Student loans leave crushing debt burden

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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.
 
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.
 
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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.
 
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Originally Posted By: ZZman

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.



+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.
 
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...
 
Originally Posted By: CivicFan
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.


If you have been checking the news....That model failed..students are rioting bc the Government just trippled the rates.

We are financially broke in this country we can't afford it.
 
I agree that only highly usable majors and functions should be provided loans or incentives. A few other things too:\

-Forget diversity. A university is a place of learning, and SCHOLARSHIPS should be provided based upon scholarly capability, nothing else. Universities should be blind to anything but scholarly capability and ability to meet their key metric, which is impactful research, via the selection of the most capable students, not what quotas they need to fill.

-Kill title IX. In fact, kill all scholarships and most sports to a club status. If the kids love the sports so much they will do it without a monetary incentive. Sports that bring money in through donors or sales of stuff can stay, ones that are subsidized (many womens sports are just thrown money to create equal budgets to mens sports, yet they do not perform or bring in sales of tickets or memorabilia) should be taken to club status with no appreciable money coming from the school.

-Stop university growth conquests. These "non profit" entities keep jacking costs up and running like businesses in need of profit, which they then roll back up into buildings, brick sidewalks and other things that are not necessary in any way. Donors and true need-based justification for reasonable accommodations should be the mode of operation.

College should be a time to find one's self, determine a path for the future, build a strong group of friends, learn high level skills, etc. None of these need fancy dorms, excessive dining halls, brick sidewalks, ridiculous scholarships, or the excessive cost. Some schools will be better than others, and will drive some peoples' ability to excel. Other majors cannot be handled first with CC beyond maybe a few classes. The majors that pay usually are the ones that need you to be there for the better part of four years, but are also the ones that set you up for a lifetime of earning. A biology or psychology-type major doesn't do any of that...
 
Originally Posted By: Al
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]
+1. I went to a commuter campus of Purdue all 4 years and lived at home. My diploma just says "Purdue" on it and my grade transcripts have to be ordered from West Lafayette, and it isn't until you read them that you see which campus awarded the degree. As it turns out, at the time anyway, the CIS (I/T) program at the regional school was better than the main campus since my campus sought input from the business community to see what it was that they expected from a CIS graduate.

But like everything else in life, this has morphed into "what I want" instead of "what can I afford that'll get the job done."

My
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, which I have enough of since I didn't go into debt past my eyeballs to get the piece of paper....
 
Folks, you are wrong if you believe that state universities and community colleges are cheaper. If a student can get into the top schools they will end up paying a lot less. Studies show that the most expensive places also give the most money. For example, I think every Ivy League school is basically free if your family income is below about $60,000. A lot of second-tier colleges also offer much more grant money than state schools. It pays to try to get into the best school you are qualified for, not to mention that it also pays off over the course of your life in increased income every year. Don't just look at the upfront price--look at what the financial aid package is.
 
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