Posted on 07/09/2021 8:24:00 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,
Financially Hobbled for Life
Unable to discharge debts in bankruptcy, students with useless degrees, especially master's degrees are Financially Hobbled for Life.
Recent film program graduates of Columbia University who took out federal student loans had a median debt of $181,000. Yet two years after earning their master’s degrees, half of the borrowers were making less than $30,000 a year.
The university is among the world’s most prestigious schools, and its $11.3 billion endowment ranks it the nation’s eighth wealthiest private school.
Lured by the aura of degrees from top-flight institutions, many master’s students at universities across the U.S. took on debt beyond what their pay would support, the Journal analysis of federal data on borrowers found. At Columbia, such students graduated from programs including history, social work and architecture.
Undergraduate students for years have faced ballooning loan balances. But now it is graduate students who are accruing the most onerous debt loads. Unlike undergraduate loans, the federal Grad Plus loan program has no fixed limit on how much grad students can borrow—money that can be used for tuition, fees and living expenses.
Panic Attack
“There’s always those 2 a.m. panic attacks where you’re thinking, ‘How the hell am I ever going to pay this off?’ ” said 29-year-old Zack Morrison, of New Jersey, who earned a Master of Fine Arts in film from Columbia in 2018 and praised the quality of the program. His graduate school loan balance now stands at nearly $300,000, including accrued interest. He has been earning between $30,000 and $50,000 a year from work as a Hollywood assistant and such side gigs as commercial video production and photography.
“We were told by the establishment our whole lives this was the way to jump social classes,” said Matt Black of an Ivy League education. Instead, he said he feels such goals as marriage, children and owning a home are out of reach.
Grant Bromley, 28, accumulated $115,000 in federal loans while getting his Master of Arts in film and media studies at Columbia. Mr. Bromley earns around $16 an hour and can’t afford to pay down his loan balance, which is $156,000, including undergraduate debt and interest. “It’s a number so large that it doesn’t necessarily feel real,” he said.
Highly selective universities have benefited from free-flowing federal loan money, and with demand for spots far exceeding supply, the schools have been able to raise tuition largely unchecked. The power of legacy branding lets prestigious universities say, in effect, that their degrees are worth whatever they charge.
Who's Offering Useless Master's Degrees?
The answer is the same as who's offering useless degrees in general: They all do.
Where the heck is someone with a master's degree in stagecraft, art, history, political science, photography, English, foreign language, culinary arts, etc., etc., etc., supposed to get a job that will pay the bills?
A few will get lucky, the rest will be financially hobbled for life.
Dear President Biden, You Need an Education, Starting With the Meaning of "Free"
I had no idea the above article was coming out today. Yet, I mentioned an aspect of it yesterday in Dear President Biden, You Need an Education, Starting With the Meaning of "Free"
George W. Bush signed the "Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005" making student debt uncancellable in bankruptcy. Guess what happend?
Biden's solution of course is a "free" money student debt forgiveness program.
Student debt is not dischargeable in bankruptcy so the cost of programs soared along with the willingness of universities to promote useless degrees for the masses.
Administrators and teachers who make more when enrolments rise piled on. And of course the unions piled on encouragements in need of money to support ridiculous pensions.
With the money pouring in, the salaries of football coaches and administrators soared.
Don't forget mainstream media parroting the need for everyone to get a degree with no mention ever that most degrees are worthless.
Endowments
Columbia University compares its endowment program to that of other bigger schools. Donate, donate, donate is the mantral.
Don't Donate a Penny!
Endowment money is not for students, it's a slush fund for administrators, coaches, and their pension plans.
Solutions
Biden's Free Education Program
Instead of doing anything that makes any sense, Biden's proposes "free education" as does Elizabeth Warren and Progressives in general.
The problem is "free" someone is paying for the building, the teachers, the coaches, the staff, the administrators, and the pension plans.
Make it "free" and there is no limit on any of the above.
