Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’ appeal among younger voters has hinged in no small way on his pledge to make four-year colleges tuition free.

Many Bernie supporters have echoed their candidate’s call for the nation’s so-called 1 percent to pick up the tab, while sharing their tales of being saddled with ridiculous student debt. But let’s not forget: These underwater college graduates chose their fate. They could have attended a technical school, such as Blackhawk Technical College, and greatly reduced their debt load, if not completely avoided it.

Whether pursuing an associate degree or taking credits with the intention of later transferring to a four-year school, technical colleges offer terrific value in many respects compared to their four-year counterparts.

If some of these students had pursued technical college, they might not be in such dire straits and potentially on more stable career paths.

But despite the clear financial advantages offered by technical schools, enrollment at many of these institutions has been declining for several years. The Sanders campaign highlighted how debt is hurting college graduates, and we don’t fault these graduates for feeling angry. But we need more discussions about sensible, lower-cost alternatives.