Lol, ain't that the truth! I had absolutely stellar academic credentials, but getting scholarships was just about impossible. Wrong demographics. So my browner and female colleagues were able to get scholarships, but I had to compete with the best of the best to get merit scholarships. I did get a little help, but my parents weren't going to help after undergrad. They'd done their part (fair enough! they sure as hell had!) So I had to do grad school on loans. I paid off the Masters straight up. I'd save enough working beforehand to do that, but the professional program was a back-breaker. You don't get TA- or RA-type work-study offers in professional programs like you do for PhD work. Those help a lot as long as your project is adequately funded with grant money. But professional programs expect you to pay full-ride all based on future earnings. There is no solution other than to mortgage your future.

It's either that or ignore your potential and work a menial job just to avoid the financial risk.

No one tells you that on the back end of these programs you're up against DEI demands and corporations that look at certain people as instant-never hires. Time passes. Interest compounds. Put out applications. Hear literally nothing back in 99% of your applications... This is the world for a lot of these so-called "deadbeats."

Add in a kid, or a surprise medical diagnosis that ruins your life, or a divorce where she takes everything and wipes out your credit... There are a lot of complications here.