This was interesting about how much college education expenses have increased and how graduates can't pay back the debt. It seems the more you read, th more you realize everything is becoming a rip-off anymore http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40772705/ns/business-cnbc_tv

Had a look at a Masters in Power Engineering recently.

Been in the industry 23 years come January, and they wouldn't offer credit for a single area...here's the application, send $20-$30 grand.

Don't need the silly thing really, and the industry doesn't really need Masters of Power Engineering.

But what burns me is online submission of engineering assignments where the submission is simply a single number answer, rather then 10 pages of calculations...100% or nothing, on an imprecise science...and tens of thousands in debt for no real assessment of capability.

Interesting

Kids go to a college at $25+++ K/year and borrow it and take something like pholosophy where there are no jobs.

Go to a community college for 2 years/live at home. Transfer to a cheaper state school and take something where there is a demand.

I don't have a lot of sympathy for some of the families who overload themselves. [clueless]

I watched a special on CNBC last night about it.

There is more debt on Student loans than credit cards it said.

Many if not most kids have no clue how much that debt really is and how long it takes to pay back. The numbers seem to mean nothing until reality hits.

My daughter have almost $ 70,000 in debt. (This kills me to think she is already this far in the hole) The $ 130.00 a year premium is cheap insurance to avoid possible financial hardship.

But much of the blame can go towards the students themselves who chose to not go to a community college first or live at home while going to school. Some also chose very expensive colleges when a much cheaper college would do.

Since I am a co-signer I made a decision that many thought funny at first. I got a life insurance policy on my daughter to cover her loans in case anything happened.

New Zealand graduates go overseas to earn more money than they can here to pay off their student loan quicker.There are incentives to keep them here,but there is no denying the quick buck.Not really an option for the US,as everyone else goes there to earn more money.

The ease that students can borrow money for school fuels tuition inflation. If the loans were not available the Universities could not charge what they do.Subsidized loans are part of the problem.

Part of the problem is also the Golden Castle mentality of the schools. Where I went to a liberal arts college, they decided they needed a pool for 1000 students. So they built it. The cost of the pool plus the maintenance raised the tuition over $1200/student and that was almost 20 years ago. What person in the real world spends more than a grand for a single pool membership? Then they paid millions to close a one block street that ran through the campus that had been there for over 100 years. Guess what? Tuition jumps again. Look at any school and ask yourself if you would do what they do if it where your money.

The student loan companies are sharks. High interest rates and far too willing to lend. The students who have to take on debt should only choose very employable areas, and schools that can be paid for out of the subsidised loans. Un-subsidised loans are ripe for getting people into trouble with high interest rates and high limits. Plus, they will either lend all or nothing, there's very little in-between. So the student thinks they have money and blows it on things, then gets a wakeup call upon graduation.

My wife is about two years away from her PhD, and we haven't really paid for school since her first or second semester, almost ten years ago. Grants, scholarships, etc, all academic-based have done the trick.

Not sure what my point is, other than you can get an education for cheap if you try.

People need to think about their actions before they take them. Taking out 100K in loans for a degree that has no real chance of ROI on that anytime soon is not very smart.

robert

They just realized this? I realized this 10 years ago lol. The prices to attend "higher" institutions is ridiculous and each and every year their prices go up. The people attending have a harder and harder time affording it.

+1 I had to pay my way and I graduated without much debt accumulated. I chose to go to a community college and then to the local state run school and got 2 degrees while I was there. I think I owed around $2,000 when I graduated.

College students are naive to think that the diploma they paid $10-20 grand (or more) per year is more important (or prestigious) need a reality check. It isn't worth the cost.

Maybe it's time to switch to the European model of free education for everyone. It will eliminate OP's issue with debt and move the country forward to make us more competitive with the emerging economic competition.

There's no such thing as free education, unless you have a different meaning of free than I do.

If you don't have the money don't go to college.

Community college for two years, state school for the rest.

If you must go at all.

And what were parents thinking when the child was born? Put away $3000 by the time the child is six and I bet two years of college would have been paid just by doing that...

If you have no means to go then don't...Don't cry about the debt later.

And I would love to see the tax returns from the parents who claimed the child getting tax credits from college tuition. You don't hear much about that...