I Judged Student-Loan Borrowers … Until I Became One. If loan dollars are to flow, borrowers should be made to understand the terms.

James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal ^ | November 18, 2022 | Joseph Warta

[cyclotic]

Cool. Mine is an Astronautical Engineer. He didn’t intern during college, he had an actual job at NASA during college which fully funded his last few semesters. Upon graduating he remained at NASA, for a contract company like most but moved to a different mission.

[SamAdams76]

I suppose once could ask for the statement to be mailed. I'm pretty anal about my finances. The first of every month I do a net worth on myself and check every balance. Keep it all in a spreadsheet. I have the remaining principal on my mortgage down to the penny and project my future retirement income based on how my investments did the previous month.

So I prefer going online because it works well for me.

[cyclotic]

I like your plan too. We’ve got four kids. Two have associates and are doing fine career wise. Then the engineer. Number four spent exactly $1,000 for his career path. He got his CDL and is currently operating a flatbed semi. I think he’s somewhere in Ohio today.

[lastchance]

I am sure the terms are kept as vague as possible within the confines of applicable laws. Plus there are probably numerous false assurances about ease of repayment. Still federal loan forgiveness is the wrong way to go.

[blackdog]

We share an overlay of our young’uns there. Nice.

[Michael.SF.]

All ‘student loans’ should be paid directly to the school to cover: tuition, Books, meal plans or student housing. How much of those loans are actually being used for non school related purposes?

[lastchance]

Did you even read the article?

[blackdog]

A journeyman card in plumbing or electrician is the perfect cherry on the top of a four year college degree.

[ExTxMarine]

DING! DING! DING!

We have a WINNER!!

The issue isn't that college loans are difficult to understand. The REAL issue is that most kids graduating HIGH SCHOOL don't understand finances! That's a failure of our education system...not the colleges.

The colleges are offering kids a chance to get away from and out from under their parents; THAT is the major draw of college (oh and the BS promise of great fortune upon graduation)! But even more important about this whole debacle is that most 18/19-year-olds are not worried about those loans...they are worried about getting into their first college party or frat or sorority! They are NOT thinking that less than 50% of their graduating class will make more than $80K a year in the first ten years after graduation!

[gundog]

Maybe they could, like, you know, write them down? And, like, the borrower could, like, you know, read them....and, like sign the paper, saying they, like, you know...understood....

[ExTxMarine]

Living below your means is pretty cool.

It sure helps when inflation hits!!

[dakine]

“The same could be said about anything else.
1.Most people couldn’t tell you within 20% what principal remains on their mortgage.
2.Or their credit card debt.
3.Or what is sitting in their 401k account.”

FR folks’ responses:
1. Zero
2. Zero
3. Zero

[Flatus I. Maximus]

It’s almost impossible to send a kid to college now *without* going through the whole FAFSA student loan rigmarole and accepting a loan. I had that problem with my youngest, or rather with the financial aid office. “No, he doesn’t need to fill out a FAFSA application. No, you don’t need to see my last three years of tax returns. No, he doesn’t need financial aid. I am going to *write a check* for his tuition.”

It was crazy talk. They’d never heard of such a thing. We had to escalate it way up the chain before they finally decided that yes, they would accept *money* for tuition.

[SamAdams76]

My response as follows:

1. A little
2. Zero
3. A lot

[LibWhacker]

Each summer they ought to be required to pay back a portion of their loan for the previous academic year, say 15%? Don’t pay and you get kicked out of school and all the letter grades for all the classes you’ve completed go down as big fat F’s.

[Flatus I. Maximus]

Yep. Same story here. The best education our kids got was that they had to *work* for what they wanted and do without stuff they couldn’t afford.

[Valpal1]

No, parents don’t, but the lenders want them to as co-signers.

[Flatus I. Maximus]

For that to happen would require educators first to be able to manage their own finances. Frankly, most PhDs I’ve known can’t balance their own checkbooks.

[TexasGator]

“and project my future retirement income based on how my investments did the previous month.”

A projection on one month’s performance is meaningless.

[blackdog]

My kids (young adults) call it “Spartan Life”. Simple, focused, uncomplicated.