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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 .
i got academic scholarships to undergrad and grad school, and my parents helped me with room and board, so i don't have any college debt, thankfully. this isn't the case for most people; the expense is a real disincentive. we need to fix that.

the college i went to was prohibitively expensive, and i wouldn't have considered going there if not for the scholarship. i just checked, and the cost has nearly tripled since my time there in the 1990s. that's ridiculous. i had a great experience there, got a well rounded and top quality education, and made a few lifelong friends. however, i won't donate to them unless they cut that **** out. a year there would cost a kid most of my yearly salary, and i'm 14 years in the field. ridiculous.
 
I teach at both a state and private college. I have no damn idea why it is so expensive.
i got academic scholarships to undergrad and grad school, and my parents helped me with room and board, so i don't have any college debt, thankfully. this isn't the case for most people; the expense is a real disincentive. we need to fix that.

the college i went to was prohibitively expensive, and i wouldn't have considered going there if not for the scholarship. i just checked, and the cost has nearly tripled since my time there in the 1990s. that's ridiculous. i had a great experience there, got a well rounded and top quality education, and made a few lifelong friends. however, i won't donate to them unless they cut that **** out. a year there would cost a kid most of my yearly salary, and i'm 14 years in the field. ridiculous.
 
I teach at both a state and private college. I have no damn idea why it is so expensive.

i'm sure it's not due to your extravagant salary. i also work in academia. benefits are good; salary is a little more than half of what i made in the private sector. i like it here though because i don't get ****ed with by people who want to eat my time and sanity.
 
Read Here:
John Stossel: Is college an expensive scam?

or

Read Here:

John Stossel: Is college an expensive scam?

WHAT do Michael Dell, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Mark Cuban have in common?

They're all college dropouts.

Richard Branson, Simon Cowell and Peter Jennings have in common?

They never went to college at all.

But today all kids are told: To succeed, you must go to college.

Hillary Clinton tells students: "Graduates from four-year colleges earn nearly twice as much as high school graduates, an estimated $1 million more."

We hear that from people who run colleges. And it's true. But it leaves out some important facts. That's why I say: For many people, college is a scam.

I spoke with Richard Vedder, author of "Going Broke by Degree: Why College Costs Too Much," and Naomi Schafer Riley, who just published "Faculty Lounges and Other Reasons Why You Won't Get the College Education You Paid For."

Vedder explained why that million-dollar comparison is ridiculous:

"People that go to college are different kind of people ... (more) disciplined ... smarter. They did better in high school." They would have made more money even if they never went to college.

Riley says some college students don't get what they pay for because their professors have little incentive to teach.

"You think you're paying for them to be in the classroom with you, but every hour a professor spends in the classroom, he gets paid less. The incentives are all for more research."

Also, lots of people not suited for higher education get pushed into it. This doesn't do them good. They feel like failures when they don't graduate. Vedder said two out of five students entering four-year programs don't have a bachelor's degree after year six.

"Why do colleges accept (these students) in the first place?" Because money comes with the student - usually government-guaranteed loans.

"There are 80,000 bartenders in the United States with bachelor's degrees," Vedder said. He says that 17 percent of baggage porters and bellhops have a college degree, 15 percent of taxi and limo drivers.

Entrepreneur Peter Thiel, who got rich helping to build good things like PayPal and Facebook, is so eager to wake people up to alternatives to college that he's paying students $100,000 each if they drop out of college and do something else, like start a business.

For some reason, this upsets the left. A Slate.com writer called Thiel's grant a "nasty idea" that leads students into "halting their intellectual development ... maintaining a narrow-minded focus on getting rich."

But Darren Zhu, a grant winner who quit Yale for the $100,000, told me, "Building a start-up and learning the sort of hardships that are associated with building a company is a much better education path."

I agree. Much better. Zhu plans to start a biotech company.

What puzzles me is why the market doesn't punish colleges that don't serve their customers well. The opposite has happened: Tuitions have risen four times faster than inflation.

Despite the scam, the Obama administration plans to increase the number of students getting Pell grants by 50 percent. And even a darling of conservatives, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, says college is a must: "Graduating from high school is just the first step."

We need to wake people up.
 
I teach at both a state and private college. I have no damn idea why it is so expensive.

To pay for the teachers, various research, classroom aids and the buildings. :yes: It really didn't take too much time for me to figure that out either.
 
I haven't observed this clarity. Are you living in 1985? It doesn't work like this anymore. Ever heard of Occupy Wall Street? Ever heard of the global economy? Ever heard of government cut backs? Fake government jobs paying $70,000 + benefits for 30 years then pay a pension don't exist anymore. The government doesn't waste money like it used to do. You actually have to compete with all the other millions of college graduates throughout the world.

I used to make $27,000 per year. That was before graduating from college. Now I make $16,000 per year. That's after graduating from college. Where are you observing everything so clearly? I don't get it.

http://www.sgvtribune.com/opinion/20110711/john-stossel-is-college-an-expensive-scam

There's a lot of research and info on this.

