Four-Year Myth, a report from the national nonprofit, Complete College America, declares that a 4-year degree has become a myth in American higher education. The study finds that the majority of full-time American college students do not graduate on time, costing them thousands of dollars in extra college-related expenses. Policy experts who analyzed the statistics believe a more realistic benchmark for graduation is six years for a bachelor’s degree and three years for a “two-year” certificate.

It is certainly true that higher education in the United States is prohibitively expensive, and that $1.2 trillion in student loans is a scarily high number. There are a lot of people struggling under the burden of high loans with high interest rates, people who are working jobs that they don’t love in order to repay those loans, families that are placed under high levels of stress by that loan bill that keeps coming month after month. 

According to the College Board, "The average cost of tuition and fees for the 2013-2014  school year was $30,094 at private colleges, $8,893 for state residents at public colleges, and $22,203 for out-of-state residents attending public universities." Multiply that number by two to get the average cost of an Associate's degree, by four for a Bachelor's degree, and any degree higher is even more expensive, with no help offered through financial aid past the Bachelor's point. 

 Student loan debt has grown 517 percent in the last five years; colleges are spending money on fancy buildings; and graduates are unable to find jobs. The documentary shows some students who are opting out of a formal education for one that is self-led and highlights alternative learning centers like Deep Springs College and the dramas at Cooper Union, the NYC school that recently went from entirely free to regular tuition. Ivory Tower seems to suggest this might be a better solution for prospective students.

Outstanding student debt across the United States has reached $1.2 trillion according to Forbes, and is increasing at a faster rate than mortgages and auto loans. Seventy-one percent of 2013 college graduates had student loan debt, with an average of $29,400 per borrower, and more than half of Californians have student debt with an average of $20,000, according to data compiled by the Institute for College Access and Success.