$110,000 in Debt (college)

[JoiseyMom]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jenna-levine/jenna-levine-26-graduate-_b_823081.html

To all you parents whose kids are getting ready for College...

Hindsight....

 

[TimeforMe]

Excellent article. And one I will have both my kids (who are in college) read. Thanks for posting.

 

[njsweetP]

Great article. I agree with this post and have printed it out for my DD to read. She will be heading off to college in the Fall, and this just reiterates what I've been telling her. Is it her #1 choice school? No. Will she graduate
without debt? Yes. She will most likely be going to this school because it fits all her criteria - good curriculum for her major, close to home (1.5 hours away), and affordable.

 

[Planogirl]

That should be a must-read for anyone about to go to college.

 

[disykat]

I never understand these kinds of articles. Her parents encouraged her not to take out all those loans - but they cosigned for her to do so?

 

[sk!mom]

Thanks for posting- I just sent the link to a friend whose DD is a High School Senior and making this decision right now- Dream School that comes with a hefty price tag and very little financial aid or State University that has offered a great scholarship to cover it's already much lower tuition? It seems like an easy decision to someone not emotionally involved but it's actually quite difficult.

We want to give our kids the world, right???

 

[Lex33]

My junior son and I were just having this discussion earlier today. His burning question was, "Why will I have almost $200k in loans when I graduate?" Wait till he reads this article.

 

[JoiseyMom]

I never understand these kinds of articles. Her parents encouraged her not to take out all those loans - but they cosigned for her to do so?

What is not to understand? Jenna made a mistake, and so did her parents. WHen she was 18 she had an her dream her vision, and she convinced her parents. Also, who knew that the economy was going to crash the way it did.

 

[StephMK]

Good article and I have already had the talk w/DD (HS Jr) about not getting in over her head. She wants to go to a more expensive out of state school but knows that unless financial aid works out, she has a great program in state to fall back on. She has already come to understand that hefty loans are not the way to start out. I am thankful she is already very practical!

 

[DawnM]

We have been looking at this very thing for years. DH and I have told our kids we will provide 100% of college if they live at home and go to the local 4 year college.....whatever is over that amount (should they choose a different option), they will have to cover the rest and we strongly encourage them to not go into debt to do it.

I realize this is not how many would approach college (want their kids to go away to school for the experience, want a better name school, etc...), but we feel strongly that they will have the rest of their lives to be on their own and will do it with two feet more firmly on the ground if they aren't in debt.

The above was easier when we lived in LA, as there were so many great schools within driving distance, but it can still happen here.

Dawn

 

[maggiew]

Am I reading the article correctly? Is that debt JUST from her 2 years at American University (plus one extra semester)? At least she went to the community college for the first 2 years.

Maggie

 

[seashoreCM]

I am now led to believe that a "name" college is not going to lead to a "better" job unless you actively network with alumni of that college who work for the companies you want to work for.

The "education" you can get from a "public" college is intrinsically the same as you would get from a "name" college".

 

[csharpwv]

I work for my Alma Mater as an Admission Counselor/Recruiter - and I'm proud to say that my Alma Mater - and my employer provide an EXCELLENT education for a very affordable price!
For anyone looking for a great education at a very affordable price - Fairmont State University is the place to go!

 

[Abbeys_mom]

I smell a spoiled rotten kid.

I was 18, inner city poor (as in government cheese, living on my grandmother's social security check, living in her house that she bought in 1948 and was the only one still standing on the block DIRT POOR) and looked at college when my grandmother died my senior year of high school.

I busted my butt in high school, got scholarships and got into my second choice, private four year university. Sallie Mae, the "Seductress" made it extremely clear exactly how much SLs cost, exactly when you repaid them, and alternatives to financing college for the amount that scholarships did not cover. I worked 40 hours a week, took a full load, and tried to avoid as much debt as possible. I was accepted into a program to study abroad but learned I would have to take out loans. As bad as I wanted to go, and as much as I thought it would change my life, I passed on it BECAUSE I COULD NOT AFFORD IT. I was not entitled to it, it hurt to see my friends going, but I was well aware of the reality of the situation.

I am sorry, but she had to go through debt counseling before they gave her the check. In 1995 when I took out my first SL, they told me EXACTLY how long it would take to repay and how much I would pay interest. I managed to get a $100k education for less thank $20k in loans.

