Posted on 04/30/2011 7:47:27 PM PDT by Captain Peter Blood
Today I had lunch with my sister and nice to discuss college plans. She will be graduating next month and we haven’t finalized plans on where she is going.
She is a very good student with 3.5 GPA but is not a good standardized test taker, in that she takes after her uncle.
Her first choice for school is the University of Arkansas in our home state. Main problem has been that the university requires a minimum of 19 on the ACT and her best score of the several she has taken has been 18.
So we have been exploring other options on where to go, mainly schools that have a lower Act requirement.
My Sister and niece have been looking at out of state schools, which is fine, but you then have to factor in out of state tuition costs.
So today I get an idea of the costs involved in going to college and sticker shock hit me.
Today’s college costs bear no resemblance to those I experienced when I was an undergrad. Costs have been going up but it’s obvious that the rises in costs outstrip even those of medical or inflation.
I find out today that to go to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, carrying a full load, 18 hours, will cost approximately $20,000 a year. To go to ,say the University of Mississippi at Oxford, about $30,000 a year.
As some of you might know the only growth in loan activity, which has exploded, is student loans. Sallie Mae loans are now totally controlled by the Federal Government thanks to bill passed within the last two years and signed by Mr. Obama.
The fact of the matter is that unless you have a college fund started when a child is born or very wealthy parents the cost of going to college are out of reach for the majority of those that want to go.
Ergo the only choice you really have is student loans, which you become saddled with for the rest of your life, unless you pay them off in a timely manner.
The average kid is probably looking at about $100,000 or more of student loans when they leave school. Of course they give wonderful easy payment options as I found out when I checked the Sallie Mae website. Also they make very easy to apply and get those loans.
As far as I am concerned it’s an insidious plot designed to put these kids on the hook. The Federal Government has become the local loan shark of last and only resort.
It’s not possible for a kid to work and put themselves through school in this day and age without having financial help in some aspect.
Because of the easy loans and the mantra being bandied about that everyone should be able to go to college it’s an easy trap to fall into, or rather shoved into.
Still have to sort all this out but I would say that in the end it’s like Las Vegas, the odds are with the house i.i. The Federal Government, we may have to consider those student loans if my niece wants to go and have that opportunity for a college education.
You’re right. Too many of these kids are coming out of college with huge loans and useless BA degrees. Where were their minds? My daughter is in her third year of a PharmD program and the college savings are spent. When she finishes in a year she will have been in school six expensive years. She’s now on a combination of scholarships, grants, pharmacy tech earnings and loans. The job will have to go when she starts clinical rotations for a year this June. Thank God she is in a field with good income potential and can pay the loans off quickly. It’s brutal for most of these students.
About 3 years ago I took my niece on the rounds of colleges she was interested in here in Oregon (I was letting her dream)....she’s a smart kid, but these were all pretty much LIbERAL schools, and she really wasn’t choosing anything specific. The one she really wanted had only about 25 slots for freshmen....Behind her back I advised her parents (who were not able to pay much for her education) to advise HER to not go to school at any of the schools she looked at. She is now attending a State University (in state) and living at home, and has a part time job.....probably getting a fine education and figuring out what she really wants to do. I did NOT want her saddled with debt when she graduated....and she won’t be. I think she’s probably mad at me for not helping her, but she’ll thank me later!
I have three nephews buried in student loans, all in their early twenties. My sister evidently encouraged them to do it. I don't get it.
I have a son at Hillsdale College. He was able to earn a half-tuition scholarship, but still, he’ll owe (the school) about 30K in student loans by the time he graduates. To us, that seems like a HUGE amount, but compared to the 100K+ stories others report, it’s not completely out of line. He’s getting an amazing education there, one that I’m convinced he could not receive anywhere else in the country.
To keep the costs down he is working over the summer and during the school year, contributing about $4K of his own money a year. While at school, he lives on $30.00 spending money a week, which includes gas(!), snacks, entertainment, toiletries, meds, etc. . It’s not always easy when he’s surrounded by kids who come from very well-off families but he’s enlightening them about the virtues of thrift stores
:)
If he didn’t have that scholarship, he would not be there, plain and simple. He would be at a local university and living at home at $9K/year.
