Community Chat

[hyacinth003]

I would not support or agree with default.  I certainly don't buy into government forgiveness.  Not when we had to pay it off!

I was trying to give another perspective on why this has happened.  It isn't JUST deadbeats.

The economy has NOT recovered, and many of the jobs that went with it have not come back.  My daughter is qualified to do more than part-time fast food.  There is nothing wrong with that, but that's not what she went to college for.  I agree with parents and kids choosing wisely in college plans.

I am sort of surprised at the negatives I see hear about going to college.  Education should not ever be wasted.  My brother is in a trade union, and he's not employed a lot.

Until the economy gets better, and I don't see it, despite statistics, this is going to drag down a lot of younger people. 

Hyacinth

[ROMARY]

Nunya:  Interesting.  I hadn't thought about the interest factor.

[Anita Bourbon]

Why is it fair that people are able to legally declare bankruptcy in order to deal with insurmountable debt but a young adult should be shackled for the rest of their life with debt they can't escape?  It's predatory lending in the highest degree to keep cutting checks to kids who will in no way shape or form be able to repay the debt.  Not sure when some of you went to college, but I know so many people who can't save up to buy homes, drive decrepit cars, are dependent on loans from their parents, and are fighting for $13 an hour jobs despite having college degrees.  You may think they're deadbeats but the student loan debt crisis is looming and I truly believe it will make the housing bubble pale in comparison.    

[Hayfield]

I totally understand that college costs are rising but parents and their children have to make wise decisions when it comes to going to college.  There are community colleges, which are much less expensive, when one is located near you.  You can live at home get a part time job and go to school, then transfer to the nearest state school, again, if in living distance, still live at home.  My DH & I saved from the day our two children were born to go to college and did without vacations, fancy cars, going out to restaurants in order to save up to educate them.  My children worked part time through college for their "extras".  It wasn't easy but we managed.  Yes, the economy hasn't improved and jobs are hard to find but they are out there.  Another problem is that many of these students are majoring in something that doesn't translate into a job or it's a low paying job and they can't afford rent.  My DS worked two to three jobs for three years after he graduated from college.  He was lucky, we paid for his college tuition but he still had to struggle.  My DD had to s*ck it up, live at home to get her graduate degree, but she got it without any debt.  I do know someone who didn't pay their college bank loans and when the bank came after her, her mother paid the loan off, she owed $60,000, they took $20,000 and wrote the rest off.  The government did come after her though for her government loans.  She had a job but ignored paying these loans off.  Her comment was "why should I pay them back?"  Really? If you have a college degree I think you should know the difference between a loan and a gift.   Just because someone will lend you money doesn't mean you should take it.  When my daughter was looking for money for graduate school, the interest rate was 9% and unlike undergraduate loans, the interest starts to accumulate immediately.  I told her that was like loan shark money.  She had saved up most of the money on her own and only needed a small amount.  DH and I had been saving to purchase something and we gave her the money. In the end, we all have to act responsibly and make good decisions, just because you got into a $50,000 a year school doesn't mean you should go, borrowing that much money at such a young age is crazy, unless you're going to medical school and know you'll make enough money to pay it back. 

[LTT1]

To parents: start EARLY! Teach them how to count change...this skill is not in the Essential KnowledgeSkills ANYWHERE from K-12! And just think how many reasoning skills are necessary for this "seemingly basic" skill.

Start in their junior year of high school writing their personal letter for college admission application. I can almost guarantee that teens will not sit down and do this by themselves. Write resumes, too!

If parents resent them defaulting on their loans, perhaps it's time to ask how much parents need to do to help them in their quest.

[bonnielu]

Gone are the days that you could pay for your total college education by working.  Hubby worked and went to college and was debt free at the end.  No loans, no debt. Of course credit hour cost was not what it is today.  Cannot do that anymore.  1.  College very expensive  2.  Jobs not available upon graduation.  Real problem.

I have no solution.  Even community colleges are pricey.  

When I began my teaching career there was a special path for vocational education.  When I ended my teaching career vocational education was looked down on and most courses were computer based with no hands on lessons.  Sad that we equate SMARTS  with only math and science.  My plumber and electrician are darn smart but of course they were not doubt looked down upon in school as non-academic.  Of course these days THEY HAVE JOBS.  I have always admired them and their intuitive smarts. 

[ROMARY]

Hayfield:  Excellent post.  Around here, many/some students choose colleges according to sports, (even though they aren't particularly very good in their chosen sport).  I'm thinking that high school coaches shouldn't over-compliment and give extremely false hopes to their students, who many times end up quitting college altogether because they weren't 'good enough' in their chosen sport in college.  Just thinking out loud.

[ROMARY]

We know a lot of plumbers/contractors/electricians/etc. who have been living quite well all of these years; their wives have 'the best of the best' of everything.  And, if we think about it, being a heart surgeon isn't particularly very easy, appetizing, either. 

[Hayfield]

Romary 1--Thanks!  My parents didn't have much and I didn't go to college, my choice, I got a job and worked my way up as they say.  My DH parent's didn't have much and he had to live at home for the first 2 years of his college years, then he had to go to the main campus, they didn't offer all the classes he needed back then, it was the early 70's.  He started saving for his college living expenses when he was 10 years old, selling sandwhiches and sodas at the local fire hall where they held the bingo games.  He said that his 4 years of college were the worst of his life, he was poor and he had to study all the time.  He's an engineer and I can tell you the last 40 years of his life has been great!  Life is about making sacrifices and life is a lot of hard work.  There is no such thing "as a free lunch".  I know many,many young adults working hard and paying off their loans.  My DH makes an excellent living but we still had to make many sacrifices along the way.  I have always wanted a BMW, I'm almost 61 but I'm still driving a modest, mid-size car but my two children don't have college loans.  My children went to state schools, not private schools, we couldn't afforded it and I was not letting them take out loans.  I knew that it would just be a burden.  My two children are very grateful and have thanked me numerous times for what we did for them.

[ROMARY]

Just thinking out loud, but I wouldn't have ever thought of going to college if it were as expensive as it is now.  I would have been very happy, working (jobs were plentiful in our area.  It was an employee's paradise.).  All of the very successful career people we know now used the services of state colleges, lived at home for four years and were lucky to have post graduate colleges nearby, without having to pay for an apt. somewhere else.  And they all (except one) remained in our general area (not thousands of miles away).  There's something to be said about being as frugal as possible, in the long-run. More or less.