I moved my little sister up to college in 2009. We sat through a LONG session with a one on one school counselor on financing college. She had to do the same thing, debt calculators, etc before they gave her the (small) check. She is working 30 hours a week and struggling, but has not taken out more than $8k so far, and she too is at a private performing arts college.

My bet is that Jenna stuck her spoiled head in the ground and chose not to deal with it. And now she is complaining, probably tapped out on credit, and can't finance the life style she wants. She is playing such the victim, she could not get grants, she can't get the job she dreamed of, she can't afford a car or a house, she has to work two jobs because the economy sucks, Sallie Mae won't consolidate, wah wah wah...

She needs to take some personal responsibility. She made poor choices, deal with it. Pay it off and consider it her real education.

Off my soapbox now (and I normally LOVE HuffPost too!).

 

[DCbride]

Thanks for sharing the article. I have 2 kids in college in a state school. I tell them often how lucky they are to have their undergraduate degrees paid for without having them take out loans. (They will be on their own for any grad school.) I am going to pass this article along to remind them once again how lucky they are to come out without loans.

 

[Forevryoung]

A near and dear friend went to a "name brand" school for her 5 year architecture program. She graduated with $175,000 in debt in 2007.

She has been unemployed for 2 years (unemployment just ran out). She realized a few days ago that she has only been paying the interest on her student loans. Her payment should be $1300 a month.

She has no clue what her next step needs to be- obviously she needs a job of some kind to pay that kind of bill but she's reexamining her little girl dream of going into architecture. She's finally realizing the crisis she is in.

If that was me, I would have been freaking out 2 years ago.

 

[eliza61]

I never understand these kinds of articles. Her parents encouraged her not to take out all those loans - but they cosigned for her to do so?

See disykat, that's how I feel. She says in the first paragraph that she knew she could not afford a private college, yet she did what she wanted against the advice of many people.

and yet, Sallie mae is the culprit? She filled out the Fasfa forms and got 2,000 dollars in work study to help pay a 38,000 tuition bill and no bells went off.

 

[eliza61]

What is not to understand? Jenna made a mistake, and so did her parents. WHen she was 18 she had an her dream her vision, and she convinced her parents. Also, who knew that the economy was going to crash the way it did.

Of course no one knew about the economy Joisey but once again it goes back to when do you simply say "no". Heck, I went to college in the 70's. The conversation was extremely simply with my parents. It went along these lines.

Mom/dad: Eliza here is what we can afford to pay.
Me: I want to go to Princeton
Mom/Dad: We cannot afford the tuition for Princeton even with financial aide, pick another school.

And thus endth my visions of Princeton. No way would my parents have cosigned bubuskas. Plain and simple, we cannot afford Princeton and I was getting an academic scholarship.

My kids didn't even need "the conversation". we only visited schools we could comfortably afford. Period. Why would I go to an Open house at farleigh dickerson when the tuition is 45K a year?

Sorry Mrs Levine but you knew going into it that you could not afford that University.

 

[DawnM]

YIKES!

Now, don't get me wrong, I do want my kids to follow their dreams and get a decent undergrad education, but I also want to be practical.

My cousin became an architect and currently designs sets for films. What a dream job!

Dawn

A near and dear friend went to a "name brand" school for her 5 year architecture program. She graduated with $175,000 in debt in 2007.

She has been unemployed for 2 years (unemployment just ran out). She realized a few days ago that she has only been paying the interest on her student loans. Her payment should be $1300 a month.

She has no clue what her next step needs to be- obviously she needs a job of some kind to pay that kind of bill but she's reexamining her little girl dream of going into architecture. She's finally realizing the crisis she is in.

If that was me, I would have been freaking out 2 years ago.

 

[allison443]

Thanks for sharing the article. I have 2 kids in college in a state school. I tell them often how lucky they are to have their undergraduate degrees paid for without having them take out loans. (They will be on their own for any grad school.) I am going to pass this article along to remind them once again how lucky they are to come out without loans.

My oldest dd graduated college in 2009, she would have loved to attend a dream school but she attended a school we could afford, she did not have to take loans, and she has told me numerous times since she graduated how happy and grateful she is not to have loans. She sees the difficulties some of her friends are having. Even if your kids don't understand now, believe me they will apprieciate it in the future!