The days of free university education feel like an urban myth to my generation.

I know we’re the entitled Gen-Y which thinks the world owes them not only a degree, but a ticket to a successful and happy life, but for many high schoolers in New Zealand, a university qualification is counted not as a privilege, but as a necessary cost.

Scores of teenagers shuffle into careers’ advice offices, endure the dinner-table questions of “so, what are you going to do when you finish school?”, and after flipping through a prospectus, settle on a university of their choosing so they can pursue their dreams. Or at least make a living.

The case we’ve seen play out today, in which a former student was arrested for escaping from their student loan debt, seems to be more a reminder of the importance of financial responsibility than the plight that is student hardship.

But it's still important to remember how much that debt represents a real financial burden.

When I asked around my peers, the debt level ranged from $40,000-$50,000 (which seemed to be the rough average for a four-year qualification) to $100,000.

When I told my family my loan balance, gasps ensued as to how it could possibly be that high.

Renting in Auckland, balancing a part-time minimum wage job while staying on top of studies, all the course costs that go with degree itself, not to mention a stint volunteering abroad when interest was accrued for about six months - that’s how.

What isn’t helpful is rhetoric which claims that all students spend large and party larger, all of them out for a free ride. 

Peers I spoke to have plans in place to pay off their loan – deciding if they’ll focus on clearing it in the short-term, or setting money aside to gain some interest. Most are grateful to have an interest-free loan, realising that to be able to freely study whatever they choose is a privilege many in other parts of the world aren’t afforded.

But the generalisation of current students as being entitled and lazy continues to be unhelpful. It leads to an assumption that we have to prove our worth, with many young people feeling pressured to work for free to get a foot in the door.

And for those who can’t afford that option? Who don’t have the family support or means to do so? They drop another rung down the ladder.

Is it really worth it? All that debt, all that inequality? Only time will tell.