The United States is home to some of the most well-regarded and prestigious universities in the world. Why is it, then, that the U.S. seems to be falling behind the rest of the world in almost every educational assessment? The problem is that even though we have all of these awesome schools, a large portion of the population is unable to afford attendance and instead have to compete for a limited number of scholarships, take out student loans, or forego college altogether. Here’s how the U.S. stacks up against the rest of the world.

Secondary Education Graduation Rates

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In some of the most recent data from the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), the United States ranked 13th out of 38 countries in regard to the percentage of the population that has obtained a secondary degree. While coming in thirteenth out of a total of 38 isn’t exactly a figure one would use to shore up their defense of “American exceptionalism”, it’s not too bad—until you consider that in the 1990s, we were ranked first. Now, we’re trailing behind the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Latvia, Germany, Slovenia, Japan, Estonia, Sweden, and Switzerland. At 45.7%, our population of individuals with secondary degrees is barely above that of Finland (45.3%) and the OECD average (44%).

Education Inequality

That 45.7% figure comes from an evaluation of the entire population of the States, but not all sectors of society reflect this rather low rate. In the 1970s, 40% of individuals from the top income quartile had bachelor’s degrees by the time they were 24. As of 2013, that number has soared to 77%. For lower income individuals, however, there has been very little change, going from 6% in 1970 to a mere 9% in 2013. Needless to say, this is disheartening as education has traditionally been seen as the great equalizer in this country; it is integral to the idea of the American dream—if you try hard enough, work hard enough, if you have enough talent, then you can succeed, regardless of your background. Seemingly, this isn’t the case anymore.

One positive sign is that more low-income students are enrolling in college than they once were; in 1970, only 28% of low-income students entered college, but by 2013, that number had risen to 45%. So, we’ve made some progress, at least until 4/5 of those students end up not finishing college, for a variety of reasons.

College Tuition

Adjusted for inflation, average college tuition for the 1963-64 school year was $6,845 for public institutions (counting both 4-year and 2-year establishments) and $13,615 for private institutions (counting both 4-year and 2-year institutions). By the 2012-13 school year, that amount had jumped to $15,022 for public colleges and $34,483 for private colleges. Unfortunately, median income has not kept up with the increase in college tuition and with income inequality becoming a bigger and bigger problem, it’s no wonder that there has been a decrease in college graduates in recent years.

But the importance of a college degree has not decreased; in fact, it is more important than ever, with college grads earning, on average, around twice the amount of their non-college graduate peers. And students are well aware of this, which is why enrollment is rates are some of the highest they have ever been. But in order to pay for college, students must either rely on a limited number of scholarships and grants or take out student loans, which brings us to our next discussion.

Student Debt in the United States

Due to the ever-increasing costs of college tuition, budget cuts to public universities, and stagnating income that has not kept up with inflation or the average cost of living, more and more students are opting to take out student loans in order to secure their future. Here are some quick facts on student debt:

  • 69% of 2014 graduates of public and non-profit colleges left school with student loan debt averaging around $28,950 per individuals. However, depending on the institution attended, this number can be well above $50,000.
  • Total student debt in the U.S. is thought to be around $1 trillion.
  • In 2014, at least 50% of graduates in every state but Hawaii, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, and Wyoming, graduated with student debt.
  • 2015 graduates have the highest amount of student debt in history.
  • Graduates are more likely to fall behind on loan repayment due to rising costs of living, comparatively low wages, and the current (cruddy) job market. Additionally, the unemployment rate for college grads is surprisingly high and those that have jobs are often underemployed.
  • Student loan debt has the potential to severely affect our economy. With so much of their income going towards debt repayment, this new generation of consumers does not have enough extra money to create the system of supply and demand that drive business and entrepreneurial endeavors. Of course, that’s assuming college grads have the wiggle room to even become entrepreneurs.
  • It is incredibly difficult to have student loan debt forgiven, even if the individual in question is forced into bankruptcy.
  • Depending on your opinion of the federal government, this may or may not surprise you, but the U.S. federal government is set to actually reap a profit from student loan debt, a profit that is likely to increase as interest rates are expected to go up. Considering the implications of crushing student debt weighing down at least half of the college graduate population, this is particularly troubling.

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