Student Loans

[barkley]

As I have stated earlier, there is a university 5 miles from my house that has an amazing teaching program. $2000 per semester for tuition and fees. Get your teaching degree from a smaller, cheaper school.

we have a statewide program where high school students can get tuition free their first 2 years of college during their jr and sr year in high school. dual enrollment so the credits count for both high school and college. the are essentialy taking all their general ed requirements. HUGE savings that gets even bigger if they opt for the well thought of local public university at $8200 tuition per academic year vs. the local 2 well thought of privates that run $47,500-$49,800 in tuition per academic year-FOR THE IDENTICAL TEACHER'S PROGRAM.


i always had to wonder about the newbie math and 'financial literacy' teachers who thought paying $145,000 was a better deal vs. paying $24,600 for their teaching certifications.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Your last sentence is extremely demeaning to kids who choose to go to college. In your opinion they do not have any sense because they are furthering their education.

On another thread the poster was talking about how their kid bought themselves a BMW (which I understand in their specific area means they've become accomplished in life), it's safe to say the perspective is a tad different I think than others.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Fantastic. Go ahead and pay someone's student loans for them. I struggle. I would like to live in a home like normal people. I can't afford a home for myself, but I should be paying taxes to give to kids for their gender studies degrees? How about someone buy me a home to live in before telling me I should be paying for other kids' college degrees.

This is another topic entirely, but I do agree with you, no-one in the US should ever be without a bed in a safe space they can call home and leave their stuff. One issue does not eclipse the other, at least not for me.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I think the idea that kids are “adults” at 17 or 18 and making these decisions without strong input from parents (or overseers of some sort) is a big part of how we got ourselves into this mess in the first place. I mean, technically, yes, an 18 yr old is an adult. But unless they’ve had a lot of exposure to finances and careers and all that, they really are at the mercy of people who may not have their personal best interests at heart. I already mentioned high schools that have an interest in keeping their numbers up. Another thing mentioned in Debt Free U is college admissions officials. Their job is to get the student to go to the college; it’s not their concern how they’re going to pay for it. Young people, and in some cases, parents, don’t always understand this. They get to be friendly with the admissions person and see them as the person at the college who’s going to help them. But does it really help the student who’s getting into something over their head?

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Maybe it was lunchtime

I know just pointing out having an opinion like "I paid for my stuff I ain't paying for yours" while playing around on the DIS but then saying time to go back to work because you have to pay to get home serves no purpose here. It's the DIS we all are probably on it at some point during the day when we should be working or have more serious tasks at hand.

 

[Mle8308]

I had to pay for my education and I will glad pay for others to get out of the mire of debt a broken system has left them in. It's called compassion and wanting to leave the next generation in a better place.

But if the increase in taxes to pay for this hurts low income families who are barely getting by, how is that compassionate? Should a low income family have to pay to forgive AOC's student loans (and yes, she is included in the group of people who would have their loans forgiven, she is making well over $150K a year)? No. Interest reduction, I am fine with that. But outright loan forgiveness, ridiculous. I paid my loans, do I get a refund? Again no, and I don't expect one. I signed the loan paperwork and agreed to pay back the amount I borrowed. Time for some personal responsibility.

 

[mrodgers]

How is anyone supposed to know this in advance? Especially with student loans which are designed to fund the education that in theory will determine what your income will be in 2, 3, 4 or more years. But even with mortgages and auto loans, which are generally based on people currently having the ability to pay them back, no one ever knows if their life circumstances might change to the point that they have no way of paying them back. But their are people who do not understand this because they just assume that people who end up in that situation are there only because they made bad choices in life or did not work hard enough.

Seems pretty easy to me with one question to ask oneself. Am I going to be able to get a job to pay the loan with my useless $200k liberal arts degree? Probably not. Am I going to be able to get a job to pay my loan as a heart surgeon? Probably easily. Thus, don't take out a $200k loan for a liberal arts degree.

 

[mrodgers]

I had to pay for my education and I will glad pay for others to get out of the mire of debt a broken system has left them in. It's called compassion and wanting to leave the next generation in a better place.

Except you haven't written a check out to the IRS for it from your personal bank account, have you? No, you want me included in paying for everyone else's education also while I can not pay for my own kids.

