Posted on 04/22/2013 11:11:01 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Having a choice is generally a good thing, and being able to choose among several college acceptances should be a wonderful thing indeed.
But lets face it: the cost of a college education these days ranges from expensive to obscenely expensive. So the decision is likely to be tougher and more emotional than most parents and children imagined as they weigh offers from colleges that have given real financial aid against others that are offering just loans.
While some students will be able to go to college only if they receive financial aid and others have the resources to go wherever they want, most fall into a middle group that has to answer this question: Do they try to pay for a college that gave them little financial aid, even if it requires borrowing money or using up their savings, because it is perceived to be better, or do they opt for a less prestigious college that offered a merit scholarship and would require little, if any borrowing? Its not an easy decision.
Its not just the sticker price and the net costs, said Sarah Turner, professor of economics and education at the University of Virginia. She added, How likely is it that you will get into medical school or law school or have some other opportunities if you choose the more prestigious college?
Thats the rational argument. In these decisions, though, emotion often wins out, and it can lead to the slippery slope of excessive borrowing.
Families really need to look realistically at what they can afford, said Lynn OShaughnessy, author of The College Solution and a blog of the same name. Sometimes, theyll look at a package and say, Its not enough, but we can sacrifice and send our children to the school
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Plus, underscoring something Peter Thiel said a while back — the higher education bubble isn’t about excessive optimism, but about fear: “Prestige has always been part of the equation, but he said he had expected parents to start looking for value in colleges after the 2008 financial collapse. Instead, parents have come to see the elite universities as the only way to give their children a chance at success. They feel jobs are hard to come by and companies are only going to look to hire at the elite universities.”
Law school option. Three more years of school so I can start out at $60,000 as an associate at a typical law firm, if I can even find a job. Debt: $150,000.
Med school option. Four more years of school and four of additional training so I can start out at $40,000 as a physician working for the Obamacare monstrosity doing assembly line medicine. Debt: $200,000.
Maybe I'll go into poli-sci and become a rich lobbyist....
>>, found that equally smart students had about the same earnings whether or not they went to top-tier colleges.<<
I have to go with this. When I am looking at resume’s of new candidates, I look at the degrees themselves, not so much the college (I do want to make sure it is accredited). Whether it is a Harvard or Pepperdine vs Cal State or SUNY I don’t really care (no offense to Cal State or SUNY alumnae).
And I didn’t mean to make “resumes” a possessive. Just stream of consciousness, I guess...
....or 0 years of college followed by 30K/year of welfare for life. Let’s see.....
RE: 30K/year of welfare for life.
Where are you getting that figure from?
“What is a yoot?”
LOL!
Just one example:
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/welfare-pays-better-than-work-study-finds-36000-a-year-in-hawaii/123
After welfare runs out, there is disability which is not hard to qualify for these days.
Mr. Gambini?
Vinny Gambini: Yes, sir?
Judge Chamberlain Haller: That is a lucid, intelligent, well thought-out objection.
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