Student loan debt question

It's not smart, but it's also not an easy temptation to turn down. Ever tried to do a full class load and a full-time job at the same time? It's brutal.

 

I graduated last year. Worked a part-time job while in school, along with reporting internships. I took a $5K loan my senior year so I could enjoy it and have a little more fun (ski trip, trip home for Mardi Gras, etc.), but I paid back the full loan before it started accruing interest.

I have. I worked full-time during my last semester in college, but I admittedly had a light class load for the last semester (12 hours, only nine real hours). I did everything in my power to avoid taking out a loan while I was in school. I understand it's not possible for everyone to do. I had a good scholarship and still took out a loan in my senior year.

But that was after being sick and tired of living penniless for three years and eating Ramen noodles from mid-October to January and March to May. I got sick of being that poor and not being able to do anything fun in college because I was so cash-strapped, so I took out a small loan to enjoy my senior year a little more. But I knew I was going to pay that loan back as soon as I could without accruing interest.

I'm not saying don't take out loans. For a lot of people that's the only option. I just don't agree with taking out a loan in lieu of having a job. Even if you're only working 10-12 hours a week, it's something. Start paying it off now, why wait?

 

As far as the university system, I agree the costs seem absurd. Don't even get me started on the cost of books, which is a minor part of problem. That whole scam is ridiculous.

 

Just blame students like the Tea Party does for student loan problems.

 

There are plenty of ways students can get good, solid educations without racking up tens of thousands in student loan debt. My oldest is a good, solid student -- nothing spectacular but she's a good student -- and she could get a more-than-adequate education at the local university for around $5K (out of pocket) a year. Will it have all the bells and whistles? No. But regardless of what she majors in, if she does what she's supposed to do will she notice any real difference in her ability to get a job? No. If she wants to do the grad school route, will she be at a disadvantage? Absolutely not. But does she listen to her dad? Oh hell no!

 

I'd also think a big part of the rise in costs is due to marketing of "These are the best four years of your life! It's a rite of passage! If you don't live at college for four years, you're a loser!" mentality.

Students who might take the community college route to get their education instead pile on the loans so they can have the same experience as "everyone else". Peer pressure is very powerful.

I recently looked at my alma mater's website for costs, and a dorm room with a roommate would cost something like $800 a month. Just for a room that is being shared, plus whatever amenities in the dorm. Total ripoff.

 

But as someone said, the amenities in the dorm are stacking up. In-dorm dining halls, workout centers, computer labs, mini-marts, tutoring, parking, on and on. All without leaving your building/complex. Local U. has nicer dorms than any apartment I've lived in. It's all part of the college arms race -- schools fear if they don't offer a Marriott-like living experience, they'll lose students to places that do.

And in no way was I implying that a student job could cover all expenses. But it could be a few thousand a year toward food, clothes, shampoo, etc., that wouldn't have to come in loans. Students are just opting not to do it, and parents are allowing it.

"I don't want my kid to be distracted from their studies by having to worry about a job" is the biggest crock. That kid is laughing all the way to the keg.

 

I worked, three jobs at times, and went to school. I still took the maximum loan amount and was squeaking by. I had no scholarship money, no grants, no nothing. So $12K a year was coming out of me.

 

Within the last decade or so, the alma mater has knocked down the barracks-style dorm of my day and built what's essentially a highrise condo with all the bells and whistles (computer ports, plasma TVs in the lounge, ect.). Those add up. But even off-campus housing isn't cheap. And how many schools, both four-year and JCs, now add fees for student health services, rather than staying on the parents' policy? And (more pertinent here, perhaps), fees for athletics?

 

Wow, what school is charging $5k? I graduated a decade ago and my alma mater prided itself as the cheapest school in the state. Base tuition plus room and board came out to just over $8k. That didn't include books, which was several hundred a semester, athletics fees, lab fees the semester I took chem and of course beer money. Plus I hear the price has gone up quite a bit since.

 

I think he meant $5K out of pocket. That's about what I'm paying for my kid to go to Big State School, but the other $12K is coming from a combination of loans and scholarships.

 

Tuition and fees at local state university run around $9K a year. Because it's not a flagship but would like to be more like one, there's a good bit of scholarship money available. Because my daughter scored around the 80th percentile on the SAT and finished in the top 20% of her big, upper-middle-class high school, the local university offered her a $6K a year academic scholarship. I'm not sure about books/incidentals, so I'm factoring in about $2K for those. No dorm or meal plan, of course. But no jobs or loans either. So of course that's NOT the route she's going to take ... :'( :'(