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267 Comments
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -6/+95I accumulated about $80,000 USD in Student Loans. I would rather have had a house. The college education wasn't worth $80k. I learned more on the computer late at night by myself.
- insomniac8400, on 10/10/2007, -3/+46Anyone who has recently gone to college will agree with you. The degree is just something to put on your resume to meet a basic job eligibility requirement, but it's meaningless beyond that. 4 years of on the job experience would have taught way more.
- bratpack8, on 10/10/2007, -9/+41Why are education costs going thru the roof? Thank the government for massively inflating the money suppy. Why do we have student loans? Thank the government. Notice the key ingredient to this mess?
- trer, on 10/10/2007, -2/+33The problem with college nowadays is that too many kids are going who have no business going. There are way too many kids who view college as a paid four-year vacation away from home. Weekends start on Wednesdays and studying is rare. College should be for those students who actually dedicate time to studying, spend hours in the library, contribute to class discussion, and take notes during lecture (instead of buying them at the Student Union). Unfortunately, sometimes it seems like those types of students are outnumbered by the pot-smoking, beer drinking, frat boys and sorority girls that populate most college campuses. Universities need to tighten academic standings, not just to get in..but to STAY IN. Academic dismissal should be common in most universities because undoubtedly there are many "college students" who view college as another four years of high school instead of treating it as an institution of higher learning.
- InfiniteNothing, on 10/10/2007, -0/+28"I didn't the" what? Maybe you should have gone with the student loans.
- IceIX, on 10/10/2007, -2/+30In that case, I will take fries with that.
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -2/+26Ladies and gentlemen of digg, I'm just a caveman. I fell on some ice and later got thawed out by some of your scientists. Your world frightens and confuses me! Sometimes the flashing lights of your website make me want to get out of my cubicle.. and run off into the hills, or wherever.. Sometimes when I get a message in my email, I wonder: "Did little demons get inside and type it?" I don't know! My primitive mind can't grasp these concepts..
- dext3r, on 10/10/2007, -0/+21I went to community college for as long as I could. Way cheaper and the credits transfered, so I will have about half as much debt now. Sure you don't get "dorm life" or whatever going to community college, but who gives a *****. Boo hoo, I didn't get to live with jerks for 2 years and have them be complete slackers. awesome.
- veruus, on 10/10/2007, -1/+21Here's an idea. Stop trying to send everyone to college! The value of a college degree is being diluted. People are racking up 20, 30, 40, 50k (if not drastically more) and going from the graduation ceremony to their parent's house without a job! If someone has to be forced into going or given a big magical pile of money that "came from the gubmint" to go, then they probably shouldn't be going! It's okay for people to be plumbers and carpenters and welders.
- pintomp3, on 10/10/2007, -0/+16he's saying you need it to get the job in the first place, but what you learned is often not that valuable on the job.
- lewhich, on 10/10/2007, -0/+15I still haven't figured out why I went to grad school. Nobody has every asked me to show any of my two grad school degrees (MSc - AIT, COSC)
And I still owe $58k+ - canewediggit, on 10/10/2007, -1/+16hi, i'm troy mcclure. you may remember me from such diggs as "awesome pic of an lolcat on an iphone talking to ron paul" and "kevin rose gets naked on the couch with some beer!".
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -8/+23I BOUGHT PLASMA TVS INSTEAD OF SAVING MONEY FOR MY CHILDREN'S EDUCATION AND NOW I AM ON THE INTERNET COMPLAINING.
- aurigus, on 10/10/2007, -0/+14I have roughly $40,000 in student loans myself, which translates to about $450 a month payment. My parents did not give anything towards college so this was the only way I could attend. I would much rather be paying $450 towards my daughter's college fund but it is being spent paying off college debts. Tuition costs go up about 10% a year which is higher than inflation, and incoming class size keeps growing. As long as there is high demand for college education then the costs will keep rising.
