1) False premise in the main article. Student loans are NOT the only route
2) The military is still giving ROTC scholarships
3) The military still offers the GI bill
4) Some companies offer tuition assistance
5) Community colleges offer lower costs
6) There is always the work and save program
7) And there are scholarships
Student loans are the ONLY debt you cannot escape through personal bankruptcy. Since the loans come from the federal government, people who take out student loans are making themselves indentured slaves to the federal government.
Discourage your niece from taking out ANY loans. Go to community college, take a couple extra years, whatever it takes, but DON'T go into debt.
A good way to cut costs is to attend community college for the first 2 years. There are agreements with the community colleges with 4 year schools to accept their graduates and their credits.
Find a good community college to send your kid to. She will get just as good an education at less than $5,000 a year. At your big name state or private colleges you are paying for professors that don’t teach, a bloated administrative staff, and generally a poor education in a liberal biased setting.
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.
I have one in college and one going next year. The first one worked for a scholarship to a trade program at our community college. He saves on room and board by living with us.
The other will be going to a community college mostly paid for by scholarships also. We will have to help a bit with her but neither will have debt when they graduate. Both are also working part-time to help pay their way.
Post # 4 by Abby4116 says it all. We put our child through this way. Never even considered letting the kid take on debt. No debt for any parties involved. Child is now working in field of study. Has the job that was dreamt of.
My Son is just graduating number 1 out of 500 with a 33 ACT. We are waiting for the financial "package" from Notre Dame where he wants to go and has been accepted. I know it's going to require me to borrow more money. I hate it but can't tell my son who has worked very hard, never less than an A including 2 years of AP credits, lettered in hockey and baseball, worked in the summer, that he cant go to the top college he earned a spot at.
I haven't been much help but I can commiserate with your dilemma.
Don’t go into debt for a college degree.
It’s not worth it now and it definitely won’t be worth it in a few years.
One caveat, Obama/Dems could forgive student loan debt.
But that would crush the banks so I don’t think they’d do that.
My son refused to wait for an opening in a community college, and went to a private school that arranged private financing. He now is in the Army Guard in Afghanistan, trying to pay off $30,000 in student loans. And no, he didn’t get a degree of any kind.
I think the student loan ^#$% is like a legalized loan shark, supported by the government.
Your niece should look into a community college. They are often the choice of students and their families. Costs are considerably lower, they get 2 years under their belts, learn how to handle college vs high school courses, then can transfer to a 4 year school to complete the degree.
I don’t know about AR, but in VA, a student who gets an AA degree from at a community college can transfer to the state university colleges. Those 4 year colleges have varying GPA requirements that have to have been achieved from the community college, with William & Mary and UVA having higher GPA requirements than others, but among the state schools, there are those that will accept GPAs down into the 2’s.
I also am an advocate of the British system of taking a ‘gap year’ to travel or work before entering college. I don’t think much of the pressure put on American kids to go right to college, ready or not. It isn’t for everybody, and a year to have some maturing through real world experiences can’t hurt.
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 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).
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
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.
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.
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.