Sum Consideration: Consider value, burden before taking on student loan debt
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It seems as though the school year has just gotten under way, but families across our region are beginning conversations about next steps with students who will graduate in the spring. Part of that conversation will inevitably be, "Can we afford college?"
For generations, part of the answer to that question has been student loans. Many young people believe they have bright futures ahead of them, and that post-high school education will give them what they need to bring home paychecks from which they can pay off those student loans quickly. Parents hope for the same.
Reality is far too often very different, once those student loan repayments begin.
It's no surprise the situation is graver in our region than in other parts of the country.
According to WalletHub's "States with the Most and Least Student Debt (2026)," West Virginia carries the fifth most student debt in the country. Ohio carries the seventh most.
Only Mississippi, Delaware, Pennsylvania and South Carolina carry more than the Mountain State, and South Dakota squeaks in ahead of the Buckeye State.
Breaking it down, West Virginia is third for student-loan indebtedness but 17th for grant and student work opportunities. It is also third for proportion of students with debt, fourth for student debt as a percentage of income (adjusted for cost of living), and fifth for percentage of student-loan balances past due or in default.
Ohio is seventh for student-loan indebtedness and 16th for grant and student work opportunities.
"College keeps getting progressively more expensive, and so does borrowing money to attend," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. "Federal student loan interest rates recently hit a 12-year high and remain elevated, making it important for borrowers to plan carefully when taking on student debt. In addition to attending college in a less expensive state and pursuing other avenues of funding like financial aid and grants, students should also carefully calculate how much they can afford to borrow before taking out a loan."
Cost of living is soaring, interest rates just keep going up, and job opportunities that require an expensive education are not exactly plentiful in our region.
Lawmakers can do a little about those first two problems, and much more than they have shown themselves willing about the last. But in the meantime, students and their families must have honest conversations about the value of going deeply into debt for an education; and the burden that kind of debt can place on an individual or maybe even their own new families for many years.