Imagine being stuck with thousands of dollars in debt to pay for a degree you never even got. Sounds like a nightmare, right? Well, for some ex-college students, this is a reality.

According to a report by NBC News, some college students find themselves dropping out of school after realizing the cost isn't worth the degree. However, this realization doesn't hit them until they already took out expensive student loans to pay for their education. Now, they spend years trying to pay back $12,000 or $30,000 in debt.

Only 56 percent of students who enter four-year universities graduate within six years, and the number is only 34 percent at for-profit colleges -- why are so many students enrolling in college and then dropping out?

This could be because some students don't have mentors or counselors who properly guide them through the financial aid and admissions process. They believe they can pay the tuition with help from the school and government, or they believe the high price is worth the education. As a result, they find themselves in a large hole of student loan debt they can't crawl out of.

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