Or the kids don't fully understand the decisions since they're usually 17-19, have very little real world experience, and college has been described to them as the main path to go down from a young age.

I managed to get through college (WGU) without any debt.

Looking at the amount of debt that my peers have taken on, however, has made me reconsider the wisdom of my decision. It's likely that political campaigns in the next few years will promise some form of student debt relief. Whether delivery of those promises is possible or not remains to be seen.

I suppose the grass is always greener, but I wouldn't reconsider the wisdom of your decision.

I took the other path, and am left trying to throw off the burden while I can still take youthful risks, and carpe the damn diem. The window is closing fast on me.

If I had enough in hand to pay off my loans, there's no way I'd elect to waste even more of my life waiting to see if some currently unimaginable fit of political productivity might let me off the hook.

We need to stop pretending young people are complete gullible idiots who don't read anything on the internet or listen to advice from their parents and other adults. There's a simpler explanation and we already know it.

Going to college and getting an education (and especially a good university) makes you so much more money in the future, that it's worth paying a lot. Prices could go to $500K and it'd be worth it. Everyone knows this implicitly. That's why immigrant parents nail their kids so hard on grades and to get into a good school. Is it because they want their kids to get a bunch of debt and become unemployed? Come on. You are way way more likely to get a job with benefits, to spend your life doing something more meaningful (however you want to define it).

It's only us who already went to college, got good careers, who are now saying "well college makes you end up in debt, jobless, with a worthless degree. go into the trades. work for the post office." Why don't more people on Hacker News go into trades? Do some unpleasant, strenuous work in dangerous conditions, for about 10 years hustling day and night before your body gives out for $50K/year? Everyone actually doing a trade is encouraging their kids to go to college.

This really isn't that complicated, and I think most people here are overthinking things. A college degree GREATLY greatly increases the chance you're going to have a more fulfilling career easily that makes you back all the tuition money and opportunity costs, and more.