College students today face significant challenges with debt, employment, health, and stress. The average student debt has tripled in the past 20 years to over $35,000. Underemployment among college graduates remains high at 15.5% nationally. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be difficult in college where eating, drinking, and social media use increases as physical activity decreases. Stress affects 85% of students on a daily basis due to academics, finances, and future planning. However, study abroad programs provide an opportunity for personal and academic growth.

1. 7ThingsYouShould
KnowAboutToday’s
CollegeStudent
#1.BachelorDegreeCompleted&inDebt
1.
Academicsand/or
Time
Management
3.
Making
futureplans
2.Financial,
social,
extracurricular,
housing,or
familystress
$20,340
studentdebthas TRIPLED
inthepast20YEARS
D
e
b
t
distribution
(huffingtonpost.com))
$32,795
In2013,52%ofcollegestudentsagreedthat:
“Myneedtopaystudentloandebtis
hamperingmyabilitytofurthermy
career”(ASAStudy)
#2.FightingtheFreshman15
2015AverageCollegeStudent
DebtintheU.S.:
>$35,000
CollegeStudents...
eatmore
drinkmore(21+beverages)
moveless
“Somuchofcollegeis
builtaround social
calorieconsumption.
ifit’snotsocial,it’s
emotionaleating.”
(Cohen442)
59%ofcollegestudentsstudiedagreedthat
theirdiethasgonedownhillsincethey
startedcollege
(usatoday.com)
>
<
#3.Underemployment:TheTrueFiasco
[Theconditioninwhichpeopleinalaborforceare employedatlessthan
full-timeorregularjobsorat jobsinadequatewithrespecttotheir
trainingoreconomicneeds.(merriam-webster)]
Unemployed
Underemployed
Underemploymentrate
intheU.S.March2015:
15.5%
“We’rewillingtodo whatever
ittakestogetajob right
now,becauseweknowthat it’s
competitive.”
- Pompelia,Ligonier,Pennsylvania
(bloomberg.com)
“AccordingtoBLS,theeconomywillcreate 50.6
millionjobopenings by2022and only27.1%
willrequirecollegedegrees.”(pbs.org)
#4.TsunamiofSocialMedia
87%
53%
37% 34%
23%
2014%UseAmong18-29yearold
(PewResearchCenter)
VS
Helpful
Distracting
Where’sthebalance...
“~2/3 ofthestudents
reportedusing
electronicmediawhile
inclass,studying,or
doinghomework”
(Johnson&WalesUniversity)
MostPopularMajors
MostPaidMajors
MostUniqueMajors
1.BusinessAdministration&Management
2.GeneralPsychology
3.Nursing
4.Biology
5.TeacherEdu.&
Pro.Dev.
PuppetArts
TurfgrassScience
Bagpiping
FarrierScience
ComicArt1.PetroleumEngineer
2.ActuarialMath
3.NuclearEng.
4.Chem.Eng.
5.Electronics&CommunicationsEng.
#6.DearStress,Let’sbreakUp
TopCausesofStressforCollegeStudents
(rampages.us)
85%
ofcollegestudents feel
stressedonadailybasis(collegeparents.org)
#7.TheSkyisOurLImit
MostPopularPlacestoStudyAbroad2015
(topuniversities.com)
Paris,France
Melbourne,Australia
London,England
Sydney,Australia
HongKong,Japan
Millennials:“StudyAbroadGeneration”
Sources:
(MarkKantrowitz,WSJ.com)
(usnews.com/cartoons)
(statista.com)
(zerohedge.com)
(fastweb.com)
(payscale.com)
(college.usatoday.com)
Cohen,Harlan.TheNakedRoommate:And107OtherIssuesYouMightRunintoinCollege.Naperville,IL:Source,2009.Print.
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/05/08/congratulations-class-of-2015-youre-the-most-indebted-ever-for-now/
http://college.usatoday.com/2014/10/26/same-as-it-ever-was-top-10-most-popular-college-majors/
http://college.usatoday.com/2015/03/03/campaign-aims-to-double-number-of-u-s-students-abroad-in-4-years/
http://rampages.us/ewilliams/2014/07/24/77/
http://scholarsarchive.jwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=mba_student
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/diet/2002-01-10-college-eating.htm
http://www.asa.org/site/assets/files/2205/life_delayed.pdf
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-06-05/college-graduates-struggle-to-find-employment-worth-a-degree
http://www.collegeparents.org/members/resources/articles/your-college-student-stressed-probably
http://www.fastweb.com/career-planning/articles/the-35-weird-but-cool-college-majors
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/19/student-debt-map_n_6168396.html
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/underemployment
http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report/majors-that-pay-you-back/bachelors
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/many-college-grads/
http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/09/demographics-of-key-social-networking-platforms-2/
http://www.statista.com/statistics/205240/us-underemployment-rate/
http://www.topuniversities.com/blog/15-best-places-study-abroad-2015
http://www.usnews.com/cartoons/economy-cartoons
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/11/13/average-student-loan-debt-hits-30-000
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-07-05/june-payrolls-195k-much-higher-expected-underemployment-rate-soars-143
(college.usatoday.com)
#5.TheMajorConglomerate