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College students deal with a lifetime of debt
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | February 12, 2008 | Anya Sostek

Posted on 02/12/2008 5:09:19 AM PST by rightwingintelligentsia

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To: rightwingintelligentsia

Who’s holding a gun to the heads of these students and forcing them to stay away from inexpensive state colleges and universities? If you can’t afford a private college or university and you don’t want to incur eternal debt, go to state. That’s what it’s there for.


41 posted on 02/12/2008 5:47:19 AM PST by ottbmare
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To: Slapshot68
Yea, I did too.
Go to a state college, work as much as possible, live off top romon noddles, and quit your belly aching.
This stupid woman has a great job and she is complaining about 250 a month to pay back student loans - get over yourself already.
42 posted on 02/12/2008 5:48:57 AM PST by svcw (The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.)
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To: ottbmare
If you can’t afford a private college or university and you don’t want to incur eternal debt, go to state.

That's what I did. I had the opportunity to go to more "prestigious" universities, but ended up at Penn State.

I did four-years of undergrad and then two-years of graduate study, and since I was one of the few of my peers who actually opted to live on my teaching stipend instead of taking out additional loans, graduated with a total debt of $1600.

but that was the 1980s. I realize that tuition, even in state schools, has gone up significantly since then.
43 posted on 02/12/2008 5:51:31 AM PST by rightwingintelligentsia (Bi-partisanship: Democrats and RINOs working together to screw up the country)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

Ms. Gonzalez, welcome to adulthood.


44 posted on 02/12/2008 5:52:18 AM PST by John Valentine
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To: SW6906

It sounds like a great program and I commend you for wanting to help pay for your children’s college.

I struggle to see why parents put everything in hoc because they feel like they should pay for their children’s college. :)


45 posted on 02/12/2008 5:52:59 AM PST by TSgt (Extreme vitriol and rancorous replies served daily. - Mike W USAF)
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To: Vor Lady; rightwingintelligentsia
It sounds like it never occured to her that she could double her payments and get rid of them sooner.

It's not like $273.61 is going to break her. But I suppose being a social worker, she does have problems being in touch with reality. I wouldn't be surprised that her car payment is more than that, and she spends that much on clothes and going out a month.

At that kind of pay rate for a single person, she ought to be able to pay it off ahead of time easily.

46 posted on 02/12/2008 5:53:52 AM PST by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: metmom

The article says she’s married.


47 posted on 02/12/2008 5:55:23 AM PST by rightwingintelligentsia (Bi-partisanship: Democrats and RINOs working together to screw up the country)
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To: ottbmare
Who’s holding a gun to the heads of these students and forcing them to stay away from inexpensive state colleges and universities? If you can’t afford a private college or university and you don’t want to incur eternal debt, go to state. That’s what it’s there for.

In a lot of places, the state run universities can be more expensive than their private counterparts because state run universities typically don't have (or don't use for scholarships) endowments like private schools.

Even some private schools with huge endowments don't use them to reduce the cost of tuition, and that's definitely a tragedy. As of 2006, my state university had a $1.3 billion endowment--up from $941 million in 2003. Over that same period, in-state tuition has gone from $4,756 to $7,837.

Why isn't that endowment being used to reduce tuition? Of course, I still get requests for money every year....

48 posted on 02/12/2008 5:58:41 AM PST by Publius Valerius
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

All the better — two people living together have less expenses than one person times 2.


49 posted on 02/12/2008 5:59:58 AM PST by ProfessorGage
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To: rightwingintelligentsia
Neglected here is the effect of inflation. Every year that “ Two-hundred seventy-three dollars and sixty-one cents a month” will be worth less.

I have a suggestion for Ms.Gonzolas:

When I graduated, I owed what it would cost to buy a townhouse. My husband also had education debt. Within 10 years of graduating, my husband and I were completely debt free, and we **owned** our home.

How did we do this?

Answer: We continued the same frugal living practices that we used to survive undergrad and grad school.

