[kev]

Interesting article about taking out too many student loans to pay for an expensive college education.

One thing that got me - $90,000 for a bachelors degree? That is kinda expensive to me.

Dont people think about the long term effects of taking out loans? Even if it is for an education, there to no promise that your going to get a good paying job. On top of that, last time I heard, you needed a masters degree to get in the upper pay brackets. A bachelors degree in some cases is not too much better then a 2 year associates degree.

http://finance.yahoo.com/college-ed...udents-are-buried-in-debt?mod=edu-collegeprep

Like many middle-class families, Cortney Munna and her mother began the college selection process with a grim determination. They would do whatever they could to get Cortney into the best possible college, and they maintained a blind faith that the investment would be worth it.

Today, however, Ms. Munna, a 26-year-old graduate of New York University, has nearly $100,000 in student loan debt from her four years in college, and affording the full monthly payments would be a struggle. For much of the time since her 2005 graduation, she's been enrolled in night school, which allows her to defer loan payments......................

 

[Varmit]

From the article: ...But perhaps the biggest share lies with colleges and universities because they have the most knowledge of the financial aid process.

Typical "blame everyone but myself" mentality. Whaa! No one told me it
was a bad idea to take out a $100,000 loan without having a job to
pay it back.

Also: Cortney Munna and her mother began the college selection process with a grim determination. They would do whatever they could to get Cortney into the best possible college...

Hey, while you're at it, be secure in the knowledge that you're also
entitled to a nice BMW and the biggest house in the block. And if you
can't afford the payments, just default on the loan.
It's OK. Everybody's doing it.

After working in the engineering field for 20+ years, I can guarantee that
what school someone went to makes very little difference as to what sort
of an engineer they will be. And once you get about 5 years of experience
under your belt, what school you went to is nothing but an interesting
footnote on your resume. What have you accomplished since then?

That can all be accomplished quite well by completing your first two years
at a local community college (for far less money), and the remaining two
years at any reasonably accredited state school. And all that can be
accomplished without finding yourself $100K in debt on day 1 of your
working life.

The civil engineering field may be different than other jobs, but in this case,
a 2-year degree doesn't buy you much more than a dead-end job as a
computer technician. (Damm shame too, because we've got some awfully
talented people who are dead-ended from advancing because they lack
that silly piece of 4-year-degree paper.) A 4-year degree gets you in
the door. A masters degree doesn't really buy you much of anything
beyond that except two more years to student loan debt.

 

[crankyfarmer]

My understanding that Montana State now will cost you $60K to graduate from. That's a lot of money for most degrees. Pretty hard to take a teaching job that pays $30K a year.

 

[McLovin]

You can pay ten grand for a watch or you can spend 10 bucks.

There are plenty of much cheaper options for a college education than uber expensive private schools.

The tution for an instate student in WV for WVU for a year is about $5500. Let's say it's $6500 by the time year four rolls around. Figure about 3 grand for books and supplies for those four years. Your on the hooks for about 30 grand. Not that bad of an investment where you will most likley end up with a job that pays a good bit more and will do so for 40 years.

McLOVIN

 

[anne36]

Im going to community college right now. For pre-req's it is the best deal. A lot of people are taking out loans just to live off while they are in school besides the tuition. I know people at my school that use them to pay the babysitter. I dont think this is ideal, but for some it is the only way they can get an education.

I would rather have an education and be broke than have no education and be broke. Today chances of ever earning a living wage without some kind of job training or education are slim to none.

 

[aramchek]

University of Michigan is now almost completely private (tuition + grants + endowments), getting very little state aid. University of Minnesota is trending that way also, and tuition keeps going up by leaps and bounds.

I've been around higher education for 20 years, and I couldn't tell you what's a safe bet these days. My last degree, a B.S. in Computer Science, appeared promising when I started back in the mid-90's. The IT industry was booming. But I graduated around the time of the dotcom bust, and have seen more jobs go to China/India than I can count.

