College Rant...

[s0me0nesmind1]

After scholarships I paid about 5 grand a year to go to a private college/university. I started out as a Computer Science/Math double major, and ended up graduating with a degree in Elementary Education. I worked, and had parents who helped out with the 5 grand so I've never had any student loan debt. I've been teaching for 12 years now and have a Master's Degree in education.

My wife went to a school for Music Education and is now in her third year of teaching. Her parents are basically penniless and she took out loans for the whole thing. She owed 120k in student loans at graduation and still owes around 100k.

My sister went to a state school for an art degree. She graduated with less than 10k debt, but worked in restaurants for a few years and now manages the call center at a bank. She recently completed an MBA at an online school.

It's tough for kids to choose the correct path. I sat my wife down (we were dating at the time) and explained to her the costs of going to the school she wanted to. I showed her how much money she would owe, and how difficult it would be to pay off with a teaching job. She admits now that she made the wrong choice. She loves her job and works her tail off teaching music, but she could have had the exact same job with half the debt going to a state school or she could have skipped college altogether and we could live pretty much the same lifestyle without her having a job.

How is it tough? You fucked up and left a STEM path with a CLEAR career path for education (well known for low pay, shit work, etc...).Your wife racked up ridiculous debt levels for a shit degree. Your sister got an arts degree.

I mean, there is a number of CLEAR, CUT, and SIMPLE things you could have addressed. I'm sorry that the truth hurts here - but below is a simple list of things that everyone should know and be thinking about. I'm guessing the problem is that people were never told these? But these seem so obvious to me I never felt the need for others to tell myself.

1. Go to community college for the first 2 years. You will pay pennies on the dollar vs. a state school - and come out with the same credits as if you went to a University. This is overall optional, but I recommend it depending on if you're getting scholarships that cover it at the University.
2. Don't EVER go to a Private or Out of State school unless they are willing to foot the bill
3. Don't EVER go to a for-profit school. EVER. I don't give a shit if it's an "online university" that you can take while in your pajamas. They are called degree windmills for a reason.
4. Don't EVER get a shit degree that has historically been low paying or doesn't have a high demand. Futuristic-ally, you should also be thinking in terms of if your high demand career aspects are going to fall in the near future (e.g. Truck driving, manufacturing, etc...)
5. Come out with a STEM - or even a basic business degree (Accounting, MIS, etc.) and it's pretty hard to fail in life.

 

[Majes]

How is it tough? You fucked up and left a STEM path with a CLEAR career path for education (well known for low pay, shit work, etc...).Your wife racked up ridiculous debt levels for a shit degree. Your sister got an arts degree.

I mean, there is a number of CLEAR, CUT, and SIMPLE things you could have addressed. I'm sorry that the truth hurts here - but below is a simple list of things that everyone should know and be thinking about. I'm guessing the problem is that people were never told these? But these seem so obvious to me I never felt the need for others to tell myself.

1. Go to community college for the first 2 years. You will pay pennies on the dollar vs. a state school - and come out with the same credits as if you went to a University. This is overall optional, but I recommend it depending on if you're getting scholarships that cover it at the University.
2. Don't EVER go to a Private or Out of State school unless they are willing to foot the bill
3. Don't EVER go to a for-profit school. EVER. I don't give a shit if it's an "online university" that you can take while in your pajamas. They are called degree windmills for a reason.
4. Don't EVER get a shit degree that has historically been low paying or doesn't have a high demand. Futuristic-ally, you should also be thinking in terms of if your high demand career aspects are going to fall in the near future (e.g. Truck driving, manufacturing, etc...)
5. Come out with a STEM - or even a basic business degree (Accounting, MIS, etc.) and it's pretty hard to fail in life.

Maybe I gave the wrong impression with my post. It wasn't meant to be a complaint. I knew full well that education wasn't a path towards wealth, but I felt called to the field, and while we aren't rich we are doing quite well financially. My sister is also in excellent financial shape.

My post was mostly to give a couple of different examples and to show how even with all the facts a kid can still choose the wrong thing. Many students aren't thinking about your list when they choose schools, even when that list is shoved into their face.

 

[Darwin333]

I have always been amazed at the fact that kids who are still in friggen high school are allowed to set in motion a plan that can saddle them with $100's of thousands of dollars in debt and to make it even worse it is one of the only debts not dischargeable in bankruptcy. To top it off we also let the same kids get degrees at the most expensive schools that will set them on a career path that will make it virtually impossible to pay off the loan. I don't think we should ever discourage or prevent students from getting degrees in the arts or other "worthless" degrees but if you are taking out loans for the degree how about we only let them go to cheaper in state schools and maybe even make them take their non-degree related pre-recs in community college. They still get to do what they want but they come out of it owing a lot less money.

We also need to get control of the crazy cost of college in this country. This is what happens when you have a virtually unlimited source of "free" money.

 

[highland145]

I have always been amazed at the fact that kids who are still in friggen high school are allowed to set in motion a plan that can saddle them with $100's of thousands of dollars in debt and to make it even worse it is one of the only debts not dischargeable in bankruptcy. To top it off we also let the same kids get degrees at the most expensive schools that will set them on a career path that will make it virtually impossible to pay off the loan. I don't think we should ever discourage or prevent students from getting degrees in the arts or other "worthless" degrees but if you are taking out loans for the degree how about we only let them go to cheaper in state schools and maybe even make them take their non-degree related pre-recs in community college. They still get to do what they want but they come out of it owing a lot less money.

We're in that boat now. The kid (11th grade) doesn't know what he wants to do, understandable. He is taking dual enrollment classes at the local tech (Eng101/102, Psych101, Sociology101) (Chem and Calc in the fall) but there's no guarantee that the college he chooses will accept them. We're willing to struggle to pay for a higher tier school but he has to understand that this is where the "shit" gets real. We're not there yet.

We also need to get control of the crazy cost of college in this country. This is what happens when you have a virtually unlimited source of "free" money.

Guaranteed by the fed. Stop that and student loans will drop. Eventually, ending with tuition costs dropping....or so I assume.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Guaranteed by the fed. Stop that and student loans will drop. Eventually, ending with tuition costs dropping....or so I assume.

Get out of here with your crazy mythical hoo-haw, next thing you know you will be telling us that supply and demand directly correlate with costs.

 

[highland145]

Get out of here with your crazy mythical hoo-haw, next thing you know you will be telling us that supply and demand directly correlate with costs.

Naw, just that the govt is apt to eff up water being wet.