HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: 2 extra years in college could cost you almost $300,000.

Taking an extra year or two to complete a bachelor’s degree is common these days, but that additional time could cost a student nearly $300,000, according to a new study by NerdWallet.

NerdWallet examined how much one or two “victory laps,” as extra years are sometimes jokingly called, would cost students by factoring in:

Real costs: Out-of-pocket tuition plus interest paid on student loans over a 10-year standard repayment period.

Opportunity costs: Lost entry-level income and forgone retirement savings.

Just more evidence of how higher education, often sold as promoting economic mobility and equality, can do just the opposite.