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How much college debt do you or your kids have?

How much college debt do you or your kids have?

  • Total voters
    44
  • Poll closed .
Beaudreaux said:
Teenagers shouldn't. Ensuring your children get an education, and have a future, is the responsibility of the parents, IMHO.

If a loan is required, which in many cases it is, the debt should be a burden borne by the parents. When we decide to have children, we also decide to assume the responsibility that goes along with that choice, including ensuring their education.
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I think parents should bore the brunt until you can pay them yourself with your own salary; I believe that is reasonable. Otherwise someone is going end up bankrupt.
 
$0.

Tuition assistance for my BA through the military (I think $4,500 a year, no book costs), kept using TA for some of my Master's and then got out and was able to use my GI Bill on the rest. Only paid a little out of pocket there. Not a bad gig: get a clearance, go to California and learn a language, end up getting out many years later with both of those and a Master's with no debt.
 
Gathomas88 said:
I'm sorry, but this is simply unrealistic. There is no way in Hell that the average undergrad is going to be able to get their tuition fully covered by scholarships or grant money when almost literally every Middle Class youth in the 17-27 age bracket is applying for them. For that matter, unless a person happens to come from an obscenely wealthy family, there is no way that graduation gifts are going to be anything more than a drop in the bucket where overall tuition is concerned.

Part time jobs are hardly a viable option for circumventing loans either. The kind of pay they provide is wildly inadequate for covering even basic living expenses, let alone covering thousands of dollars in additional expenses.

Someone might be able to get through college debt free using the methods you have described if they are extraordinarily lucky and simply happen to be an absolute machine of individual who is unopposed to working like a slave for four years. However, that is not an option for most people, nor will it ever be.

The more likely reality of what you've described would be someone working their way through college for half a decade or more one class at a time while probably working full time on the side. Frankly, the odds are that a person with those kinds of priorities is only going to make mediocre grades at best, which hampers their future opportunities for advancement in any professional field requiring a degree anyway.
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I disagree with you. But maybe that's because I have two nieces who got full scholarships at Texas Christian University -- worth $100K each. How did they do that? They set out to do that. The oldest set the example. She sought out the TCU representative when she was in high school and said, "What do I have to do to get a full scholarship?" The gal really liked her hutzpa and told her. Paraphrased: "Volunteer as much as you can. I'll mail you the essay of the last girl who got a full scholarship. Model her essay and model her life. Get great grades. You might have a shot if you can put it all together."

I don't remember her ACT score right now -- but I posted it on here quite a while ago. Her 2-year-younger sister took that advice as well. Got a lower ACT score than her sister and, while it was great, took it again and surpassed her older sister.

Both of them volunteered as soccer coaches all through high school. They were eventually hired by the district while in school and got paid more per game than they could have EVER earned. Saved it all for college. (I imagine they'll save it for their weddings or for a down payment on a house.)

They never owned cars. Still don't -- and they're in their 1st/2nd years.

So you'll have to excuse me for not buying, "It can't be done."
 
Beaudreaux said:
Teenagers shouldn't. Ensuring your children get an education, and have a future, is the responsibility of the parents, IMHO.

If a loan is required, which in many cases it is, the debt should be a burden borne by the parents. When we decide to have children, we also decide to assume the responsibility that goes along with that choice, including ensuring their education.
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Not every family has that rather bourgeois luxury. Granted my situation was rather unique, but we were a middle class family that was strapped for cash every month, and financial experts that they consulted with said "well, we don't know how you're even surviving the way you are right now." They could offer no financial advice that my folks were not already implementing. The most they could do was help me on some of my first loans. That was a big deal of pride for them to tell me they had been able to do that for me. Dear lord man, that was something I never dreamed of hearing from my folks. It's always been instead, "if we had money we would have loved to do _______ and _____ for you, but you know why we couldn't." That was probably the first time they had actually stated they were able to substantially subsidize my future in any way, shape or form.

Right now we have the running gag that when "you strike it big" you owe us _______ vacations. I'm probably on number 3, now. It's a joke, because we all know that's not going to happen, but that's what we've done dude...talk about what we we would do under different circumstances.

Besides, some of the laziest people I know are people who had mommy and daddy pay for school. They would talk to a couple of us on loans, and they were just not there at all. It was like "oh, you have to borrow to do this?" Yes, we do.
 