Why don't any of the rich middle class folks understand this? Just go ahead and write out the check and stop trying to spend my money. I have compassion same as you do. I don't have the cash laying around to do something about that compassion. That's a lot different than not having compassion. Same argument goes round and round and round on another political forum I frequent. It is assumed people don't have compassion when it's people don't have money for their own expenses.

 

[sam_gordon]

I don't mean this to sound rude. It will and I will apologize in advance.
But if the policies of YOUR STATE is are sub par to other states, have you ever consider moving? Or voting? Or changing the policy?

My father taught me "LIFE IS NOT FAIR, Life is what YOU make it! It is no one responsibility to provide you with a good life, except YOU".....

I took those words to heart..... and I think I did ok

My comment about it not being fair was tongue in cheek and aimed at those saying "*I* paid off my loans! It's not fair if others get theirs paid off for them."

I vote in every general election (since I'm a registered independent, I can't vote in the primaries). But, as @Colleen27 said, it's not like voting for a candidate is (or should be) a single issue.

And "moving"? Yea, talk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

we have a statewide program where high school students can get tuition free their first 2 years of college during their jr and sr year in high school. dual enrollment so the credits count for both high school and college. the are essentialy taking all their general ed requirements.

We've had dual enrollment for at least the last six years (oldest DD's HS graduation year). One class each semester was offered to seniors only. THIS year, it's now two classes/semester and offered to underclassmen (I know my rising Junior is participating, I think Freshmen and Sophomores can also).

I think people need to realize that not everything they have available (multiple dual credit courses and free in state tuition come immediately to mind since mentioned in this thread) are available everywhere.

As far as going to "cheaper" colleges/universities... does the "cheaper" school offer what the student needs to be successful? Does it offer the degree? Does it offer the resources?

I think people are looking for simple solutions to a complex problem.

 

[mrodgers]

Now if you excuse me I have to go to work so I can afford to drive home.....

Don't leave too early. You need to work the overtime so that other people's kids can get their college paid for as well.

 

[sam_gordon]

Seems pretty easy to me with one question to ask oneself. Am I going to be able to get a job to pay the loan with my useless $200k liberal arts degree? Probably not. Am I going to be able to get a job to pay my loan as a heart surgeon? Probably easily. Thus, don't take out a $200k loan for a liberal arts degree.

Easily? After how many years? As someone who constantly (seems to) complain about your job and working conditions, I find it interesting you want parents to FORCE their kids into specific careers. The hell with what they're interested in, damnit, go make money!

 

[mjkacmom]

Here's an example my Community College which does not have housing has this example for the total costs for 2022-2023 year

$ 2,328 – tuition and fees
$ 1,560 – books and supplies
$ 12,146 – room and board
$ 2,520 – transportation costs
$ 8,250 – miscellaneous and personal expenses
$ 40 – loan fees

$26,844 = total cost of attendance

TBH I think their room and board is low because rent is more than likely going to be more than $1,000 per month not to mention utility costs. That figure by the way is for residents of the county. Yeah tuition is lower than your example per semester but that's not all that goes into it. They also raised the tuition, it was $94 (includes fees) and is now $97 (includes fees). According to the college "60 percent of operating funding comes from county taxes and motor vehicle taxes; the remainder comes from student tuition and state aid"

Holy cr@p, I just looked up my county’s tuition for CC for in county residents, $8790 a year just for tuition!

 

[mjkacmom]

Except you haven't written a check out to the IRS for it from your personal bank account, have you? No, you want me included in paying for everyone else's education also while I can not pay for my own kids.

Why don't any of the rich middle class folks understand this? Just go ahead and write out the check and stop trying to spend my money. I have compassion same as you do. I don't have the cash laying around to do something about that compassion. That's a lot different than not having compassion. Same argument goes round and round and round on another political forum I frequent. It is assumed people don't have compassion when it's people don't have money for their own expenses.

So if you don’t make enough money won’t your kids be eligible for FA?

 

[BK2014]

Seems pretty easy to me with one question to ask oneself. Am I going to be able to get a job to pay the loan with my useless $200k liberal arts degree? Probably not. Am I going to be able to get a job to pay my loan as a heart surgeon? Probably easily. Thus, don't take out a $200k loan for a liberal arts degree.

