That girl literally said she took out loans because she would have had to go to a community college.....go to the community college!!

The issue is that when you're 18 years old, most people have no concept of debt, interest rates, paying off loans, etc. They often have no idea what they want to do with their life, but they think that because all of their peers are going to college, they need to do the same. The responsibility falls on the parents to educate their children about these harsh realities, because if they don't, their children can and probably will end up financially fucked in their 30's and 40's. Don't even get me started on the American healthcare system.

I went to community college so I only had like $2,000 debt which I paid off in less than a month

"I'm majoring in Italian and Art History, and I don't want to major in debt." That's a self-contradictory statement.

I seriously hope high school students are watching this. please do your research prior to going to a university. research everything. I wish I had. 44k in student debt at the age of 26.

It's quite simple: if you're given the option to live at home for free and go to school in your hometown, do it. Unless you're given a decent scholarship to an out of state school, don't take out a loan the size of a mortgage just so you can live out your college fantasies like you imagined them after watching American Pie.

unless you are gifted and accepted into an elite school just find the cheapest in state public school and go to community college first. most employers don't care where u got your piece of paper from. be realistic.

Blame the parents. Classic case of the blind leading the blind.

she majored in art history...... that is debt

To people complaining about liberal arts degrees, this video is not telling you to avoid the liberal arts, it is telling you not to go into debt for such a degree.

Start out at community college, then go 2 years to an in state college that'll save you boat loads of money just doing that...

Majors aside - most students do not appear to be financially literate. They need to learn about loans and debt and interest etc. Just basic finances.

I went to school for mechanical engineering while my other friends went in for political science and art majors. At times, I would be jealous because their HW was much easier than mine and I actually had to spend a ton of time in the labs and studying. They were always watching netflixs or rarely studying. Now, out of college. I make double their salary and they work two jobs. I actually learned a lot in college and I'm happy I stuck to it. Advice: if you're going to go to college major in something that will teach you ACTUAL tradeskills

My family was poor and could not afford to send any of us to college. I am the only one in my immediate and extended family, including nieces and nephews, to have graduated from college. I got BS and MS degrees in Physics without having to borrow any money. I went to junior college the first two years, worked the whole time and lived frugally. It took 5 years to get my BS and 3 years to get my MS, but then I was never burdened with any kind of debt.

They don't want to major in debt? .... THEY MAJORED IN DEBT!!!!

Trying to claim they’re “educated”, fails to do basic math ...

The chick that said “I took out student loans, and without them I wouldn’t have gone to college, otherwise I would’ve gone part time or to community college”. She’s making that sound like a bad thing, I went to a community college first and yea it did take me longer to get to university but I’m about to transfer to a university, and I have no debt from community college. I’ve also saved so much money. So, opposed to her triumph of student debt.

What?? Do you really think reading a couple of books and having a 'un-regrettable experience' is worth being tens of thousands of dollars in debt?

Thanks to the universities at 18 telling me I was failure and that i had a very low score to get into their colleges prevented me in falling into this trap now I am graduating as a computer scientist with $0 debt took the community college route which I think gives better education than universities. Example never had a TA teach the class at a community O_o.

The most depressing thing I heard today was that 85% of the HS class of 2016 is going to college. I'm like have they been looking up these videos? I'm so sad, a college degree isn't worth it unless its a STEM degree or a Medical degree. I"m teaching my kids this. Plumbers, electricians, etc... make good money so trade school is a good investment too.

Getting into student loan debt was the worst mistake I ever made.

One of the students says that without college he wouldn't have been exposed to different books and cultures. Really? We have the internet now. You can gain access to many books from the library for free or from ebay cheap. With the cost of NYU, you can travel around the world multiple times.

The U.S. economy is debt-based. Therefore, without millions of Americans burdened by severe debt, the system collapses.

Accounting, geology, engineering, nursing, teaching, pharmacy, pre-med, and computer science. Also, there are a lot of great 2yr degrees at community colleges.

Not one engineer, hard sciences, econ, finance, or accounting major. L O L

Invest in an RV and a Meth Cookbook. There's the solution.

Towards the end it makes no sense. First people are saying don't go to college it's not worth the money and then all of sudden they say they would still take the student loans if it meant getting the job they got.!!!!

