This graph from GOOD and FutureFarmers shows the number of graduating seniors with more than 40,000 in student debt by 2004.
A variety of factors could be at play, including the rising cost of college and more people going to college. But consider the cost increases thanks to the aggressive marketing of private student loans (a practice for which the NY AG sued several colleges and banks), which often carry higher interest rates than federal student aid. Many students turning to private loans haven’t used of their full quotient of federal Stafford, Perkins, and PLUS loans, which have capped interest rates and are guaranteed against default.
Student Debt [GOOD]
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Attended Ivy Undergrad, graduated with a BS, went into a private law school w/GPA and LSAT lower than my peers who attended private undergrad but not-Ivy, public undergrad, and who gained a similar or comparable degree. I’m fairly certain that the name helped. I also know peers who have similar stories in other fields who have similar stories. Will the big name get you more $? hell no. Will it get you into/past the first round of criterion for a job/grad school? not quite hell yes, but certainly affords a nice jump in the market. Don’t forget that the extra 70-100k spent in the school in the short run can reap much greater benefits in the future, both in connections and recognition. 70-100k over 30+ working years only needs $2-3k to equalize. For higher education or competitive urban jobs (like NYC, DC, Boston, SF, LA, Chicago, etc), the lifelong connection and networking opportunity is worthwhile.
I am personally almost 90k in debt already, and I have two and a half years left. This is due to both money-jockeying on my part (using much lower rate student loans to pay off my almost 30% credit card, etc.) as well as having declared as a tech major before the bubble burst and completely changing my major.
However, I’m currently working two jobs and have a savings plan in place to start paying off my loans while I’m in school. My general outlook is this: 1000$ in checking, 3000$ in high-yield saving account for emergencies, empty CC for emergencies, empty overdraft line for emergencies. Anything over 3k in the savings account gets chucked headfirst at the loans, private first. I am also planning in maxing out the amount of borrow-able income from the government, because of the lower interest rate on federal loans.
While I do realise that this is not the best plan in the universe, it’s the one I have that works – I unfortunately was not fortunate enough to have any sort of help from anyone for school (and I’m currently working for the Studio Scholarship, and am working for others.)
If it helps, I have no other bills whatsoever, and after this year I’m moving out of student housing? =/
@crnk: Umm, my community college had an articulation agreement with my current school and ALL of my credits transfered. Once everything was calculated, I have enough credits that I could possibly finish a year early if the scheduling permits.
I went to a small, private undergrad, and have no debt from it. Have I mentioned I love my parents? Hi, crazy mom. I love you.
I’m finishing up my MA in Australia, now, and will come out with something like $28,000 debt for it. Overall, I’m happy–a postgrad degree is required for a lot of the jobs I’m interested in, and gives me a higher pay for those that don’t require it (mostly governmental work, civil and foreign service). I could have done the same degree in the US for about the same price overall, but I’ve had the opportunity to live in another country for over a year now and experience a totally different life. I’m actually hoping that having had a different life experience than the norm will help me in interviews. I can bullshit something about being a global and American citizen or something.
I would really like to do a second masters, possibly a PhD, in linguistics, but I’m also exhausted from school and want to pay off my current loans. My goal is to be able to pay for my kids’ undergrad as well, when I have kids, so saving up for that and paying off my own loan are the two big things coming up. Hopefully, in the 20-25 years before I have college-aged kids, there will be a reform and the prices will stop rising astronomically.
Everyone wants a name-brand education so they can land a good first job. But does it really matter after a handful of years in the job market? From what I’ve seen it’s basically, “Oh, you went to Stanford? That’s nice. Do you know anything we can actually use?”
With regards to transferring from junior colleges to universities, articulation agreements aren’t necessarily a given. Especially when one’s transfer options are limited by obligations to work, family, etc. In my area, only a couple of universities offer full night programs, and each has terribly haphazard transfer policies.
Students have a responsibility to balance the costs and benefits of their education. And society as a whole has a responsibility to keep those costs affordable, or else everyone suffers in the long run.
Please… College for many is a waste of resources. I went to a state school (VCU) that basically taught me NOTHING I needed in my career. I was an IT major. I already had the basic skills from a 2 year community college and hands on knowledge. Here is where the area goes grey: 4 year degree, nice but not as powerful in an interview as MS certification which of course the college classes did not prepare you for.
I have a 4 year degree to hang on my wall and it lets me check a box on a job application that I attended college BUT it does not fill in the ‘what I can do’ blanks. I needed certs and experience to land a job not to mention contacts that the school seems to not have at all.
Now add in loans from Sallie Mae that they hound you over and the threat to your security clearance by being defaulted and life gets interesting.
Did I mention my coworker makes the EXACT same salary as me and has no degree just an MCSE? He studied and took a few tests and his cert trumps the college! nice.
V
Well, you need to balance which school is important for what major. A tech degree from MIT carries more heft than a tech Ivy, than a state school than a two-year than DeVry.
But I think that tech degrees are more applied than liberal arts degrees. I feel the latter trains you how to think, versus how to do something. And for many companies, who after all train you what to do, getting someone that has a fluid, inquisitive mind is important.
And to a certain extent, a name school is applying a well-known brand to your brain. Not a bad thing.
2 year CC + 3 Year State University = No Dept.
I was glad I am $0 in dept from school loans, it will help a lot when working towards that MBA degree, which I estimate will be around $20K.