Way better than John Stossels myopic take.

Here's one-
http://www.payscale.com/college-education-value-2013

I think it's pretty clear lifetime earnings with a college degree vs no degree are way more than what you pay for school. But this discounts a whole lot of what a degree gives you that's not reflected in money alone. A better education is something we should want all out citizens to have because it increases everyone's quality of life.
 
A better education is something we should want all out citizens to have because it increases everyone's quality of life.

I agree with this statement. When you buy a house it can be used to provide shelter. When you purchase an education it can provide you with insight and specialized training in a particular field.

Neither are investments. A house is a house. An education is an education. We really have a perverted view about these two things.

Way too many people are buying houses and education that don't really want them. They are buying them only as investments. Colleges are exploiting our greedy culture. The focus is no longer on running a respectable educational institution. The focus is on getting as many students to enroll as possible. Most of them don't even want to be there. There only interested in cashing in.
 
There's a lot of research and info on this.

Way better than John Stossels myopic take.

Do you disagree that super earners are skewing these figures?

For example:

4,999 college graduates earn $22,000 per year + 1 college graduate earns $248,000,000 per year. The average wage for these 5,000 college graduates is $71,956.60 per year.

5,000 high school graduates earn $21,000 per year. The average wage for these 5,000 high school graduates is $21,000 per year.

This is an extreme example but I think you see why colleges would love to use data in this way. It's misleading but it makes them more money.
 
I'm having a hard time taking you seriously. Maybe I'm being overly suspicious but your comments seem very insincere.
No, not at all. This might sound stupid or obvious, but you don't have to work where you work. It's about initiative and the willingness to put yourself out there. I have spent hours writing and rewriting my resume and cover letters and getting feedback from friends. I've probably spent hundred of hours looking for jobs, both online and through asking friends, and I've ****ed up and completely embarrassed myself in tens of interviews as well as doing fantastic in tens more. I'm single and I'm willing to live in cheap places and move to wherever the employer is.

It pays off. I'm really good at doing interviews now. I also apply the same work ethic to my job. Yes, it's about being good at your job, but it's probably more important to establish good friendship with your boss, coworkers and HR. People hire people they'd be comfortable getting a drink with.
 
Pay for teachers? You are kidding right? I make more in 2 hours in a clinical setting than I do teaching for 8.
To pay for the teachers, various research, classroom aids and the buildings. :yes: It really didn't take too much time for me to figure that out either.
 
Pay for teachers? You are kidding right? I make more in 2 hours in a clinical setting than I do teaching for 8.

Where does the money come from to give them the low pay?
 
I got thru 3 schools, Two state and one an expensive private school with almost no debt the old fashioned way. The federal government paid for it.

Me too for the most part. I took advantage of every educational program and every penny afforded to me as a person on active duty and as a veteran. I worked full time at the university while I was in graduate school. In addition, after one year of employment at the university my grad school classes were free. I lived like a refugee but, I made it debt free. No complaints from me.
 
I will have at maximum $40,000 in no-interest debt for my UNC undergrad degree which I won't have to pay back until after grad school. Depending on whether I get scholarships it could be more like $30,000.
 
Well, let's think about it a moment. First of all, there are scholarships. Secondly, there are grants. Third, there are birthdays, Christmases, graduation presents, presents of all kinds rained down on kids as they're growing up. Fourth, I know it's shocking and painful, but there's part-time jobs from babysitting on through high school. Fifth, there's the newest cell phone release every year. Stop it. Sixth, another shock??!! There's community college. OMG!! Noooooo!!!

Spend half, save half. A great philosophy. I just bought Tom's nephew a piggy bank. He's 4+ years old. Can't start too young:

1438626_f260.jpg


Four spigots at the bottom to take out money in each of the four compartments.

I know taking responsibility for one's self is a shock to many young people's systems, but that's the way it used to be. It oughta' be that way again.

Well we've moved on from judgmental to obnoxious. I did work part time through some of high school and during most of college as well. There is simply no way I would have been able to make enough to cover tuition, books, and housing with my part time salary. My parents were concerned (and rightfully so) that if I spent too much time working, my schoolwork would suffer. Being a student IS a full time job when you have a difficult major like I did. It would be difficult for many people working full time jobs to support themselves and pay for tuition at the same time even if there were enough hours in the day for this to be possible.

I have never bought the newest cell phone release, and I didn't even have a cell phone through most of college, not that it's any of your business.

I am very responsible with my money, and I have always been. I am paying off the debt I did incur from grad school at a very fast rate. It's my priority right now, and I'm not going to buy a new car, live in a fancy place, or go on vacations until I do this. Again, not that this concerns you or is any of your business.

It may come as a shock to you, but taking out student loans so you can get a quality education and become a contributing member of society IS taking responsibility for yourself. I am required to pay these loans back, not you. Even bankruptcy doesn't get you off the hook for this. The government and private lenders are making plenty of interest off of these loans, so it's not like I'm a charity case. So really, save the judgment for someone who deserves it. Hard working college students don't need it from you.
 