I'm so glad my dad had a nice heart-to-heart discussion with me before I went to college. He taught me about cost-benefit analysis and how before you go spending thousands and thousands of dollars on a career, think about how much that career will help you financially in the future to make it worth it. I wanted to major in creative writing and illustration with a minor in Japanese. All fun things that I love, but nothing that would guarantee that I'd be able to get a good job that would pay off my tuition. I ended up going into business management and finance instead, and it's made a world of difference. I still took the classes I enjoyed on the side, but that's not to say I didn't enjoy learning the things I learned in business. We're taught that we can do anything we set our minds to and that we should do only what makes us most happy, but we should also be taught to think realistically and to work at a decently enjoyable job while doing what we truly love on the side. :)

anyone else thinking of going into the loaning money to college kids business lmao?

"First I am gonna write a screen play, then I am gonna win an oscar." "0.8% or was it 8% ?"

Most 18 yo don't even know the price of housing and random household goods. There is a discrepancy in schools that tell you a college education is worth it no matter the debt. No one tells kids that they wont find a job if they major in art history of that there are other options like the military or Americorps or even *gasp* community college.

The life of these young people is finished already. This is so sad. Move to another country and start a new life.

Don't pick a crappy major. Study engineering, IT, nursing, accounting or something else that will earn you a living. Alternatively, study a skilled trade, e.g., HVAC, electrician, plumbing, etc.

I worked full-time as a waitress and went to school part time during the day at first, then switched to landscaping during the day and entered a baccalaureate program at night. I went to a City university (CUNY-Brooklyn) and took out only a small loan (5K), took on work-study and got the rest in scholarships...it is possible to get a good degree and not be in such debt.

My dad went to a prestigious college and he paid for his own education by working as a gas meter reader during the summer.

Thank god i went to community college and then transferred i SAVED a hugeee among of money.

More like "don't major in liberal arts."

You can start at a community college for about $300 dollars a semester with financial aid....

I have a Major in Ramen Noodles and a bachelors pad in my mom's basement!

Lots of these people are claiming around 30k in loans. 30k is a very reasonable amount if you have a useful degree. A STEM grad can easily pay off 30k in less than 2 years while still living on their own, owning a car, etc. The core issue here seems to be taking on debt for a degree with no real world application.

My college education cost $12,600 + books (my parents bought) and I payed this off over the next 4 years, now I have a Associates degree in Business Administration, no debt and a great job. I do not regret going to college

10:38 "I am majoring in art history and Italian and I don't want to major in debt" So much irony LOL

I think the smartest idea is to go through community college & state colleges. Work while you're in school. Many companies offer tuition reimbursement & the military pays for college all together. Also learn skills that are marketable. Engineers, doctors, lawyers, ect. And don't get more education past a bachelors degree unless you can get your employer to pay for it.

That guy in the pink shirt could have just went into the military with an easy MOS. Then used the GI Bill/TA. It is insane that he will still be paying until 2052.

It's so hard to feel bad for them.

The average incoming freshman is aged 17/18. A 17/18 more often than not knows absolutely nothing about managing finances, but it is drilled in their heads that college is an absolute MUST in order to survive in the "real world". If anyone is to blame for an 18 year old borrowing 50,60,70k it should be the parents who cosigned with them on those loans. An 18 year old would borrow a million dollars if they could, they don't know any better.

SKILLED TRADES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think the parents are to blame. It's not the 1970s anymore. College is way more expensive and lots of degrees are useless in the real world. Also, you'd think the best and brightest would do better research. This makes them look really stupid.

The entire body of this documentary was "I regret College - this is the insane amount of student loan I will never be able to pay back" The conclusion was "I wouldn't change the fact that I went to college even if I can't pay it back" ...what? y'all majored in debt

listen, if you're still young and not in college, don't bother, go to work and save money like I did. When things go well, got enough money in the bank and you've already established a profound vision of your future and want to advance, then go to a community college then go from there, don't listen to the general rule of thumb, it has fucked those were first in line and regret it

Many public high school teachers rammed the college thing down everyone’s throat as the be all and end all. These loans were subsidized by the fed system without any realistic calculation as to how many will land the starting salary job necessary to be able to pay the debt. It’s a messed up system and a 17 year old student starting off life with a dream and facing predatory lending isn’t to blame. I was fortunate enough that my parents were able to pay me through school so I wouldn’t need loans, but most of my friends didn’t have that option.

