- __[Contagion](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/4pRYwQp39631d0x5mo8zbx/articles/DdT30qWIQKQ8lB83AgCes/):__ Nearly $500B was wiped off the crypto market last week as volatility has investors turning risk-averse. Not even some so-called stablecoins appear safe.
- __[Bottle](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/4pRYwQp39631d0x5mo8zbx/articles/77nr1oiiC86WivHiIpYgzR/):__ A baby-formula shortage is forcing worried parents to ration supplies or drive hours in search of the powdered gold. The root cause: US import limits.
- __[Med](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/5xjp3PmErVX6calMlzNVjK/articles/T0hqswG18kk95NL2Buyig/):__ The feds subpoenaed mental-health startup __Cerebral__ over its prescription practices for pills like Adderall and Xanax, a sign regulators may rein in telemedicine.

ICYMI

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__The status…__ is *pricey*. In two-thirds of developed countries, college is [free](https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college-by-country) or less than $2K a year. In the US, private college [costs](https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/paying-for-college-infographic) $38K a year, on average, and public schools cost $23K out of state and $10K in state. The cost of college has [tripled](https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/02/the-gap-in-college-costs-and-earnings-for-young-workers-since-1980.html) since 1980, while average pay for young workers is up just 20% since then. Still, many undergrads go into debt for degrees, since grads earn $1M more over their careers than non-grads. But students are reconsidering college’s value: in the past two years, US enrollment dipped 7% as more [choose](https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/01/13/fall-college-enrollment/) to “earn over learn.” 

__Snackers say:__

- “Spending more money doesn’t always mean getting more in return… Going to college taught me that spending ‘the big bucks’ on something people traditionally value won’t always pay off.” —*Isabelle, 27*
- “My university BA in psychology was rewarding… and was very overpriced. My community-college AS in nursing was exponentially more financially valuable, but less fun.” —*Brad, 32*

3,500 Snackers told us how they see the value of a college degree

__The outlook…__ is shifting. President Biden [campaigned](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/27/biden-hints-at-his-plan-to-address-student-debt-and-college-costs.html) to make public college free in the US. Now that his Build Back Better bill is stalled that’s… not likely. Meanwhile, schools are making class less costly to woo students: Columbia University recently nixed tuition for kids whose families make less than $150K/year, and Utica College is one of several schools exploring cheaper three-year degrees. College alternatives like coding bootcamp __General Assembly__ also offer new ways to pay, like income-share agreements (ISAs) that charge a % of earnings once grads land jobs (alums work at __[Google](https://robinhood.com/stocks/GOOGL)__ and __[JPMorgan](https://robinhood.com/stocks/JPM)__).

The cost of admission: up and to the right

__The status…__ is green. On paper, it couldn't be a better time to land your first job. The US is experiencing basically full employment. Last month the US [added](https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/06/economy/april-jobs-report/index.html) 428K jobs, leaving a [record](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm) 12M “help wanted” signs unfilled. That’s good news for college seniors, since employers plan to hire over a [quarter](https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/data-shows-promising-job-outlook-for-recent-upcoming-college-grads/2840935/#:~:text=The%20National%20Association%20of%20Colleges,the%20class%20of%20May%202021.) more graduates this May compared with last year. They’ll be making an average starting salary of $55K, but the return on (degree) investment tends to vary (comp-sci majors are starting at $72K, English majors at $49K). 

Nearly two-thirds of all public bachelor's degree programs leave graduates able to earn enough to cover the cost of college within a decade. But for recent grads, a [survey](https://www.intelligent.com/1-in-7-college-grads-earn-less-than-the-poverty-threshold/) found more than half don’t end up working in their field of study — and nearly half live paycheck to paycheck.

__SnackStat:__ *78% of Snackers said they felt “fairly confident” or “very confident” about their job prospects as college students or recent grads.* 

__Snackers say:__

- “There are a lot of jobs you can’t even interview for unless you have a degree. Having it helps get your foot in the door.” —*Jennifer, 33*
- “Growing up, degrees were the key to getting a ‘good job.’ While I do think it is valuable, it’s not at the rate of what I am paying.” —*Thomas, 42*

Hired

__The outlook…__ is unclear. Even though companies like __[Starbucks](https://robinhood.com/stocks/SBUX)__ pay extra so that you'll make rush-hour lattes, overall wages aren't keeping up with inflation. Many students feel [that](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/06/this-is-how-student-loan-debt-became-a-1point7-trillion-crisis.html) tacking on two years (or more) for grad school is the cost of doing biz to land a competitive role in certain fields. The value of that extra degree is mixed: while master’s degree holders can [make](https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/pay-salary/how-much-does-degree-increase-earnings) 20% more than those with a bachelor’s, employability (aka: the odds of getting hired) [increases](https://www.educationdata.org/education-attainment-statistics) only by 3%. Plus, more school means more tuition: nearly half of federal student-loan debt comes from postgrad for master’s and Ph.D. programs.

The labor market: opportunity knocking

__The status…__ is spiraling. Colleges raise prices, lenders dole out aid, and colleges raise prices (again). For decades, tuition increases have [outpaced](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/06/this-is-how-student-loan-debt-became-a-1point7-trillion-crisis.html) household incomes, forcing families to rely on loans. Today, two-thirds of college students graduate with debt, which typically takes [17 years](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/06/this-is-how-student-loan-debt-became-a-1point7-trillion-crisis.html) to pay off. The average loan balance at graduation has tripled since the ’90s to more than [$30K](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/06/this-is-how-student-loan-debt-became-a-1point7-trillion-crisis.html) — and nearly a tenth of borrowers owe more than *$100K*. To help relieve the burden, Biden pledged to make at least some college free, and promised at least $10K in loan forgiveness for each borrower. So far, his admin has forgiven $17B worth of federal student debt for 675K borrowers — a fraction of the [$1.7T](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/08/what-it-would-take-for-the-government-to-cancel-student-loans-.html) in student loans Americans owe.

__SnackStat:__ *65% of Snackers said their college degree was “fairly valuable” or “very valuable” relative to their tuition investment. A quarter said it wasn’t “particularly valuable,” and 9% said it was “worthless.”* 

__Snackers say…__ 
- “I made six figures straight out of college. If you are going to college to be a librarian, the 100K in student loans are probably not worth it.” —*Zack, 37*
- “If I could go back, I wouldn’t do it. I would tell my children not to go to college, and get a technical job.” —*Mikayla, 28*

Interest

__The outlook…__ is mixed. This month, the Education Department said it’s forgiving loans of more than 110K government workers (think: teachers, firefighters). But the rest of debt holders aren’t so lucky, since Biden’s blanket loan-forgiveness promise isn’t panning out. Still, the pause on student loans has now been extended six times since March 2020, saving borrowers $1.5B a month in interest payments alone. Payments are set to resume in September, and if nothing changes, student debt could top [$3T](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/06/this-is-how-student-loan-debt-became-a-1point7-trillion-crisis.html) by 2035.

Student debt: forgive and forget?

As the class of 2022 graduates, the college-value prop is blurrier than ever

Dow Jones

S&P 500

Nasdaq

Bitcoin

It takes college grads an average of three to six months to find a job after school

🎓 The graduation edition

Last week's highlights...

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