Colleges are struggling to keep their doors open. The financial status of many higher education institutions is poor at best and completely devastated in too many cases. As enrollment is dwindling and college age Americans are turning to other avenues to pursue the American dream, colleges are struggling to stay afloat, and many simply cannot do so at all.
Colleges have been plagued with a variety of issues for many years, but the pandemic only caused all of these problems to rise to the surface and for potential enrollees to seriously consider other options. The result is that we’ve seen a drop of one million enrollees in 2022, compared to prior to the COVID pandemic.
Students and their parents have been burned to the financial strain and the poor ROI. Students paying through federal loans find themselves strapped to these payments for decades to come, with little to no chance of extricating themselves, even in the case of filing bankruptcy. Federal loans are unaffected by the most critical of financial straits of the individual.
This kind of risk might be well worth it if graduates were then able to go on to the kinds of jobs and the kind of salary they desire within their field of study, but this is so often not the case at all. Many graduates find that they are unable to get any kind of job within their field and they aren’t making the money they thought they’d make, nor working in the career they went to college for in the first place. All of this leaves a bitter taste and a bitter reality for the graduate and their parents/benefactors.
These and other issues have caused the quick and significant decline in college enrollment, and many colleges are faced with closing their doors for good.
Students who find themselves faced with school closure, or who see the potential for this in their schools, would be wise to seek legal advice. Some federal loans may be forgiven in this case, and some credits can be transferred, but the complexity of the process may lead to students not getting what they need unless guided by someone who is familiar with the legal issues in this circumstance.