Today's generation is going to be known as the "debt generation" if this keeps up! - pintomp3, on 10/10/2007, -1/+14what a wonderful system of virtual indentured servitude. you need the job to pay off your student loans and to get healthcare so you don't dare make waves. we put ourselves in precarious financial situations and end up obedient little worker bees.
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -1/+12Yeah but you can't get a piece of paper with your name and school's name on it.. that costs $80K.
- trer, on 10/10/2007, -0/+10Pipefitters start at 60K a year with full benefits. That pretty much beats most majors in college.
- FreakyD, on 10/10/2007, -0/+10Trades are an great job, it's unfortunate that people look down on them. In Canada we are having an incredible boom, they are paying trades people upward of $80,000 for electricians, plumbers, carpenters and even some painters.
- anodos, on 10/10/2007, -0/+10This generation is already known as the debt generation, we just don't admit it yet. 50 years from now, the historians will look back and write about how debt was a major cause of everything falling apart. Doom and gloom? I don't know... I just can't see how we are going to avoid paying the piper. Our country has so much debt on so many levels, from government to individuals. I have a feeling that when the piper comes, things will indeed fall apart.
- spyd3rweb, on 10/10/2007, -3/+12College is overrated I didn't learn anything I didn't already know. Plus you need to take so many random ***** classes its annoying and a waste of time. Tech school is much cheaper, and focused on what you want to do.
- Gogara, on 10/10/2007, -1/+10My parents are losing the mortgage on their house. House.... tuition... house.... tuition.... if you have money to spare, good job you didn't ***** up. If you are on hard times, however, there's a reason they call it the "poverty cycle."
- mattsx, on 10/10/2007, -1/+10Sorry to burst your bubble, but the market is a little more complicated than what you learned in your Econ 101 class.
- boxybrzown, on 10/10/2007, -1/+10Well, you don't get to pick your parents, so having somebody else pay your way is not a solution most people can rely on.
You sound like a responsible parent, but you are in the minority. - cmadach, on 10/10/2007, -1/+9There's an economic theory called the Screening Hypothesis that maintains higher education is a filter that identifies the ability to learn at a higher capacity. Through the employer's eyes, your university degree affirms that you are capable of being taught how to perform a job and not necessarily that you already posses the requisite skills.
- Namrok, on 10/10/2007, -1/+9No kidding. My parents put up 2 years of my room, board and tuition at college, and I'm thankful for even that. The last two years were on me, and I worked my ass off to minimize my loans. Graduated with 20k in debt, which I was able to pay off in 13 months by living on a budget from hell. The rates were just insane. But I don't expect it to have been any other way. It is what it is. Meanwhile my sister would act like my parents didn't love her enough because they didn't pay for the full 4 years of her college, binge drinking, sorority fees and all. Then my brother takes off to college with their good TV because his was too small. And his was actually the one I'd bought in college for less than $100 my second year after saving up tons of birthday money, which I gave to him after I graduated.
- insomniac8400, on 10/10/2007, -1/+9Government back student loans are better than private loans. Because the government ones are realistic. If student loans were completely privatized, and everyone defaulted the government would have to step in to bail them out just like the housing industry. By just backing them initially with the government we don't get the scare factor that trashes the stock market if a lot of people default.
- jostheller, on 10/10/2007, -1/+9"The degree is just something to put on your resume to meet a basic job eligibility"
This is a fairly generic statement for a wide amount of degrees. In IC/PLB design, every company I have ever worked at will not even consider someone for a position unless they have the degree. However the classes I took to acquire the degree were very useful and relevant to the position.