Yes in 87 I tried to tell my dad what I wanted to major in and his response was those are all bullshit degrees” I was pissed ...now all I can say is thank you thank you thank you dad! You always knew wtf was up and didn’t mince words . Tough love is real love

I am 23 and worked full time while at university took classes at night and graduated with no debt. My generation is so entitled it makes me sick. IT IS A LOAN. What did you expect when you took out a loan???? Of course you have to pay it back with interest.

If you chose a degree that you will not use in your professional life at an expensive private school, it is YOUR fault. Not your parents, not the taxpayers, it is YOUR fault.

Art History, Gender Studies, Photography 😂 what do you expect?

My name is XYZ and I majored in nursing...I don't want to major in debt said no one ever

wow. how can you take money from someone and have no idea that you'll have to pay it back? You're not kids, you should've known better

EXACTLY! I hate it when people bash students for complaining about their loan debt. It is DRILLED in our heads from the time we're in elementary school to the time we're graduating high school by absolutely everyone that we have to, have to, have to go to college or else we're gonna be working at McDonald's for the rest of our lives. The student loan debt crisis is the result of people convincing kids that the only way to live is with a college degree.

I don’t want to shit on anyone in this video, but the girl who talked about going to community college like doing that would have meant the same as not going to college at all made me really sad. I mean if you had been smart and done that to begin with you would probably have at the very least halved the debt you’re in now and still have your same degree

This really pisses me off, the whole system in the US is fucked. I study in college right now in Bulgaria's biggest finance university and my fee is exactly 462lv = 268$ - a YEAR. What shocked me about this video is interest rate that this people have to pay. I can't really blame these guys because when I was 18 years old, all I care was chasing girls and party, the goverment is robbing young people who have no idea on what planet thay are living on when they are 18 and this is absolutely disqusting. Not to mention terrible side effects to the economy, as these people instead of investing and creating their own business, now have to pay debts for 10, 20 years and live paycheck to paycheck.

First year mechanical engineer! Already $13,000 in debt..

It's ridiculous how expensive higher education is in America but at the same time some of these people are just being willfully ignorant. You signed on for the loans, you should have read the fine print and figured out how much you'd be paying back once you graduated. It's called being a responsible adult, and yes, you are an adult if you're in college.

This is what happens when you are NOT EDUCATED. These people who THINK they are COLLEGE MATERIAL, CAN'T even figure out they MUST pay back a DEBT!! That there is interest on this LOAN! They ALL need a personal finance class, BEFORE they GET INTO COLLEGE. They just think they GET TO BECOME the profession and go have a great life!! No sense of REALITY! We, the taxpayer should NOT HAVE TO PAY for this STUPIDITY!!

I went to an in-state state university. The cost was reasonable and my parents paid for it. I got a STEM degree that has provided me a life after school. I drove an elementary school bus my last year of college and lived at home with my family that year. I graduated with + $3000 in my account.

Can anyone explain to me what's the difference between self taught vs sitting in a class listening to a lecture and doing classes that has nothing to do with your major

You signed the loan. Too bad your guidance counselor lied because she was told if kids don't go to college she's not doing the school a favor. You should have been a plumber. Sorry about your luck.

People go to state school and major engineering. I majored in computer engineering from state school owing 20k in student loan. Now i make 110k after graduation. Living a life either can be hell or heaven depending on what choice you make in life.

I wonder how many of them tried to get internships in the years it took for them to get a degree. That's a huge factor in getting a job straight out of college. Most employers don't care if you're working in an unrelated field, they care if you have experience within your field. Even if it's just a 10-20 hours a week internship, it still makes a HUGE difference for recruiters.

So glad I came to my senses before senior year. No private undergrad school for me, that's for sure. Can't believe I ever considered NYU, but I'm glad I realized what a mistake it would be before I took out loans

The sense of entitlement of these university graduates kills me! "I went to university for four years so now the world OWES me a living! I can demand a high starting salary, even though I've never done a day of actual work in my life."

I majored in art. College cost me $111,000.00. 5 years. I just got my first job. It pays $19,000.00 per year. They lied to me. Now I have to move back home. I'm thinking about law school.

I was financially illiterate and on my own when I went to college. No parental support. Completely clueless. Ended up with close to $100k in both govt and private loans. They felt like a noose around my neck. Thank God for Dave Ramsey. I'm now down to $35k and should have them paid off in about 7 more months!