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Beaudreaux said:
Teenagers shouldn't. Ensuring your children get an education, and have a future, is the responsibility of the parents, IMHO.
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BS. I had a job since age 14, I paid half of my college tuition, ended up with a PhD. Part of an education is learning how to take care of yourself. Parents that over coddle tend to have ignorant kids who can't solve simple physics problems no matter how many times you show them how.
 
Fiddytree said:
Not every family has that rather bourgeois luxury. Granted my situation was rather unique, but we were a middle class family that was strapped for cash every month, and financial experts that they consulted with said "well, we don't know how you're even surviving the way you are right now." They could offer no financial advice that my folks were not already implementing. The most they could do was help me on some of my first loans. That was a big deal of pride for them to tell me they had been able to do that for me. Dear lord man, that was something I never dreamed of hearing from my folks. It's always been instead, "if we had money we would have loved to do _______ and _____ for you, but you know why we couldn't." That was probably the first time they had actually stated they were able to substantially subsidize my future in any way, shape or form.

Right now we have the running gag that when "you strike it big" you owe us _______ vacations. I'm probably on number 3, now. It's a joke, because we all know that's not going to happen, but that's what we've done dude...talk about what we we would do under different circumstances.

Besides, some of the laziest people I know are people who had mommy and daddy pay for school. They would talk to a couple of us on loans, and they were just not there at all. It was like "oh, you have to borrow to do this?" Yes, we do.
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Sounds like your parents did everything they could. Good for them, and you.
 
MaggieD said:
I disagree with you. But maybe that's because I have two nieces who got full scholarships at Texas Christian University -- worth $100K each. How did they do that? They set out to do that. The oldest set the example. She sought out the TCU representative when she was in high school and said, "What do I have to do to get a full scholarship?" The gal really liked her hutzpa and told her. Paraphrased: "Volunteer as much as you can. I'll mail you the essay of the last girl who got a full scholarship. Model her essay and model her life. Get great grades. You might have a shot if you can put it all together."

I don't remember her ACT score right now -- but I posted it on here quite a while ago. Her 2-year-younger sister took that advice as well. Got a lower ACT score than her sister and, while it was great, took it again and surpassed her older sister.

Both of them volunteered as soccer coaches all through high school. They were eventually hired by the district while in school and got paid more per game than they could have EVER earned. Saved it all for college. (I imagine they'll save it for their weddings or for a down payment on a house.)

They never owned cars. Still don't -- and they're in their 1st/2nd years.

So you'll have to excuse me for not buying, "It can't be done."
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That's fine and all, but it is not going to be an option for anything even remotely resembling a majority of students. Those kinds of scholarships are competive, which, by their very nature, means that only a select few individuals will ever have access to them.

This is, of course, assuming that a person even has the connections available to know about such things in the first place. I, for instance, was home schooled, and as such, didn't have access to any of those kinds of resources.

Based off of SAT scores alone, I was thankfully able to pick up a scholarship worth about three grand a year from the South Carolina Department of Education. The GI Bill also covered most of my living expenses while I was in school. However, both of those were ultimately only a drop in the bucket as far as my overall expenses were concerned.

Frankly, the simple fact of the matter is that we shouldn't have a educational system modeled after the damn "Hunger Games" in the first place. If it's really going to be the case that college degrees become effectively worthless if the people going for them fail to behave like perfectly disciplined Randian ubermensch the entire time they are in school, most people would honestly be better off not even going.

The way things are today, the whole setup is basically a scam.

Edit:

Correction, it was actually five grand a year for the scholarship.
 
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I'm in my mid 20s. Self employed for the most part with some client work. Currently enrolled in a long distance program to get a BA in history/political science. I'm not a "classroom" person. Have biweekly meetings over skype with professors. No debt, paid in full. I've been blessed for the last 10 years or so of my life - so I'm using it to better myself. My kid won't have any debt either. Papa gets money.
 
MaggieD said:
I disagree with you. But maybe that's because I have two nieces who got full scholarships at Texas Christian University -- worth $100K each. How did they do that? They set out to do that. The oldest set the example. She sought out the TCU representative when she was in high school and said, "What do I have to do to get a full scholarship?" The gal really liked her hutzpa and told her. Paraphrased: "Volunteer as much as you can. I'll mail you the essay of the last girl who got a full scholarship. Model her essay and model her life. Get great grades. You might have a shot if you can put it all together."

I don't remember her ACT score right now -- but I posted it on here quite a while ago. Her 2-year-younger sister took that advice as well. Got a lower ACT score than her sister and, while it was great, took it again and surpassed her older sister.