Financially speaking, my yearly salary is 7 times that of my student loans. And I paid for the education by working part time at a computer lab, and taking as much student loans as they would give me (the student loan covered tuition and books. The part time job paid my rent and food). You don't need to go to MIT to get the degree, many state schools are just as good. - smackhero, on 10/10/2007, -19/+26in college you're responsible for your own education. you get what you make of the resources the school provides, including classes, instructors, the campus culture, fellow students, student organizations and campus events/activities, etc.
maybe you should have gone to a technical college or trade school or perhaps just studied on your own if you aren't interested in the academic atmosphere that college provides. personally, i found college to be invaluable, not just in the knowledge i gained, but also the social bonds i made, the learning skills i picked up, as well as the intellectual environment which i thoroughly enjoyed. the experience itself provided lots of opportunity for personal growth as well. - yurishoujo, on 10/10/2007, -1/+8That's great, when did you go to college, five years ago? This article says prices are jumping 79% per YEAR. I have a good paying job, ten bucks an hour, and half my schooling is covered by grants and scholarships. I don't drive a car. I will still be horribly in debt when I leave school. Not as bad as some of my counterparts, but it's no chump change. The idea that college students are failing to get money due to laziness is just not true. It is incredibly hard to make 15-30,000 dollars in a year, let alone make that much and put it all towards college expense.
- UberNick, on 10/10/2007, -2/+9Great point. Universities generally aren't for skills-building at undergrad level. Technical schools are perfect for this, and if you'd rather go there for the piece of paper and some job skills, it'll save plenty of money and probably be a better fit.
I sympathize with webaddict for being gouged on a diploma. I'm personally even farther in the red, but I wouldn't trade that kind of experience and academic exposure for anything. - Namrok, on 10/10/2007, -2/+9Every school has two paths to the same degree. I know at mine, you could take the easy courses like Human Computer interaction and end up with a CS degree but no knowledge, or you could go for project and capstone courses and actually have desirable skills. You get out of college exactly what you try to get out of it. That aside, college really is more about proving you can learn, or learning how to learn as the case may be, than it is about learning a rigid set of skills. Thats the difference between a Computer Engineering Degree and a Technical Certification.
- dattaway, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7Yessir! I'm a heavy equipment mechanic with an electrical engineering degree. Turning a wrench gave me better job security, pay, and benefits over the years. A resume never got my foot in the door. Simply asking for "any" work did the trick.
- jeffiek, on 10/10/2007, -6/+13How 'bout the rest of the story. You know, the part where short supply and high price leads to NEW sources of supply. Works in other industries.
Magically, it doesn't happen in education and health care. Notice the key ingredient for both - massive government involvement.
Coincidence? Possibly, but I think I have a better chance of being hit by lightning. - InfiniteNothing, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7Because we can't hold kids responsible for their parents lack of planning?
- kweeket, on 10/10/2007, -2/+9So you're saying if your parents are poor, you don't deserve to attend college. People who don't go to college tend to have lower salaries (they have on average, half the lifetime earnings of a person with an BA degree). Therefore you will also be poor, and will also be unable to fund your children's education. This sounds like a class system diametrically opposed to the "American Dream".
A book called "Strapped: Why America's 20-somethings Can't Get Ahead" notes that the maximum Pell Grant award covered 3/4 of the costs of a four-year college in the 1970s, but only 1/3 today. In 1948, veterans received a grant of $500 a year, enough to pay for all but $25 of tuition at Harvard. Now the grant leaves $24,000 still needing to be paid towards tuition. Basically, our parents (and maybe you, depending on how old you are) had a lot of help from the government that isn't available now. The result was a rise in the middle class and economic prosperity. The middle class is now shrinking and class mobility is becoming more difficult. There are a lot of comments here about "personal responsibility" and "too much government" but I think ensuring our citizens are well educated is a net boon for the country overall and is well worth funding. - IADTatami, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6...wait, political agenda?
I can't help but notice that while I haven't mentioned any politicians in this thread, you mentioned Ron Paul not five posts up.
My agenda is to see the problems posed by our deficit of qualified doctors and engineers solved.
