Novelist and cultural critic Walter Kirn recently joined The Megyn Kelly Show to offer a refreshingly honest look at what higher education feels like—from the student’s side of the equation.
“I have a lot of empathy for the sensible young people of America,” he said, “especially those who have put themselves into huge debt.”
Kirn points to a structural failure at the heart of the student loan system:
“All that money goes to the university. They’re able to charge higher and higher prices.”
He saw it firsthand during COVID. His student was enrolled at an Ivy League school, paying $80,000 per year, only to receive pre-recorded Zoom lectures because the campus was closed.
“These places are raking it in,” he said.
The damage doesn’t end at graduation. Students emerge burdened with debt and armed with unrealistic expectations. “They think… they’re going to be able to save,” Kirn says, but most can’t—because the system overpromises and underdelivers.
His remarks resonate because they reflect what millions of families already know: the higher ed system is not just overpriced—it’s broken.
Until colleges are held accountable for outcomes—not just enrollment—student trust won’t return.