I get the impression that most people throwing out the term "liberal arts degree" really have no idea what that means. Because liberal arts includes science, social science, languages, the arts, history, philosophy, literature, and math. Which one of those areas of study are "useless"? All of them?

 

[mrodgers]

This is another topic entirely, but I do agree with you, no-one in the US should ever be without a bed in a safe space they can call home and leave their stuff. One issue does not eclipse the other, at least not for me.

I need to clarify. I have a safe, warm in the winter (at a cost) and cool in the summer (somewhat, it struggles and has a large cost) place to sleep and eat and sit around twiddling my thumbs. I'd like to have a home though, a place where I live outside of work rather than spend time waiting to go back to work. Others are in the same boat and may or may not have the same feelings I do. I'm not out on the street, I own a piece of crap old trailer and pay for the right to house it on someone else's property. It's just simply not a home as it is the waiting area to go back to work.

It's just the thought that I need things from my paycheck before I give it all to others to get those things while I go without those things.

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

People are acting like if student loan debt is cancelled you will have to personally write a check. Or that they have a breakdown to the cent as to where their taxes currently go. You don't. You won't even notice. But like I said earlier, I don't want everyone who has cancer to die because medicine couldn't help my mother-in-law. "I paid into a predatory system so everyone should have to!" is a hell of a stance to take.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Holy cr@p, I just looked up my county’s tuition for CC for in county residents, $8790 a year just for tuition!

Yeah they can get up there that's for sure!

I know ours is billed as quite affordable and it is but a lot of their operating budget comes from...wait for it..taxpayers (which for some in this thread they would object to in terms of loan forgiveness or interest rate removal, etc). So sure as a student I paid a low amount, but as a homeowner I'm paying for it now too

 

[mrodgers]

Easily? After how many years? As someone who constantly (seems to) complain about your job and working conditions, I find it interesting you want parents to FORCE their kids into specific careers. The hell with what they're interested in, damnit, go make money!

For the record, I don't complain about specifically my job, I speak with compassion (there it is) about the people behind me. I do well. Coworkers whom has come after me are in a far different situation. I also speak of society and our Capitalist economy in that it is us the consumers that are making the economy poor and raising the cost of everything. I am not in that group and instead I do without because of costs rather than complain about the cost while handing over my credit card accepting it.

I don't understand about the parents forcing their kids into specific careers. Society does that in the forum of "everyone needs to go to college" and such raising the price because they feel entitled to it no matter the cost. Now they are all complaining after the fact about the cost. It's like me buying an iPhone, then expecting to get a refund on it because I'm complaining it costs too much.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

People are acting like if student loan debt is cancelled you will have to personally write a check. Or that they have a breakdown to the cent as to where their taxes currently go. You don't. You won't even notice. But like I said earlier, I don't want everyone who has cancer to die because medicine couldn't help my mother-in-law. "I paid into a predatory system so everyone should have to!" is a hell of a stance to take.

You might be assuming it’s about money for everyone, when it may not be. For many, it’s the principle of it, because it feels like a bandaid solution to bigger problems that aren’t simultaneously being addressed, as well as what is the overall purpose? Is this really being driven by compassion?

 

[mrodgers]

Here's an example my Community College which does not have housing has this example for the total costs for 2022-2023 year

$ 2,328 – tuition and fees
$ 1,560 – books and supplies
$ 12,146 – room and board
$ 2,520 – transportation costs
$ 8,250 – miscellaneous and personal expenses
$ 40 – loan fees

$26,844 = total cost of attendance

TBH I think their room and board is low because rent is more than likely going to be more than $1,000 per month not to mention utility costs. That figure by the way is for residents of the county. Yeah tuition is lower than your example per semester but that's not all that goes into it. They also raised the tuition, it was $94 (includes fees) and is now $97 (includes fees). According to the college "60 percent of operating funding comes from county taxes and motor vehicle taxes; the remainder comes from student tuition and state aid"

If there's no housing, what are you paying $12k for room and board for? You stated there is no housing. I'm confused.

Your community college costs $3888 because you said there is no housing, transportation costs are personal, and the miscellaneous and personal expenses are also personal. Why would costs labeled as such be the cost of the college?