What we're doing now doesn't seem to be working that well. The socialist approach would seem to remove the economic barriers- ideally, the only thing that would keep someone from becoming a doctor would be their talent. - norman619, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6I'm guessing you never went to college. Most colleges teach you theory and nothing else. I left college with a Computer Science degree and most of the crap they "taught" me was useless. It was fun and all but education wise it was useless. I actually entered college knowing most of what I was supposed to learn there and then some. Hands on practical exp is more valuable than anything college can teach you. The degree only amounts to a very expensive admission ticket to the job market.
- Philbert, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6"every company I have ever worked at will not even consider someone for a position unless they have the degree. However the classes I took to acquire the degree were very useful and relevant to the position."
Agreed. I know that in my industry (3D animation / VFX) a degree means nothing really and a large number of people in this field never went to school. But I know that's an exception, not the rule. - Canister, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6Hmmm. I'll start a college fund for my kids about the time my own College loans are paid off. ...If I'm lucky, it'll be about the time my first kid starts college.
- jhnewt, on 10/10/2007, -3/+9I think parent's should NOT pay their children's college tuition. College should be about getting a good educational investment toward finding a job. It shouldn't be about a 4 year party on daddy's money. What better way to ensure this than buy making kids pay their own way. I did (and I'm still in debt but making a good income)
- jmpeagle, on 10/10/2007, -1/+7no, they wouldn't. Universities are about the best place you can go to to get your research funded. It is a lot harder to get at corporations as they are often looking for merely commercial interests. Universities are trying to improve their academic prestige. I found college very very useful because I was around intelligent people with who could help and give me ideas for research.
- TheShade, on 10/10/2007, -2/+8Truly is the new indentured servitude. Add ridiculous housing cost and the weakening dollar...oh man
- DangerCollie, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6"Why are education costs going thru the roof?"
I'd like to understand that myself. Why do goods and service increase by 29% and a college education goes up by 79%? Can't be explained by the money supply or inflation, that would all be equal. It's sure not teacher salaries. I used to teach community college part-time, the pay sucks. What components cost so much? Some of it is the cost of textbooks, there's a bandit industry. But that can't account for all of it. - Chompy, on 10/10/2007, -4/+10Agreed. When I first went to college, I didn't have a car, so I took a job at frigging Hardee's because it was within walking distance. Later I got to a retail job via public transportation. First lesson: nobody is too good to work as a cashier at Hardee's. Suck it up, find a job anywhere, and reduce your expenses as much as possible. You don't really need a car. You don't need extra food beyond what you're getting in the mealplan. You don't need most of the crap you buy.
I used to be pissed at my parents for not giving me ***** for college, but now I'm glad they didn't because I learned how to be financially responsible. I left college with zero debt. - Achaean, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6$50,000 student loan debt. it feels like i'm being punished for trying to make something of myself...
- macman2k, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6If the government gave everyone $5k to go to college then tuitions everywhere would go up by 5k because the schools could afford it. Giving people loans means that "price" doesn't matter any more and is even worse!
- sovereign3, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6I was an Econ minor and I agree with him. I believe, all other things constant, that the private sector is the best allocator of resources. However, I have two exceptions:
Publicly funded education benefits society at large and therefore everyone benefits from a free or substantially reduced college education.
Health care is also better off publicly funded because the private sector seeks to maximize profts, not the generally health of the public. - IADTatami, on 10/10/2007, -3/+8I'll say it: Public education through grad school.
If the children don't want to be left behind, then they had better pass the entrance exams. - VintageMud, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6Or what if the government, instead of wasting the 500 BILLION DOLLARS on the "War on Terror" took that money, and spent it on financing the college education of every student in the US and actually achieve something postive?
- nebben, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Good luck saving for your kids tuition right now...
College expenses increase at a rate far greater than inflation, so its not necessarily "this generation and its feeling of entitlement" that is at fault. Everyone can feel like the govt. owes them, but in reality it is a lot harder to pay for college tuition today than it was 20+ years ago. -
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