Say My Name: College Costs Cook Up a Crisis for Students!

The Heisenberg of Higher Education

So this kid Ethan Bianco thinks he's Walter White deciding between Vanderbilt and UT Austin. Please. I was choosing between life and death Mr. Bianco is choosing between debts. But hey the kid's got a point. Cost matters. Even Heisenberg had to watch his expenses you know? Can't just cook meth and expect it to pay for everything. Tuition these days it's like the blue stuff – high quality but damn expensive. And let's not even get started on room and board. Makes a superlab look cheap.

Tuition? More Like Extortion!

In state tuition at UT looks like a steal compared to Vanderbilt's price tag. It's like choosing between my old Aztek and a tricked out Challenger – one gets you there the other gets you there *fast* but the Challenger? It's gonna leave you broke. This Bianco kid managed to haggle his Vanderbilt offer down. Smart kid. But most folks? They're stuck between a rock and a hard place staring down loans that make Gus Fring's empire look like a lemonade stand.

Public vs. Private: A Meth Lab by Any Other Name…

Robert Franek from The Princeton Review says more students are going public. No shock there. Private schools they're all flash and no substance like Jesse's attempts at cooking. Public schools are where the real work gets done even if they're a little rough around the edges. And if you think about it with the economy being what it is does anyone really need a degree in interpretive dance from some fancy liberal arts college? Stick to the basics people. Chemistry maybe?

Eight Out of Ten Families Are Breaking Bad… With Their Finances

Eight out of ten families are worried about money? You're goddamn right they are! Sallie Mae says finances outweigh even academics. Chris Ebeling from Citizens Financial Group chimes in too. Of course the cost is important! It's like trying to run a drug empire on a shoestring budget. You need capital and a *plan.* And let me tell you student loans are not a plan they are just like buying a bottomless pit which you keep throwing money into.

The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle of Student Debt

College costs are up 5.6% a year since '83? That's faster than my empire grew! And state funding cuts are making things worse? Seems everyone wants a piece of the pie except they're serving up debt instead of dessert. This Bianco kid's wary of loans. Good. Smart kid. "It almost becomes a burden that is too much to bear," he says. He sounds like he has a partner who he regrets making business with and now has to pay a burden for eternity. He gets it. Student loans? They are like walking into a trap in the dessert and the heat of the sun just keeps going up and up.

Remember My Name I Will Be In Debt Forever!

So what's the takeaway here? College is expensive debt is scary and the system is rigged. Welcome to the real world kids. Now go out there and find your own way to cook up a future legal preferably but hey I'm not here to judge. Just remember whatever you do handle your business. Because in this game you're either Heisenberg or you're just another Jesse Pinkman scraping by and waiting for someone to clean up your mess. And let's be real no one wants to be a Jesse Pinkman.