So many naive people in this video, The whole logic on Universities/Colleges is fucking ludicrous, especially people who choose to major in pointless subjects that will literally get you nowhere in terms of the job market an in the current financial climate. 3:14 "I don't know any of this terminology" ect. ect. so many sheep who probably only want to go to universities just because it's deemed as "necessary" in order to be successful and probably because their friends are going. I have no pity on any of these people whatsoever, boo hoo you're in debt, no one forced you to sign up to 25+ years of debt slavery.

This is a huge problem with the States right now, we are experiencing an huge increase in the rate of "academic inflation." Colleges and University are big business now. They have always been expensive but now the financial reward you may receive (keyword being MAY) is not always as worth the price of the degree.

What colleges did these people go to? The local community college here is around $5,000 a year, the two state schools that are about an hour away from here are $6-$7,000 a year. I'm in the middle of school, still have no debt. Here's a tip: if you work while you are in school, you already have some of that experience that employers are looking for. $30-$50k a year for school is absolutely ridiculous.

when I was applying for college all my parents told me was that they did not have the money to pay for my tuition and that the only way I was going to attend college was to apply for financial aid and Pell grants. A part of me wanted to go away to college, but I'm so happy that I didn't! I am in a public university and $0 dollars in debt. Sometimes we have to stop trying to live this fantasy and realize how tough things can get if we don't take charge of it now.

it's a choice no one forced them to take a loan

This is major shame for our country. Nothing validates apathy in our young people like getting them straddled with debt doing the things that they have to do in order to achieve in life and make make money. College should be taxpayer funded and free for all like more advanced countries have it. If the USA wants bright young people to want to accomplish anything, then it needs to give them a reason to - not give them a reason NOT to. No wonder we're slipping behind. Colleges make you pay dearly to take a bunch of courses you don't really need for the job you want to get - IF you can get it once you go through college. You can self-educate, which is nice, but what matters in the job world is your formal academic achievement, so you're forced into it.

I’m surprised their parents didn’t explain to them how loans and credit and debt work, my parents taught me that, and how to manage credit, as a result my credit score is currently 718 (according to chase bank), and they could also attend classes at their high schools that explain that, and even goes into insurance types and rates and stuff

i went to school for autobody which was 6,000 i worked overtime and lived with my grandparents paid it off while going to school

Stitched up like kippers. I worked for two years solid, 14 hour days in construction and saved enough to put myself through college as a mature student for three years with no outside assistance. It can be done.

This is a stupid commercial. They're talking about how they're in so much debt and then they say if they could go back in time they wouldn't change what they did.

Ok. This is NYU? I went there and graduated with very little debt. These folks made poor financial decisions. Some likely took the loans for the brand name of the school alone.

This is why I'm not going to college

A lot of the problem with student loans is that kids coming out of high school into college feel the need to go to big name universities. that cost 40k a year, Because it's "the cool thing to do" and the "educations better" when really it's just a scam. I can go to a great community college for 6k a year. and studies show that your not getting a lesser education. Just my two cents.

Why not go to a school you can afford? To major in something like English or German or screenwriting, what makes an expensive school so much better than the affordable state school down the street?

When choosing a career, teens entering college should choose wisely. Majoring in something like German is not smart. It is important to look at the job outlook for the future. Many people are obsessed with going to a big name university and are stubborn, but if you are not getting a lot of scholarships that pay most of your tuition, the only way to go is through a community college

What, did they think life was free or something?....

best advice ever: DO NOT GO TO COLLEGE. I love how they start this 'documentary' with negative consequences of going to school and having debt but then out of nowhere they switch…. all the sudden they end with this amazing positivity and saying dont major in debt!!! oh how great!!! Well the reason you are in debt is because you went to college. Trust me you will not find a job according to your degree unless you have great connections, or mom & dad who will take care of these issues otherwise forget it.. this is all a huge lie, brainwash. My advice - you do not need college, if you want to learn something do your own research, find your passion. College will not solve any of your problems and it will not give a propose/meaning to your life and it will not help you find you anything… it will ONLY make you to a SLAVE that will be paying off that debt for 25years. This is modern day slavery. Even if you are going your first semester of 4th year of your Bachelors, it is still not too late to drop out and safe that last semester $… drop out if you still can.