Community colleges, mostly. At a university, which was fairly cheap, I received tuition waivers due to my disability, but had some pretty crappy living situations happen which required substantial fiscal adjustments. I applied to a couple of scholarships, but most were pretty weak or I did not qualify for one reason or another.

Undergraduate is where they milk you for what you're worth. In graduate school, your goal is to get out with tuition waivers and a part-time job, which would leave you within means to cook up the money for student fees or books. If not, much smaller loans as desired.

Graduate school is generally much more expensive though. My tuition doubled when I became a grad student. (Both in state tuition at an Iowa state school) I did get several scholarships which helped, and had a part time job even though my program strongly recommended we not work, but didn't come close to covering most of the bills.
 
I have an education savings plan for my children, so when they go to university they won't pay a dime. We live in Canada now where education is cheaper anyway, one of the many reasons why we relocated.

My own education was costly at about $60k. The specialization I went into was expensive, but with enough academic turnover that those who do graduate don't have enormous problems finding work. I did apply for grants, scholarships, etc... but my demographic did not give me access to very much.

I do think there are things that can be done to mitigate the cost of education, but we should also acknowledge the sheer amount of luck that goes into success as well. Some people do everything right and still end up bankrupt. Then there is privilege to consider. Some people have it, some people don't. Some schools have special dispensation for the poor or minorities, but on the whole you have to be born financially privileged to retain that privilege. Upward mobility is really hard. The system is mostly designed to hold back the poor.

If you have dreams of being privileged then you have to pay dearly to make those dreams come true, and in the end you wind up with the disadvantage of huge amounts of debt that still affects lack of privilege, unless, as mentioned earlier, you get lucky.

The education system in the U.S. is a crying shame. We are financially crippling the up and coming generation and enslaving them to usury before they even get their foot in the door of the job market.
 
I did. I worked full time (more than full time for some of it) and carried a full class load and paid for every penny out of my own pocket. My parents never paid a dime. I never had any debt at all. It's not that hard, it just takes commitment.

When did you go to college?
 
right now around 13k
 
Why not?

I got thru school with a minimum of debt, and I have three kids who are going to be starting college every two years, so I'll have eight straight years of college, six of them with two kids. minimum. I expect at some point each kid will be getting a small loan, because I think having a little 'skin in the game' is important.

But for those who cant afford it, its pretty clear that the earnings from getting a four year degree over a lifetime are massively higher than no college, so I'd consider the debt to be an investment, not an expense. Of course, you dont have to blow your investment on the most expensive college you can find, but often the colleges that cost more will lead to much better opportunities, and therefore, better earning power and more importantly, better quality of life.


A driven person can do just as well without a degree.
 
I don't have any but most of my friends that do...they just went to expensive schools in order to be competitive in the job market. Their parents couldn't afford to foot the bill.

expensive schooling does not make you competitive, character, ethics, and drive determine who you are
 
No, not at all. This might sound stupid or obvious, but you don't have to work where you work. It's about initiative and the willingness to put yourself out there. I have spent hours writing and rewriting my resume and cover letters and getting feedback from friends. I've probably spent hundred of hours looking for jobs, both online and through asking friends, and I've ****ed up and completely embarrassed myself in tens of interviews as well as doing fantastic in tens more. I'm single and I'm willing to live in cheap places and move to wherever the employer is.

It pays off. I'm really good at doing interviews now. I also apply the same work ethic to my job. Yes, it's about being good at your job, but it's probably more important to establish good friendship with your boss, coworkers and HR. People hire people they'd be comfortable getting a drink with.

Sorry for distrusting you. I thought you were an old guy criticizing young people just because it's tradition for old people to criticize the younger generation. I've never heard anybody defend the career strategy that you are describing. It was new to me so I was suspect.

Anti-poverty measures put a huge limitation on a mobile work force. Young people are often trapped in economically depressed areas by a 30-40 year mortgage. Young people are rewarded with unemployment compensation which gives them little incentive to leave town. Lower salaries are subsidized through food stamps, WIC, Earned Income Credit, Child Tax Credit, housing subsidies, Additional Child Tax Credit and other types of anti-poverty measures. These types of anti-poverty measures do not work good for the individuals receiving incentives to stay in economically depressed areas. These types of programs benefit people like you who are willing to be mobile. It limits your competition thus makes it more lucrative for you to move around from place to place.

I live in a town with a high unemployment rate. In most cases a high unemployment rate equates to low wages because many well qualified people are applying for jobs. I don't make much money but Uncle Sam makes up the difference to make my life comfortable. I plan to have my mortgage paid off in a few years. After that I should be free to travel to a more lucrative location.

Good for you brothern. Much of success to you. You seem to be very aware and sensitive to the realities of your environment. :thumbs:
 
Pay for teachers? You are kidding right? I make more in 2 hours in a clinical setting than I do teaching for 8.

Where does the money come from to pay the teachers their low wages?

I'll give you a hint. It starts with a t and ends with uition.
 
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