders who don’t counsel borrowers, it about social attitudes. High school students are raised, as the article points out, in a brand-conscious, materialistic society where they are told to “follow their dreams”, whereby “dreams” equals status symbols. Students get caught up in wanting a diploma they can brag about and assuming that more expensive and prestigious means more post-graduate wealth and a better time in college. “Following your dreams” means going to that reach school you can barely pay for. Sadly, students may end up saddled with debt they are forced to spend much of their income paying, which they can’t default on, and which lowers their quality of life.</p>
<p>Of course, no one will ever know what “would have happened” if one went to the best college if instead they “settled” for a cheaper alternative. While going to a prestigious school may help, the question is whether or not that help is worth the debt. Again, our society places before us examples of people (Clinton, like was mentioned, or even Obama) who went to the Ivy League and succeeded, but we don’t here of the middle class student who had trouble paying his debts. While it is true that all the Presidents since Reagan went to a HYP school, I doubt the Ivy League has such a stranglehold on national politics (Harry Truman and Abraham Lincoln are famous presidents who did not even attend college!)</p>