I went to a private college for 2 years and racked up $10,000 in debt. I got freaked out by the amount of debt, so I dropped out for a year, then went to a state university for by BA and MA. I still only have $10K and after seeing these videos I am grateful I dropped out of a private college.

I went to a community college for 2 years before transferring to a 4 year college. I also paid off my loan within a few years. I have a good paying job with no debt. These young people are a perfect example of those who are educated to the point of stupidity. Who the Hell majors in German then wonders who is going to hire them?

I'm an English immigrant living the U.S. I have always been a smart kid, attaining mostly A's and a few B's throughout high school. When I came here, I was shocked at how shitty the education system was. I achieved a 4.0 GPA at the local community college with moderate effort, and afterwards I realized how college is just a pay-to-win system rather than an educational one. Student loans here are extortionate and unless you are gifted and talented (actually smarter than me) and earning grants and scholarships, there is no reason for you to go to college in today's economy. If you have any decent sense as a semi-smart kid, you should join the military and become an intelligence analyst, medical corpsman, air traffic controller etc, attain a CDL to become a linesman or truck driver, or go to a trade school and fill the shortage of welders, plumbers and electricians.

It's all about passion in the end. If you love writing, go for it. If you love science, go for it. Sometimes you don't even need to go to college to learn things, you just need to go after what you love. Read books, research, do anything that correlates with what you will love to do. Don't be like the 95% of people who go to college just to go or just cuz there parents told them to. 85% of Americans hate their jobs, but that doesn't have to be you. Who cares what others think or say about you that you're going to a community college or whatever because are they gonna be paying your bills, No!!! Do what you love and success will follow and don't be afraid to fail. Failure is the stepping stone to success. Also, one last thing is to be unrealistic, sometimes being realistic can pull you back from doing what you want to do, there's no need for that. Who cares what others say. If you have a passion towards something , go for it. No one needs to tell you what you're gonna do, don't rest assure on the approval of others....... If you have a dream....Go for it..... Period

This is why its better to go to community college first get an education there expand your mind and dwell into all the faqs about going to a four year and then make a ultimate decision on what is best for you. Most of this people in four year institutions practically didn't even know what they wanted to mayor in such as most of my peers in my community college. It is scary thought to see all this people go through this stuff but I have no apathy for them since all this people made this choices.

"I thought to myself, I'm sure I don't have that much student loan debt.... I just signed anything that came my way, not really looking at it." WHAT!? Why have so many of these people not even looked at how much they owe/were loaned. I check how much I'm being billed vs how much is being covered by scholarships at my school out of curiosity-sake if for no other reason. If they already had to go through a bunch of paperwork every semester, it takes .2 seconds to ask what your balance is or just glance at the paper being signed to figure out how much money you're loaned each semester.

What ticks me off the most about my student loan debt is that close to half of my debt could have been avoided. I went to a community college and worked two jobs. I researched tuition prices of all PUBLIC universities in my state and chose the cheapest one. I tried to get grants/scholarships. AND i lived at home with my parents up until my senior year. I'm still around 60k in debt. After graduating high school, i was led to believe that because i liked computers i could only major in computer science or computer engineering. I struggled and couldn't keep my GPA up high enough to continue. Before giving up and switching to English i found out about the information systems degree. NO ONE told me this degree existed at my college. It is pretty much the same thing as computer science but with less engineering, less stress, and less expensive books. I had to switch to information systems to avoid flunking out and losing everything. But the computer science classes couldn't transfer over so i was out of even more money switching majors. I graduated with a BS in information systems and was able to still get a good programming job without a computer science/engineering degree. All that time and money i wasted struggling thinking that i had no choice but to try and graduate in computer science COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED if i had counselors/advisers who actually gave a crap about my future and supplied me with ALL the necessary information and resources needed to make such a life altering choice.

I thought me having $22,000 in student debt was bad compared to these people 😳

Ultimately, the lesson is: college is for rich people

Rent? move back in with your parents until loans are paid off. Heck after i paid off my loans, decided to stay with parents for another 2.5 years until i could make a down payment for a townhouse, best decision ever.

Whenever I watch one of these kind of videos where people are struggling financially, it makes me appreciate my life even more. I'm a college dropout with zero debt (with the exception of my house).