Students of limited means have always had to use their ingenuity as well as hard work to secure the education they need to fulfill their dreams.

The struggle often starts in high school as they work to cobble together the fees for advanced classes, College in High School tuition, Advanced Placement tests, college applications, and sometimes tutoring to boost their scores on tests like the SATs and ACTs.

Then they are faced with accruing student debt. According to the Education Data Initiative, the average student loan debt in Pennsylvania in 2020 was $35,205.

A recent financial literary class at Butler County Community College taken by 40 Butler Area Senior High School seniors as part of its dual-enrollment Early College Pioneers program spelled out the reality of student loans and financial aid.

“With a four-year degree in some fields, you may be starting at a salary of around $50,000,” said Julianne Louttit, BC3’s director of financial aid, earlier this month. “There are all kinds of tools and resources to review based on different careers. Does it make sense to have $80,000 in student-loan debt when you are going to start at a salary of $50,000 and when that four-year degree can be made more affordable by starting at a community college, then transferring?”

It is an essential message. Teaching about the impacts of earnings, credit and loans should be a part of any high school curriculum.

Students need to make an informed choice when investing in their future. To illustrate the old adage, “borrow now and pay later” – about $250 a month is the median monthly payment among student loan holders in 2020, according to the Education Data Initiative.

But we don't want to see the next generation forgo an education for fear of financing it. We admire the high school graduates who follow their dreams while maintaining their financial footing.

Many of these future leaders, who often work part time while attending college, are choosing to start with a two-year college, such BC3, and then to transfer to complete their bachelor's degree.

These actions are having an effect. The average student debt for those ages 18 to 23 is just over $16,000, according to a CNBC.com report in October.

These students are grasping the real world issues of factoring budgeting and career choices to financial decisions.

An article in Tuesday's Butler Eagle spotlighted another way creative students are reducing expenses.

Summer vacation has a different meaning to hard-working students who are trying to save time and money by earning credits in the shorter, more intense summer sessions.

Slippery Rock University junior Delaney Purcell, a junior exercise science major, told the Eagle that by taking a required course over the summer she also will pay a greatly reduced fee for a certification exam.

“It's a big time-saver, and it's pretty rare to have this opportunity in undergrad,” Purcell said.

Opportunity is the key. We hope many more students in Butler County use these opportunities to get their education, find that dream job and still have the fiscal health to become engaged members of the community.

— DJS