Forget law school unless you already have a job lined up. Probably forget the MBA also unless you have family connections, and just need the piece of paper to justify a position already waiting for you.

What's irritating about our entire educational system is that there was a time when employers were expected to train their own employees through on-the-job apprenticeships. For most of Western history since the Middle Ages, higher education only really served two purposes: clergy and law. As society got more complex and competitive, it was expected that workers would have to train themselves, at their own expense. And now it's become so expensive that it's actually risky to do so, depending on where your chosen field will be (booming, busting, in China, etc.) in 4-5 years when you graduate.

 

[Enscheff]

If anyone is dumb enough to pay $100k for a liberal arts degree that won't get them a job anywhere then they brought their financial troubles upon themselves. So don't take out loans to go to an expensive private school and get a worthless degree.

Teachers can do things like teach in underpriveledged schools for a few years to have their student loans completely or partially forgiven. Teachers do need to be thrown more of a bone though, imo.

 

[Straight Razor]

One of the things that irritated me about law school is that law schools are really just fronts for banks (and you sign an agreement saying you will NOT not pay them back.) Do the math. A hundred new students every year paying $100,000 (the size of my law school loan.) Add interest... A law degree isn't about law. It's really about fiance.

 

[MotherEarth]

College is expensive.

I am struggling with this right now.

 

[name-old]

To me money is no object when it comes to college. They can't take your education back. The way I see it is the banks want you to repay. So they will make it as easy on you as they can. If they start billing you more than you can pay most people won't pay, then they lose money.

I have 25k in student debt now. I imagine afte rmy masters it will be close to 50k. Thats like buying a really nice car. It's alot of money, but its doable considering you can get a job.

 

[MotherEarth]

To me money is no object when it comes to college. They can't take your education back. The way I see it is the banks want you to repay. So they will make it as easy on you as they can. If they start billing you more than you can pay most people won't pay, then they lose money.

I have 25k in student debt now. I imagine afte rmy masters it will be close to 50k. Thats like buying a really nice car. It's alot of money, but its doable considering you can get a job.

I use to agree with this Name. Have you seen your new student loan paper work from the govt now that the banks no longer give the loans? All from the govt dept of education.
Interest rate went up, loans are now less (for me) and they will use your tax forms (just like with health care) to make sure you are paying back what you owe.

This was all ushered in under the health care bill.

 

[Straight Razor]

If I had to do it all again, I would not bother with college. Most folks don't earn a living in the subject they studied in college. My undergradute is in music, my masters in communication and in my 40s I got this notion to go to law school (and who says only young men make stupid decisions?) So, what do I do? I teach people how to forager for wild edibles. Try getting a degree in that!

 

[Grumble69]

It can be a smart decision to take on debt for an education. I did. I paid that debt off within a few years of graduating. And now I'm doing pretty well. ...much better than I would have been if I didn't get a degree.

But some people end up wasting their money. They're clueless about their life. Or they don't use the degree they earned.

 

[name-old]

I use to agree with this Name. Have you seen your new student loan paper work from the govt now that the banks no longer give the loans? All from the govt dept of education.
Interest rate went up, loans are now less (for me) and they will use your tax forms (just like with health care) to make sure you are paying back what you owe.

This was all ushered in under the health care bill.

I'm fine with paying back what I owe. Technically if I have a significant other to rely on I can pay my student debt back ina couple years based on what I make now and what it will go up with my degree.

I'm a little different. I didn't go to school to get a job, I went to school to further an existing career.

I can see how the whole colelge choice can be daunting for some though considering intrest and loan totals.

 

[KaBar67]

I can't think of a better investment.

Good arguments for night school, putting off college until you worked a year or did some military time. Also good arguments for working during school. It is done by hundreds of thousands of families every year.

 

[aramchek]

Education never hurts, the question is the field of study, trying to predict the job market 4 years ahead of time, and the debt load required to pull it off. I worked my way through college for a B.A., graduating with no debt whatsoever. Burned a lot of midnight oil, didn't get the sleep I should have had, and took 6 years to graduate. For my B.S., I had only about $5-10K that I paid off within a year or so. My wife's graduate school loans are a whole different order of magnitude. But I do take it literally. If I borrow, I pay back. To do otherwise is theft.

