Survey Indicates Students Clueless about Student Loan Debt

[Train]

I am confused. How can you not know you had debt? I can understand being a little fuzzy on the fine print, but do they seriously think money just magically appears in their account?

Pretty much. A friend went to work as an admissions handler for a small (private) college. She helps people get thier federal aid, loans, etc, but usually students will end up paying at least some of their costs out of pocket. She literally has had people sit there, go through the entire admission process, and then say things like "I have to pay to go to college?"

 

[trungma]

Well, waaaaaaay back 1982-1986, Clemson was $20K for all 4 years. Beer excluded.

Hmm, I paid that same amount in Ontario, Canada for my engineering degree. Garduated in 2001. Best investment I ever made.

 

[7window]

Would be nice to have some suggestions on this thread on the best way to circumvent or an efficient way to go to college

 

[Gigantopithecus]

Would be nice to have some suggestions on this thread on the best way to circumvent or an efficient way to go to college

Don't go unless/until you have a good idea of what you want to do for a living and know the only way to do it is to go to college. Make damn sure that the cost of the degree is worth what you can reasonably expect to make at the end of your education. For example, another poster wisely stated earlier in the thread that a degree in music is a terrible choice if you have to pay for it - but if you get it for free like their kid is, then while it might not be the most employable training in the world, at least you're not starting in a hole.

 

[7window]

Don't go unless/until you have a good idea of what you want to do for a living and know the only way to do it is to go to college. Make damn sure that the cost of the degree is worth what you can reasonably expect to make at the end of your education. For example, another poster wisely stated earlier in the thread that a degree in music is a terrible choice if you have to pay for it - but if you get it for free like their kid is, then while it might not be the most employable training in the world, at least you're not starting in a hole.

Is an computer, aeronautical or electrical engineering degree that cost $25000 a year worth it at university of arizona?

 

[RPD]

Is an computer, aeronautical or electrical engineering degree that cost $25000 a year worth it at university of arizona?

Most likely, no.

 

[7window]

Most likely, no.

Care to elaborate?

 

[xSauronx]

You had to look that up?

use it or lose it. ive seen the equation but its been at least two years since ive seen it, so theres no way in hell im going to remember it off the top of my my

i remember i=prt but thats for simple interest, iirc.

 

[alent1234]

Would be nice to have some suggestions on this thread on the best way to circumvent or an efficient way to go to college

Us army gi bill and/or college fund

If you go to medical school some small towns in rural areas will pay your tuition if you practice there for a few years

 

[BoomerD]

Survey Indicates Students Clueless

This is far more accurate than the OP's title.

It's not just their student loan info that students are clueless about.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

you also have to look at the school you graduated from and your grades and compare to potential salary

i'd rather my kid go to harvard and law/medical school and rack up $200,000 in debt than your average state/city/community college and come out debt free.

my wife knew someone in HS who went to stanford. i think she had a 100% scholarship but even then she had job offers in the top 1% salary range before she graduated. taking out a lot of loans for that kind of education is more than worth it

Fair point. Im graduating from cal poly slo, great bang for the buck college. I would for sure have gone into debt if I had been accepted to a better school that cost more.

 

[SaDiZTiKStyLeZ]

I'm certainly no expert, but seeing what you post here and in other threads I think you probably suffer from depression, maybe other things. I advise you to seek help. Not kidding around or joking.

I do. the few therapists I've went to sucked & didn't really provide me much of any help.
I was hospitalized last summer for the depression, short-term relief aside, it was more trouble than it was worth. Missed out on a very promising employment opportunity during my stay. Made no friends or social associations that lasted outside of the walls. Debt is a major contributing factor, so that $8K was definitely not worth it at all.
If I was where I should be in life, at least I'd have more important shit to stress & be depressed over.
A job that had some sort of benefits like insurance & such would be nice, something to take edge off cost to see a therapist/psychologist.
Only thing I've come to realize is that it's just best I keep mind & body as busy as possible to keep my mind from dwelling on not so great stuff.

 

[RPD]

Care to elaborate?

Because you get can get one for a hell of a lot less than that else where.

 

[7window]

Because you get can get one for a hell of a lot less than that else where.

such as? In state is very competitive and impacted.

 

[xSkyDrAx]

such as? In state is very competitive and impacted.

What I think he's trying to say other than it cost a lot is that it's a big risk/reward type decision on your part.

To be honest no one on the forum can give you the exact advice you will need because we don't know how interested you are in those fields and how good you are at them.

Also are you planning on paying all 100k (assuming 4 years) out of your own pockets/with loans? Do you have any scholarships or grants?

The idea is you are paying 100k upfront now in hopes that when you graduate you will be able to easily pay that back. If you honestly feel that a situation like that would play out in your favor then by all means go for it.

If there are factors that make this situation less than ideal for you, maybe you should contemplate a less risky means of achieving your goals.