We have a younger son who has learning issues and doesn’t test well (and doesn’t especially like to study, either). Unless something changes, he will not be going to a residential private school. We just will not allow him to get into that kind of debt. Just imagine being 100K in debt and then marrying someone with 100K in debt!! That is a recipe for endless financial ruin.
For those who have kids still in high school (or even younger), I urge you to encourage your kids to earn college credit by participating in AP, CLEP, or dual-credit classes at your local college. It can save a boatload of money. My son had 28 credits and was classified as a sophomore when he entered Hillsdale because spent his senior year at the university, earning both high school and college credit, all paid for by the state. His friend did this for three full years! What a great deal!
If your school doesn’t offer this or you homeschool, you can still earn college credit by taking CLEP tests. www.collegeplus.org is a service that offers to walk you through the process (though a family can certainly do this on their own).
All student loans are now owned by the government.
Obama suggested a while back making indentured slaves out of people who owe student loans, only he called it "government service" to make it sound noble.
I have a daughter that is graduating this summer from HS.
She doesn’t want to go to college yet, but I have been watching and reading about this student loan scam.
It is awful.
“In the past decade, student loan debt ballooned over four-fold. In 1977, about $1.8 billion was borrowed. By 1989, it was $12 billion, and in 1996 $30 billion. According to the Student Loan Debt Clock, its cumulative principle and interest exceeds $877 billion, surpassing credit card debt for the first time last June, and will exceed $1 trillion in early 2012.”
“As a result, student borrowers are greatly harmed by unmanageable loan demands. Along with inflation and annual tuition/fee hikes, most graduates face an enormous burden, with no consumer protections, even in default. Once entrapped, escape is impossible. Debt bondage is permanent, and future lives and careers are impaired.”
“Congress ended bankruptcy protections, refinancing rights, statutes of limitations, truth in lending requirements, fair debt collection ones, and state usury laws when applied to federally guaranteed student loans. As a result, lenders may freely garnish wages, income tax refunds, earned income tax credits, and Social Security and disability income to assure defaulted loan payments. In addition, defaulting may cause loss of professional licenses, making repayment even harder or impossible. Under a congressionally established default loan fee system, holders may keep 20% of all payments before any portion is applied to principle and interest due.”
“... relegated to lifetime debt bondage. “
http://warisacrime.org/content/permanent-debt-bondage-americas-student-loan-racket
Some tell of their children being hounded, even when they are dying, taking everything and demanding more. Some were children whose parent took the student loan, and the adult child is expected to pay for the parents loan.
This is debt slavery. No student debt for my child.
It isn’t easy but you can do it through community colleges. I would suggest that she go for an Associate’s Degree in something that will get her a good job. There are quite a few out there, especially in the medical field.
Think about it, starting off your career with 100K in debt.
Student Loan Payoff Calculator
Student Loans $99000.00
Annual Interest Rate 4.2%
Monthly Payment $400.00 Month
Calculator Results:
Student Loan Payoff Period 576 Months
Total Student Loan Payments $230320.17
Total Interest Paid $131320.17
And here is a site full of horror stories.
http://studentloanjustice.org/problem.htm
Maybe your niece can read some of this.
Apparently, only 1/3 of college graduates have no student. And the average student debt is $24K. It is a recipe to destroy the younger generation. It is evil.
Do whatever you can to avoid excessive student loans. If you can't earn the degree without more than about $50K in debt, look somewhere else. $50K is about the limit any kid can handle upon graduation. Less, of course, is better.
no student = no student debt, it should say.
We live in Michigan and fortunately have a lot of good state schools. Central Michigan will be $20.5k; no aid but here's where you can go for loans. Oakland University (a very underrated school in an upscale - and safe - Detroit suburb) is $16k with a small grant included. We are still waiting on the aid letter from Western Michigan.
Good luck!
