All of this adds up to now making it almost necessary to get a graduate degree in order to advance up into the middle class and beyond (Draut 552). "The result? Americans are paying far more – and attending school far longer – for no better than the same education," according to Duke (11).
As if that weren't reason enough to wake up and smell the coffee, the degree tracks and courses offered by increasing numbers of colleges could in no way lead to well-paying jobs (unless you wanted to get a master's in order to teach it yourself at the university level). Selwyn Duke lists a few extreme examples of the types of courses that are becoming more typical in college course offerings these days (even at Ivy League schools): "The Phallus", "Queer Musicology", and "Native American Feminisms", to name a few (12). The experience of New York University graduate Cortney Munna is not uncommon: "After accumulating almost $100,000 in student-loan debt in just four years, she found that her interdisciplinary degree in religious and women's studies wasn't exactly the stuff of six-figure salaries" (Duke 13).
The cost of higher education is increasing at an alarming rate, and the financial aid the government provides through grants for low-income students has not kept pace, causing them to rely more and more on student loans (Draut 553). "Last year, student loan debt surpassed credit card debt to take second place among household debt categories, trailing only mortgages," says Charles Scalinger (17-18). According to Tamara Draut, "college students today are graduating on average with close to $20,000 in debt. Those who take the plunge into graduate school can plan on carrying about $45,000 in combined student loan debt," and if you want to be a doctor or a lawyer, you're looking at $100,000 plus (552). The rate of inflation for higher education dwarfs that of medical expenses and household earning capacity – 439 percent between 1982 and 2007 (Scalinger 21).
