I applaud Ms. Space for putting her decisions out there for everyone to read. Her point will certainly invite criticism towards her decision-making, but hopefully her story will also be a teachable moment for those about to make their own student-debt decisions.
But in relation to her Pope Center essay, she made a tangential point that I would like to challenge:
High schools should make sure that students graduate with an understanding of personal finance, salary expectations, average monthly costs (rent, car, bills, etc.), and how the ebbs and flows of the economy can affect them.
High schools have enough problems graduating students who can read, write, and add at the college level. If they are required to take a class in personal finance, will the learning outcomes be any different?
Ms. Space means well, but the solution to better personal-finance decisions for high-school students involves them taking on more adult responsibilities at an earlier age.