50 posted on 02/12/2008 6:00:16 AM PST by wintertime (Good ideas win! Why? Because people are not stupid.)
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To: Arm_Bears
Get a job for which there is a real market demand

Exactly. So, put off driving that new car and make an earnest effort to pay off the debt ASAP.

More formulaic leftist diatribe.

51 posted on 02/12/2008 6:02:23 AM PST by Ouderkirk (Hillary = Senator Incitatus, Clintigula's whore...er, horse.)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

This article illustrates perfectly why newspapers are going the way of the dodo birds. This whine never should have made print.


52 posted on 02/12/2008 6:03:11 AM PST by Cenobite (Can't spell unethical without the U.N.)
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To: metmom
It’s not like $273.61 is going to break her.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I have a soda habit. I drink about $1.00 of soda a day. That adds up to $365 year.

I bet that woman has at least 10 bad habits, and unnecessary habits, in her life that would easily pay for $273.61 a month.

In fact, with a little imagination, a few eliminated bad habits, could probably completely pay off her school loan in 5 to 10 years.

53 posted on 02/12/2008 6:04:45 AM PST by wintertime (Good ideas win! Why? Because people are not stupid.)
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To: MikeWUSAF
My daughter is not going to get 100% paid by me. She will work before college and at least summers, if not during college.

As an engineer with a great job that you can't get without a degree, I am a firm believer that a college education is vital to getting ahead in this world. Heck, you can't even become a police officer in most places without a college degree of some kind!

I don't plan to "put everything in hock", we're not talking huge money here. The credits sell for $74 apiece right now, it takes 100/year of tuition. Four years~$30000, of which I already have over a year done.

54 posted on 02/12/2008 6:05:27 AM PST by SW6906 (6 things you can't have too much of: sex, money, firewood, horsepower, guns and ammunition.)
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To: Slapshot68

Same here. As the father of two teenagers, I am sorry to say those days are gone.


55 posted on 02/12/2008 6:05:51 AM PST by Sir_Humphrey (Scratch a liberal, find a communist)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

That’s what I did. I had the opportunity to go to more “prestigious” universities, but ended up at Penn State.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I was accepted to the University of Pennsylvania for grad school. I went to Temple.


56 posted on 02/12/2008 6:06:55 AM PST by wintertime (Good ideas win! Why? Because people are not stupid.)
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To: raybbr

“What percentage of students can do it this way? Could all? I doubt it.”

Could do it this way? I’d say a high percentage could stay at home, attend the local university and work for tuition.

Problem is most want the college “experience” over the education. I was fortunate enough to have parents that taught me to be self-sufficient.


57 posted on 02/12/2008 6:07:04 AM PST by Slapshot68
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To: rightwingintelligentsia
If you want a Masters degree at 25, or 24, expect debt to go with it.
You don't take that many classes in 6 years and still work a full time job to pay for your schooling.

If you want to wait till you're 34, or 35, for that Masters degree then we can talk about not having any debt to go with it.

58 posted on 02/12/2008 6:07:16 AM PST by Just another Joe (Warning: FReeping can be addictive and helpful to your mental health)
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To: MikeWUSAF

I’m looking at school costs now as my kids are getting older....I just don’t have the funds to completely pay for each child’s college. I will be able to help here and there but they are going to just have to work and go to school. I have to plan for retirement as well and I will not go into bank-rupsy over school loans!


59 posted on 02/12/2008 6:07:34 AM PST by mdmathis6
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

It’s morning. Missed that.

Then is should be easier to pay it off if her husband is working. A young married couple ought to be able to live on one income. If she made the effort, she ought to be able to pay that off in a couple years. She would save a fortune in interest rates and not ultimately pay 2-3 times the amount of the loan.

Obviously a dipstick. Thirty years is not *forever*, $273.62 a month is not a lot of money (unless you take all 30 years to pay it back), and they could budget instead of whine.

Why do I have this sneaking suspicion that this marriage is headed for trouble???


60 posted on 02/12/2008 6:09:06 AM PST by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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