Both of them volunteered as soccer coaches all through high school. They were eventually hired by the district while in school and got paid more per game than they could have EVER earned. Saved it all for college. (I imagine they'll save it for their weddings or for a down payment on a house.)

They never owned cars. Still don't -- and they're in their 1st/2nd years.

So you'll have to excuse me for not buying, "It can't be done."
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How many of those scholarships are offered each year?
 
MaggieD said:
I disagree with you. But maybe that's because I have two nieces who got full scholarships at Texas Christian University -- worth $100K each. How did they do that? Paraphrased: "Volunteer as much as you can. I'll mail you the essay of the last girl who got a full scholarship. Model her essay and model her life. Get great grades. You might have a shot if you can put it all together."
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Scholarships are designed to weed out candidates. It's not an all-inclusive program. No matter what you do, if you are not meeting the bracket, you're out. All this is saying is "beat most of your peers, but if you don't you're not going to get subsidized." If 60% of students raise their GPA's, scholarships will only match the change with more selectivity.
 
No debt. Wealthy college + poor background = free.
 
The wife and I have our debt down to about 63k, from a tad over 100k. Once I get more equity in the house, I'm gonna buy out our loans outright. Interest on the house is much lower than on my wife's loans. She went Sally Mae, who won't consolidate, and the interest rates, while low over the last couple years, will likely be back to their former 10% and higher glory in no time.

We both have bachelors. We both regret the expensive choice in schools, and the poor selection of degrees (photography for me and illustration for her). We both make money at it, but not much.

Debt for school is an altogether bad thing, however, one expects a bit more, job wise, for an education gained, than many are getting. I got a lotta 4 and 6 year degree holders working for me.
 
Rocketman said:
After reading the balance of college debt nationally I just wonder how many here have it and why you have it? Did you not save for college? plan for college? Go to an expensive school just for the experience? why? why? why?
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I went to college/grad school on scholarships. The only debt I had was related to living expenses, books, and classes I took during summers. I paid those from work or put them on my plastic. Before I graduated from grad school, I took out an unsecured obscenely low interest loan available to students and used it to pay off all my credit cards. The loan had payment tiers, so the more I paid a month, the less the interest was for the next month, so I was basically getting the money for about the rate of inflation. My parents' combined annual income was less than my tuition and my total cost of college tuition exceeded what I could borrow from the government by a pretty nice chunk, so it was either get scholarships or academically settle for less.
 
Ikari said:
BS. I had a job since age 14, I paid half of my college tuition, ended up with a PhD. Part of an education is learning how to take care of yourself. Parents that over coddle tend to have ignorant kids who can't solve simple physics problems no matter how many times you show them how.
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All I stated was my personal opinion. You may not want to get into a "my life was harder than yours" debate with me.

As for your statement regarding "coddling" kids, throwing them out on their ass into the world isn't a good prospect either. My kids have never wanted for anything, mostly because I didn't want them to suffer like I did. They understand how lucky they are. They also understand fiscal responsibility (not sure about physics, although they both did well in those courses in college).

Making sure, as a parent, that your children are assisted by you as much as you can financially do, does not equate to coddling or harming your children. Both of my kids have had jobs since they were 16; scout camp, landscaping, etc. My oldest published his first book at the age of 15, and he gets the proceeds from that. I educated them about fiscal responsibility, and still had veto power over any purchases they made, until the age of 18. After that, they had to report to me and their mother, how much they had in the bank and what they spent and on what it was spent.

Both of my boys have a small nest egg built up. And for that, I'm thankful. If your theory held any water, they would be broke and destitute.
 
No debt. I grew up in an era when tertiary education was free. Which is not to say I didn't value it, or earn my place.
 
My oldest son got his Bachelors degree from a combination of the Georgia HOPE (Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally) scholarship and a lot from our bank account. My youngest son is currently in his second year of college and that is mostly being paid for by my Post-9/11 GI Bill that I transferred to him. My oldest son did take a loan out for his Masters degree that he is working on, because we told him we would help with the Bachelors but after that you are on your own.

Post-9/11 GI Bill: Welcome to the GI Bill Web Site | The Home for All Educational Benefits Provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs
 
Beaudreaux said:
All I stated was my personal opinion. You may not want to get into a "my life was harder than yours" debate with me.

