Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I don't think the problem is students not understanding loans. When I was in high school, we were all told "go to college because that's how you get a good job." This was fine with me, it was my plan anyway, and I chose a college that was going to pay for my degree. However, not everybody got the same deal. It was still understood that you had to get your degree. Loans wouldn't matter once you graduated, you'd get a 60k+ / year job and loans would disappear.
We all know the reality. Getting a college degree does little to guarantee you a job. Where is the responsibility in the matter? Those high school students were in school to learn, and they learned that they needed a college degree. Therefore, shouldn't some of the responsibility be placed on those doing the teaching? (And teaching is broad here, meaning parents, guidance counselors, administrators and teachers, etc)
Here's the kicker though: I'd bet we're STILL doing this. We're essentially lying to our children. Yes, the numbers indicate that a person, on average, obtains a higher salary with a degree, but that is an average, not a guarantee.
This post is the truth. We are told we need to go to college by educators, administrators, politicians, guidance counselors and whole bunch of others. Anyone in our generation has heard some sort of the speech about going to college is important and you NEED it to get a job. However as we are seeing now, the juice is not exactly worth the squeeze.
I do see the difference is now you cannot get the 20-30K/year jobs much less the 60k+/year jobs now. Yet, loans continue to be issued for degrees and have gotten higher and higher due to the fact we now have higher costs to be a part of college due to state funding decreasing. Sky-rocketing costs have led us to have higher average loans over the past few years.
This post is the truth. We are told we need to go to college by educators, administrators, politicians, guidance counselors and whole bunch of others. Anyone in our generation has heard some sort of the speech about going to college is important and you NEED it to get a job. However as we are seeing now, the juice is not exactly worth the squeeze.
I do see the difference is now you cannot get the 20-30K/year jobs much less the 60k+/year jobs now. Yet, loans continue to be issued for degrees and have gotten higher and higher due to the fact we now have higher costs to be a part of college due to state funding decreasing. Sky-rocketing costs have led us to have higher average loans over the past few years.
On a general level the advice is sound. Unemployment is very low for college graduates and salaries are higher. Not every kid should be in college though. It is a fine goal to promote to academically talented students. At a certain school quality level and/or student loan debt going to college becomes a bad decision.
Here is how a college student should approach college if he or she is footing most of the bill him/herself. Their entire approach should be to borrow as little money as possible to get a degree.
Unlike what the OP started: keep in mind, how many students starting college know what type of work they are entering into right out of college? Very few really know this at the onset.
If the college student does not have a real plan to pay for college other than with student loans, he or she should rethink his college strategy by going to a 2-year public community college first for much less money than what a 4-year public university or private college may cost.
After 2 years of college completed this same college student who saved a lot of money by going to a cheaper college should have a better idea how he/she will pay for the rest of college.
Too many college kids assume they will immediately find a "good-paying" entry-level job right out of college and make a huge financial mistake of borrowing way more money than they should for college in the first place.
I think financial literacy needs to be a core subject in school and people shouldn't be admitted to college unless they can demonstrate that they understand the terms of their loans on a test.
I think financial literacy needs to be a core subject in school and people shouldn't be admitted to college unless they can demonstrate that they understand the terms of their loans on a test.
What about those that go no further than a HS degree?
It has changed in the last few years, but nobody was considering the costs associated with college back in the early to mid 00s. It was completely off everyone's radar. There was a general feeling of "do what you like" and "go to the college you like the best". The financial aspects of things were never even discussed.
I have said this time and time again, with not many people agreeing: The government needs to get out of student loans. We need the interest rate on loans to vary based on the probability of payback. If you are an english major at a no-name college, you should pay an 18% interest rate. If you are a computer science major from MIT, you should have a 3% interest rate. We need to set up a structure so that student loan interest rates manage the inherent risk of the loan.
We don't give mortgages to people with poor credit scores, why should we give student loans to people with a high risk of default?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