I would not recommend student loans for undergraduate work especially for someone with an 18 ACT—unless its very minimal ie. would have payments of 100-200 per month. Unfortunately, there’s an oversupply of college graduates and there is no longer an expectation that a degree will parlay into a middle-class lifestyle. I would only suggest loans for law school, med school, a good MBA program or undergrad engineering ect. 10 posted on Saturday, April 30, 2011 11:01:41 PM by Fast Ed97
Given that low score on the ACT, I think the young lady ought to re-think her refusal to join the military. Lots of benefits flow therefrom.
Oh yeah, that would take 48 YEARS to pay off at $400, try to imagine that! 20 years at $600 and just a little over 10 years at $1000 a month.
As I read the comments, especially about the student loans scam, it raised the question: where is or was her school’s guidance department and/or your niece’s parents over the past four years? She’s graduating next month and only now looking at what her options are?
Her school’s guidance department should have a profile on each student. They should have had enough information by her sophomore year to know where she would and would not be accepted and even have discouraged her gently from trying a school way over her head. It’s imho educational malpractice.
And at some point it’s up to parents to talk with their kids early on about what they will and will not be able to afford for their college, not leave it as a last minute surprise. I’ve seen kids with sky high SATs (East Coast equivalent of ACT), superb GPA’s, Merit Scholarship semifinalists, and a boatload of AP credits who were accepted to Ivy League schools and the parents (after letting the kid apply) say no dice. Conversely, I’ve seen students with the same credentials whose parents told them from h.s. freshman year forward: you are going to a state school. I’d say the latter are better off.
The absolute worst thing is to burden a kid with that debt, especially from anything less than a top ranked school. That is nothing less than a sin.
If a student doesn’t qualify for scholarships (not need-based grants but merit-based scholarships), then I would recommend one of the following options:
1. Community college to get the basics covered. (Benefits of this approach include lower cost, a chance to get acclamated to college coursework without being inundated with all the rest of the college experience that can often overwhelm students.)
2. Get a full-time job — whatever kind of work you can get — and go to community college part time. (Benefits of this approach include getting real-world experience which will make course material more relevant and easier to learn, opportunity to get a head start in the labor market on your peers who are in school full time, and the opportunity to find career development and mentoring that has more value than the college experience. Also, in some cases employers reimburse tuition and fees for college courses that are related to the job, making the college education affordable.)
First, even though he is fully qualified to attend a major university, he is taking his first two years of education at the local community college. Cost of community college is $2,700 per year. If you earn less that about $120,000 the federal government will give you a tax credit of about $2,200 - so the net cost is $500 per year.
All of the major colleges will permit him to transfer the credits (up to the first two years worth) - so he will start the university as a junior.
While he is attending community college, he is working part time and banking all of his money for the university. He can go to a local university for the final two years for about $8,000.00 per year and continue to work his part time job which earns him in excess of that amount. (with the tax credit, his total tuition over the four years is only $13,000, while his total earnings will be in excess of $40,000. He will graduate from the university with no student loans and money in the bank.
Going away to college would cost about $20,000 and deprive him of the income needed to pay the tuition.
I have no problem with anyone going away to college, but to borrow 100,000 for the privilege makes no financial sense. Also, starting out your adult life $100,000 in debt is plain stupid.
Somehow, liberals have gotten it in their heads taht monopolies provide a better variety of services at lower cost than a fully competitive market. They are doing the same thing with health care.
I currently pay just over 2% on my student loan. The new and improved Obama Student Loan Monopoly charges 6%.
I was reading that if you are married to someone with student loan debt and they die you are still responsible for that debt.
My granddaughter hasn’t gotten her score for the ACT but she has a 4.5 GPA because she had been in all honors classes since she was a Freshman. She is active in everything and her teachers nominate her for everything. Her parents have already told her that, sans extremely good scholarships, she’s going to an in-state college.
Just wait until he starts demanding you provide "community services" to help repay your obligation.
I have heard the same about marriage to someone with college debt.
My daughter has been training since a young girl to do dance. It is getting to make or break time for her. She needs to get into a year around training program on a scholarship, or stay home and go to JC for a while. She has that artistic bent, and she has the potenial to make it. It is at this stage reliant on a director liking her. This summer will tell. I am not in a big hurry for her to start college. She is smart, yet her heart has never been in academics. If dance doesn’t work for her, she will need time to figure out what to do with her self.
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