As for your statement regarding "coddling" kids, throwing them out on their ass into the world isn't a good prospect either. My kids have never wanted for anything, mostly because I didn't want them to suffer like I did. They understand how lucky they are. They also understand fiscal responsibility (not sure about physics, although they both did well in those courses in college).

Making sure, as a parent, that your children are assisted by you as much as you can financially do, does not equate to coddling or harming your children. Both of my kids have had jobs since they were 16; scout camp, landscaping, etc. My oldest published his first book at the age of 15, and he gets the proceeds from that. I educated them about fiscal responsibility, and still had veto power over any purchases they made, until the age of 18. After that, they had to report to me and their mother, how much they had in the bank and what they spent and on what it was spent.

Both of my boys have a small nest egg built up. And for that, I'm thankful. If your theory held any water, they would be broke and destitute.
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Or stupid. The thing is, I've seen those who have worked and I've seen the ones who are given everything; taught them both. Spoiled kids tend to want the answers given to them and equations they can write down on a piece of paper for the test that magically has all the answers. We have enough business and psychology majors as is, don't need to breed more.
 
Ikari said:
Or stupid. The thing is, I've seen those who have worked and I've seen the ones who are given everything; taught them both. Spoiled kids tend to want the answers given to them and equations they can write down on a piece of paper for the test that magically has all the answers. We have enough business and psychology majors as is, don't need to breed more.
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That I can agree with, with the exception that financial assistance by parents doesn't equate to spoiling.

I agree that spoiled kids are a drain on society as a whole, and will have a damned hard life all in all. I've met a number of kids in my life that were from poor families, but were spoiled ass brats; momma's boy, or daddy's girl that had no idea what it take to survive in the real world.

Money doesn't equal spoiled and lack of money doesn't equal pragmatic.
 
I had a total of about 10,000 - this was in the early 80s so that's probably 30-40,000 in today's dollars.

My kids have nothing. We are blessed in NY with a fine state school system which both my kids attend.
 
Fisher said:
I went to college/grad school on scholarships. The only debt I had was related to living expenses, books, and classes I took during summers. I paid those from work or put them on my plastic. Before I graduated from grad school, I took out an unsecured obscenely low interest loan available to students and used it to pay off all my credit cards. The loan had payment tiers, so the more I paid a month, the less the interest was for the next month, so I was basically getting the money for about the rate of inflation. My parents' combined annual income was less than my tuition and my total cost of college tuition exceeded what I could borrow from the government by a pretty nice chunk, so it was either get scholarships or academically settle for less.
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settle for less, how so?
 
Rocketman said:
After reading the balance of college debt nationally I just wonder how many here have it and why you have it? Did you not save for college? plan for college? Go to an expensive school just for the experience? why? why? why?
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My kids are young - but I put in Zero anyway, because that is what they will have. A) I am already saving in an ESA for them B) academic achievement isn't going to be much of an option and C) in my home state the children of vets get all kinds of awesome education benefits. If I can get them through college with no debt, an IRA already started from their high school job, and a huge chunk of savings.... :shrug: well, financially, at least, I will have done my job.
 
Rocketman said:
After reading the balance of college debt nationally I just wonder how many here have it and why you have it?
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I don't have it anymore, but i had it. Close to $40,000 when I graduated.

Rocketman said:
Did you not save for college?
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I did. Unfortunately, my pre-college income wasn't nearly enough to accrue enough to pay for college outright.

Rocketman said:
plan for college?
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I did. But when I told the bursar's office that the lady said, "I'm sorry, we can't waive your tuition simply because you "planned" to go to college, you'll still have to pay like everyone else." What a bitch.

Rocketman said:
Go to an expensive school just for the experience?
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Nah. I attended a relatively affordable public university.

Rocketman said:
why? why? why?
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Well, you see, there's this novel idea in the financial world whereby under the right circumstances if you spend a relatively large amount of money now (even if you have to borrow it on interest) you can stand to make even more money in return over the long run. I believe the technical term is an "investment" (sp?).
 
Rocketman said:
After reading the balance of college debt nationally I just wonder how many here have it and why you have it? Did you not save for college? plan for college? Go to an expensive school just for the experience? why? why? why?
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None! Paid that sumbitch off just last year! :sword:
 
Rocketman said:
settle for less, how so?
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I went to a better school with better opportunities with more humpf than I could have afforded by either by working my way through or borrowed my way through.
 
No college debt. Interested parties could join a debtlesl qualitative educational experience here.
 
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