Our economy isn't producing many new professional-level jobs. We seem to be either in the process of devaluing them or off-shoring them. Honestly, what's a good field to invest 4 years and a lot of money/effort into? I can't even identify a master's program that would pay off. Certainly not in IT, unless you're a foreign student and going back to China/India after you graduate.

 

[janit0r]

expensive college is likely to get your foot into the best firms. but that's like buying the best camping gears or equipment. is it worth it? maybe if you are scaling mt. everest.

experiences count more in the long run. also, certifications and licenses maybe more important that degrees, but sometimes you need that degree to get there.

 

[Steverino]

... there's an interesting correlation between the increase in college degrees and the loss of blue collar jobs...

In the 60's college was not considered a necessity as there where plenty of blue collar factory jobs that paid well..

the 70's ushered in the Congressionally legislated migration of manufacturing offshore... and as a consequence the eventual shrinking of the blue-collar jobs needing only a high school education.

The 80's ushered in the era of college being a necessity.

The 90's ushered in the Internet, business networks, integrated business software (like CRM, HRMS, ERP, etc.) that created huge economies of scale... further reducing the need for the now largely college educated workers..

Here it is 2010 and we have what is arguable the largest percentage of the population unemployed since the Depression, partly due to the uber-efficiency created in the 90's... and the loss of another industry that may have served as a fall back.

 

[Patriot907]

Interesting article about taking out too many student loans to pay for an expensive college education.

One thing that got me - $90,000 for a bachelors degree? That is kinda expensive to me.

Dont people think about the long term effects of taking out loans? Even if it is for an education, there to no promise that your going to get a good paying job. On top of that, last time I heard, you needed a masters degree to get in the upper pay brackets. A bachelors degree in some cases is not too much better then a 2 year associates degree.

Well, I used the GI Bill, had a fellowship and still ended up owing $110,000 on my loans after 8 years of university. If I could do it again, I would have went for a 2 year Optical or Mechanical Engineering Technology degree and then most likely would have received funds from the job to turn it into a B.S. or M.S. degree. The upside is that an education is like freedom in that once you have it in your head it will always be there and cant be taken away from the confines of your heart/ mind. However, I freely admit that I screwed up but in the end I am at least happy where my education has taken me.

Just remember that during the Soviet regime people who were laborers were valued more than the educated. At least thats how it was made to appear despite the fact that they confined scientists to do their dirty work in closed communities. It almost seems like the educated here are heading towards that same direction in value. Look at how this health care plan of Obama's indirectly devalues the elderly and non-productive. Communism values labor over education. Many members of my family know this for a fact whom had lived in the USSR up until the Velvet Revolution free'd them. Ironically, it was the educated guilds that sparked it, along with secret western influence, which is why the communist regimes look down upon the educated. It is only okay to be educated if you are indoctrinated first in such a society.

I think that I had read once about historical Eskimo communities where the elderly felt they were burdens and walked off to freeze to death in the tundra away from their villages by rule of law as to not consume from the society.

 

[Wazlov]

I have completed three and one-half years of Canadian university in Economics. In order to pay for my schooling I worked as a sales assistant in a brokerage firm and when I lost that job due to the market crash, took a job as a fire alarm technician. I have paid the $24,000 school costs so far by working the aforementioned jobs, and I only owe $1800 towards last years tuition.
I recently started a new career as a Personal Banker at a major financial institution, and I got the job because of WHO I KNOW. I built a relationship with someone for about 8 years in order to leverage a job opening into being the candidate who was chosen for the job. The notion of living in the US and getting a college/university degree and paying $50,000+ is outrageous. $80,000 is insane.

Unless you are working towards a PROFESSIONAL career (Doctor, Lawyer, Accountant, Architect, Scientist in specialized field...) a degree will never ever beat out a connection.