 

[shortylickens]

I like college girls.

 

[7window]

What I think he's trying to say other than it cost a lot is that it's a big risk/reward type decision on your part.



To be honest no one on the forum can give you the exact advice you will need because we don't know how interested you are in those fields and how good you are at them.

Also are you planning on paying all 100k (assuming 4 years) out of your own pockets/with loans? Do you have any scholarships or grants?

The idea is you are paying 100k upfront now in hopes that when you graduate you will be able to easily pay that back. If you honestly feel that a situation like that would play out in your favor then by all means go for it.

If there are factors that make this situation less than ideal for you, maybe you should contemplate a less risky means of achieving your goals.

Actually not trying to get exact advice but just gathering opinion and weighing it. To answer your question an average student with a 3.7 gpa

"Also are you planning on paying all 100k (assuming 4 years) out of your own pockets/with loans? Do you have any scholarships or grants?"

Fafsa, hopefully some scholarship and grants.

 

[Jadow]

Ugh, if it weren't for loans tuition would be lower. There would be less seat warmers there who can't even figure out that loans aren't "free" money. Colleges are spending like $50m here $75m there for new buildings and renovations to accommodate all the seatwarmers. College attendance is up, graduation rates are not. This will not end well circa housing 2005.

well put. I think it would be a good thing if the govt cut back on the availability of these low interest loans. the lower supply would drive costs down.

When I went to school, I went to a very well respected state school, and just by working part time 20-25 hours a week, I was able to cover tuition. That same school cost $3k a year in 1996, now it's over 10k. Tuition has WAY outpaced inflation.

 

[Baked]

I paid off all my student loan while I was still in school.

 

[hans007]

Is an computer, aeronautical or electrical engineering degree that cost $25000 a year worth it at university of arizona?

Itll be worth it. Though obviously it depends where you got in. 25k is typical for schools and those are useful degrees to get but 25k at say mit would be more worth it for example

 

[LegendKiller]

I agree 100% that students have no concept of what their debt means, especially in context of the average salary of the degree they are pursuing. I think it should be mandatory that inbound college students take and pass a personal finance class in HS.

I certainly had no idea what 22k in student loans meant to my psych degree, at least not until I was close to graduating and had to realize that I either accumulate another 60k+ to get a PhD or go to b-school to do something better.

This whole loan situation needs to be fixed, ASAP. Lenders must underwrite to the majors. We have way too many art history grads with 50k in debt going to private schools, it's a fucking nightmare.

 

[jagec]

Is an computer, aeronautical or electrical engineering degree that cost $25000 a year worth it at university of arizona?

University of Arizona
$9,200 in state
$25,500 out of state.

First off, WHY ON EARTH would you go out of state, vs. moving to Arizona for a year and working to get the in-state rate, PLUS some money in the bank?

Second, U of Arizona is #49 in engineering and #128 overall (US News & World Report). Not horrible, but not outstanding either. Can you get in anywhere better?

What about your home state school, are they any good?

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

First off, WHY ON EARTH would you go out of state, vs. moving to Arizona for a year and working to get the in-state rate, PLUS some money in the bank?

FWIW, I looked into doing this in ~2003 and the residency requirements were so ridiculous that I would have never been able to get it.

 

[Leros]

My student loans were a bit confusing. I took out a loan each semester. The way the program worked is that each semester's loan was provided by a different random bank in the region. So I had 8 separate loans from 8 banks, but it wasn't that simple.

Some of these loans changed hands multiple times before I graduated (upwards of 4 times). Some of my loans were bought by the same bank, consolidated into one loan, and then sold again.

It was fairly confusing. I started out with 8 loans at 8 different banks. If you add up all the exchanges, I had up to about 20 different loans in total at who knows how many banks. When I graduated, I had 5 loans at 3 banks.

This all happened outside of my control. I would just get letters that my loans had been transferred or consolidated.

 

[LegendKiller]

My student loans were a bit confusing. I took out a loan each semester. The way the program worked is that each semester's loan was provided by a different random bank in the region. So I had 8 separate loans from 8 banks, but it wasn't that simple.

Some of these loans changed hands multiple times before I graduated (upwards of 4 times). Some of my loans were bought by the same bank, consolidated into one loan, and then sold again.

It was fairly confusing. I started out with 8 loans at 8 different banks. If you add up all the exchanges, I had up to about 20 different loans in total at who knows how many banks. When I graduated, I had 5 loans at 3 banks.

This all happened outside of my control. I would just get letters that my loans had been transferred or consolidated.

I had a similar situation happen to me. Ever check your credit score b/c that? Mine was down 150pts just because I had so many "open" accounts. When I was going to grad school I had private and federal loans, every semester I had 2 of each loans issued, through 7 semesters I had 14 loans plus another 2 from undergrad.