The burden of student loan debt....

I found this article kinda worrisome, these schools that continue to increase tuition & push students into long-term debt are doing a disservice to the students and their futures...when will folks start to realize this??

NYT: Grads squeezed by student loan burden - Business - U.S. business - The New York Times - msnbc.com

BO has made the point time & time again that the ease of getting students should be considered one of his accomplishments...looks like he's crushing the next generation to me. I would submit that stressing the alternatives, though not necessarily the easiest path, may be the more responsible approach.

 

Yes yes. We all know how you struggled to get through college. You ate noodle ramen and drank paddy water. But a student loan isnt the problem is it? Its the not wanting to pay it back that messes up the recipient.

 

So, now you have a problem with folks who struggle? Really?

Actually it's the having to pay it back that is the problem, right? My guess is the world looks a whole lot different to a recent grad when they begin with a mountain of student debt as opposed to one who graduates debt free.

 

Mountain of student debt? A mountain really? Some cannot get there without a loan. So you take out a student loan and pay it back. Whats the problem? Its not like they are graduating at age 11. Theyre considered adults. Whenever you talk about higher education you seem to have a huge chip on your shoulder. And you act like its reprehensible

 

I'd like to know if student loans aren't acceptable, then what exactly is the alternative that would be acceptable?

 

Ummmm, maybe lower tuition? Maybe working to pay your way through?
A school or school personnel pushing students loans on the students is beyond irresponsible.

 

Okaaaaaaaay! Lower tuition? And if an institution can't pay it's bills they should simply run deficits? Lower tuition would be great but exactly who would pay the bills for the institution? Should PhD's work for free? They already work for far less that they'd make in the privte sector but you think they should take even less. I'd like lower gas prices. How about lowing gas prices? As far as working to pay for college, that is an option everyone has. That is their choice to make.

 

Well, don't dismiss the work option too quickly. We all know that people like you- people who's self-interest is served by corralling students- would put the work-to-pay tuition option waayyyyy down the list....reminds me of the window salesman we had out the other day- "Remember, we have financing options available"
And let's talk about those poor financially strapped colleges. We discussed this about a year ago & it was proven that colleges & universities are the single most profitable enterprise in this country. They profit on their day-to-day activities as well as benefit from trusts & endowments that are massive & at all-time highs. Now, every other business & household has had to make cuts & adjustments in these tough economic times, why not colleges & universities?

 

The silly thing about this entire thread is that you seem have far more of a grudge against Higher Education than you have actual knowledge of the institution and how it works. The argument you are making here makes absolutely no sense coming from your political persuasion since Right wingers are by in large anti-education at every level. They have cut both federal and state funding for high education every chance they have gotten including in the most recent budget battle. Whenever Republicans cut funding for students, no school has any choice but to raise tuition. Institution after institution that has had to have their employees at all levels take pay cut after pay cut to keep their doors open. That is pretty much the norm in Higher Ed these days. I don't know where you get this most profitable thing I already debunked in past threads but universities are nonprofits. Maybe you are thinking of private colleges which are about triple the price of state schools.

There are many ways to pay for a college education and all of them well worth the investment since the average college grad makes about 1 million more over their life time. Your parents can help, the government can help, you can pay your own way, or you might even get lucky enough to earn a scholarship but so few of those actually still exist, I wouldn't hold my breath. Both my wife and I paid college loans for 10 years and now we have put away enough money for all three of our kids. They will not have to pay student loans thanks to mom and dad. It would be helpful if they could get Pell Grants but the Republicans have pretty much killed those. The problem isn't Higher Ed. The problem is a lack of investment in education by the government thanks to short-sighted Republicans. They don't believe in investing in the future and you know this because they never use this phrase.

 

Nice try to re-direct the discussion but obviously I have no grudge against higher education, but you knew that didn't you?
The biggest challenge facing our country & every single citizen is debt. Be it credit cards, auto loans, student loans, etc. The article I posted simply served as a reminder of the burden of student loans.
Once again I'll clearly state that the problem I have with all of this is the selling of the student loan path as the best way to get an education. BO does it. Obviously I struck a nerve with you, dr moen, so I suspect you are one of these debt hucksters as well. When you are counselling one of your students do you offer them a credit card application as well?

