[tanderson92]

People do not graduate with a STEM PhD with hundreds of thousands in debt; that is not how the education system works pretty much anywhere in the world.

[xboxnolifes]

Your PhD might not put you into hundreds of thousands of debt, but your undergrad very much might in the US. And then you'd have to choose to start a PhD while having hundreds of thousands in debt.

[etrautmann]

Generally true, unless they have large undergrad loans that they weren't able to pay off, which is a real consideration for many.

[noo_u]

People who had to pay for their undergrad education in prestigious US colleges do. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/biden-is-right-a-lot-of-s...

But hey, don't let basic research get in the way of confidence, amirite?