Colleges are failing today’s young adults — beyond grade inflation, junk courses and trading facts for ideology. Today’s college students going for a bachelor’s degree expect to earn roughly $80,000 one year after graduation — about $24,000 more than the average starting salary of $56,153, according to a survey by Clever Real Estate.

As NewsNation reported, Clever’s survey found that elevated salary expectations were common across all majors, but students studying education and nursing showed a wider disconnect than others.

“Although teachers have historically been underpaid, education majors still anticipate making a starting salary of $75,186 — about 62% more than the $46,526 they will likely receive,” the report said.

Nursing majors expect a starting salary of $83,219 or 32% more than a “realistic salary” of $63,000 for nurses with one year of experience, according to Clever.

Affordability is a struggle for all but the wealthy in the U.S., and having unrealistic expectations of what one should be earning is an extra blow. This is not just about teaching fiscal literacy, it’s a wake-up call for transparency from U.S. institutions of higher learning.

While the reality check should start being written in high school, college is where it needs to be cashed.

Every high school should have a course in career education — which jobs are seeing industry growth, which are not, and what salaries look like. Part of every college student’s undergraduate or graduate degree path should include a mandatory course on the marketability of said degree.

Imagine choosing a major only to discover that the salary is far below what it would take to comfortably pay off your student loan. An informed student (and their parents) could then reconsider their career choice, or even the choice of college.

Yes, thinking of higher education in terms of return on investment is a splash of cold water on the “college experience” dream. Many universities make that experience as deluxe as possible, with posh amenities such as upscale dorms and lazy rivers. But college costs extend beyond access to on-campus themed restaurants.

They hit hard when inflated expectations of post-grad salaries fall short of reality. It gets worse. According to the survey, students’ mid-career expectations were off as well. Ten years after graduation, the students surveyed expected to make around $145,000 on average, but the average mid-career salary is only $95,521, Clever said.

There are other factors influencing salary, of course, such as location. A recent analysis by Redfin and Glassdoor found that college graduates earn about $80,000 early in their careers in Washington, D.C., compared with roughly $65,000 in Houston and $57,000 in New Orleans.

No wonder so many recent graduates are lighting up social media with posts about the difficulties of finding a job in their field, the crushing burden of paying off big loans, and the increasing inability to get by, much less thrive.

We do our children a great disservice by not giving them access to all the facts, even if reality is harsh.

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