 

Maybe you're as ignorant of student loans as you are of education in general, except for the word "maybe". A student loan is a government backed loan not a Higher Education profit stream. Do you remember when Obama changed student loans from bank based loans to government based since the tax payers assumed all of the risk and banks made all of the profits? What does that have to do with Higher Education?
I couldn't even tell you the number of tuition waivers, scholarships, low income assistance grants, paid internships and other financial giveaways my school hands out every semester. We all wish education was free but thanks to Republicans, that isn't going to happen soon or ever. If you really are concerned about student loan debt, I suggest you switch political parties and stop complaining about a problem that your political party is causing.
You might as well quit this argument now. You can't win an argument coming from the Right with its record of assault on education especially against someone that knows Higher Education as well as I do and can see exactly how little you know. Maybe you should start a thread about selling toilet widgets or some such junk. I'll concede that one to you in advance. You're just out of your league on this topic no matter what you post from NAPSI.
And it's not a re-direction to simply point out factual information. If you disagree with something I've said, counter it with specific opposing facts. A general dismissal is just pointless and speaks to your lack of knowledge more than anything.

 

Colleges offer a product, student loans are a tool to help sell the product. So who benefits? That's right, the school gets to sell their product and they do it with little or no regard to the impact it has on the student further down the road. Same deal as the window guy who tried to upsell me by making financing affordable, same as the car lots who sell you more car than you can afford by making the payments affordable. Loans should be the last resort to attaining higher education. I'll wager that every single person who graduated without student loan debt is happy about it while the overwhelming majority of grads with student loan debt wish they didn't have it.
Now, dr moen, I realize your livelihood is vested in easy-to-obtain financing of one's education so you can't look at it objectively but I can. Allow me to remind you, both my wife & I are college grads with our masters and my wife has now returned to nursing school. In addition, we fully expect our kids to get their degrees, so to twist this into some kind of anti-education campaign is obviously beyond silly. My message is one of anti-debt & I do not believe ultra-profitable colleges & universities are above the same criticism leveled at banks & credit card companies or even payday loan companies.

 

Like I said, most people wish education was completely free. It used to be substantially cheaper years ago but education does come at a cost just like your windows, your cars, and everything else of value. I just can't figure out why institutions owned by the state and contolled by the state don't offer free education? Oh yeah! Republicans don't want to pay for education with their taxes so students must absorb more of the costs of education that the state and federal governments used to help with.

Again, coming from your side of the aisle, you really don't have a leg to stand on in this argument since you support those doing all the cutting including in this last budget deal. Sometimes undercutting your own financial best interests comes back to bite you in the a$$. This is just a case where you, and unfortunately many of the rest of us, have to live with the consequences of your choices and the greediness of those you support. Bon Appetit! You can stop blaming us for your failed ideology or switch parties and actually do something about the problem. Until then, whining isn't likely to do much.

 

Free education? We could give every high school senior who graduates, every year, 4 years of college (or trade school or tech school) for what the Great Tax Compromise costs. Not saying we should have considering our country's financial problems. But, which do you think would be better for the health of our country and its economy in the future...a generation who are vastly more educated and trained than any generation before it? Or the instant gratification 'go buy something' tax cuts they decided on?

 

Lots of colleges have relatively low tuition. Some are pretty good. A lot of S.U.N.Y. colleges for instance. I went to StonyBrook. Its not Pricnceton but its no Chaffee Communtiy College either. Of course all they teach is communism, socialism, the Jewish agenda, and Physical Education.

 

It seems like everytime I turn around they are raising the rates of college tutition. Glad I am past that stage but I do feel for the kids that are not going to be able to afford it at all. So they just do not go to college. that is pretty sad.

 

Then stop turning around.

 

Did the same thing. Two years at SCCC and two years at SUNY Stony Brook. No debt upon completion.

 

Do these student loan pushers earn commission?

 

Nobody pushes student loans! It is just a financial aid option. You really don't know jack about this issue.