"Free" is the typical proposal, but "free" is never the solution in practice.
Mish
I remember from back in the day it was revealed that SMU’s art school had endowments greater than all the rest combined.
I’m cynical enough to wonder about how much of the arts actually needs anything beyond what some community college can provide for a relative pittance.
“So, it works for some people.”
Key word: talented
I had a roommate that was in law school after engineering degree.
He said law school was a walk in the park. Filled with a bunch of no-talent dummies with wealthy parents.
I’ve always wondered what ever happened to Benjamin and Elaine after they eloped....
Somebody should do a sequel.
“Financially Hobbled for Life,” AKA Slavery.
RE: Any useless degrees, especially master’s degrees are Financially Hobbling for Life.
Hey, my daughter, who has a Bachelor’s Degree in International Business and Finance, Got a Master’s Degree in Business Analytics and Data Science at NYU ( partly paid for by the company that she worked for ). She currently works for a larger Big 4 firm with a six figure salary ( a $50,000 jump from her previous salary after graduation ).
It really depends on WHAT you major in.
Old aphorism:”Never blame the booster for what the sucker does”
If you are so damn dumb as to sign up for these academic rip offs you get what you deserve.
“Recent film program graduates of Columbia University who took out federal student loans had a median debt of $181,000.”
Here’s another plan:
1) At age 18 go to work for a strong and popular fast food organization such as McDonalds, ChickfilA, Panara Bread, or In and Out. Show up for work on time, perform well and in 6 months ask to go into the management training program.
2) As a trainee, live below your means, work hard, out perform your peers. Within 2 years you’ll be managing a store for a franchisee or the parent corporation.
3) Continue to save your money. Apply to buy a franchise. When offered one, do your homework, study the community and the location. Assess the potential for long term growth.
4) Assuming your due diligence checks out, pay cash for the franchise fee and borrow the money for the assets. Work your butt off for 3-5 years and pay off the debt while growing the business. Ask to buy another franchise.
5) Rinse and repeat. Continue living below your means and accumulating productive assets.
Over your working career you will earn money and accumulate more wealth than 99% of Columbia film graduates. The money you borrow, to buy physical assets (building, land, equipment) will produce real value, whereas for most the master’s degree from Columbia will produce nothing of value.
One of the wealthiest people I know, who happens to be an African American, went to work for McDonalds in high school at age 16. Today he owns 5 McDonalds franchises at age 55, has a wonderful family, and did it by having goals and working hard to achieve them. He does not have an Ivy League degree, nor did he incur debt from earning one. He is also better educated, and has more common sense, than most of the Ivy League grads I know.
Yes, one can still be successful in America, no matter the color of your skin, and without a college degree.
I can’t imagine the marriage lasted long. Knowing your husband had an affair with your mother had to weigh heavily on young Elaine despite her attraction to Benjamin. Thanksgivings must have been brutal....
‘My Masters Degree in Medieval Plumbing has yet to pay off.’
really...? what was your salary for the past fecal year...?
Two years of Community College, 2 years of state college. Take a job at a reputable company and most will pay for your masters degree.
RE: Take a job at a reputable company and most will pay for your masters degree.
You hit the nail on the head. See Post #27 above
By giving them a “Diploma” in nothing important they think they now have a brain as the Scarecrow did.
“pick a good career”
Knowing what each of those purple dots in the debt compared to income chart would be a helpful means of career choice picking.
Make the university liable for unpaid student loans that were used at their institution.
An MBA from a high profile business college can pay off in different ways. If you are attending an in class school the contacts you make in an MBA program can be useful later on in your career. Professors encourage this form of networking.
It's something called delayed gratification.
Those who borrowed, lived high on the hog, and struggled to pay off the debt afterward get no sympathy from me.
As I told my children: Going into debt is like taking the canoe out with the tide and coming back against it.
It would be much cheaper to get a degree overseas. Many European colleges will let you finish in 3 years too.
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