Parents and student loans

[Arik]

Students also get royally screwed on books! My science teacher would only allow her books and never used. Every semester something would be changed just enough to force the next group of students to buy brand new books. Books that you could sell were pennies. Spend $120 on a book get back $10!

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[BoringGuy45]

Students also get royally screwed on books! My science teacher would only allow her books and never used. Every semester something would be changed just enough to force the next group of students to buy brand new books. Books that you could sell were pennies. Spend $120 on a book get back $10!

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I had a professor in my undergrad who refused to use textbooks because they screwed over teachers too. He did nearly 2 months of full time research for a textbook contribution, and was paid only $200...total. I believe the only reason he did it is because the college required it or something. But to be paid less than a dollar an hour to do work requiring Ph.D level skills and knowledge for a book that was going to cost more per unit than they were paying their scholars to write...

[lovetashoot]

I finished Clemson many moons ago. They’ve tried begging money from me for years. I always reminded them I paid my tuition and fulfilled my obligation. Eventually the “Director of Institutional Giving” sent an email asking for me to remember my alma mater in my will. I looked up her salary and she made $170k. I replied to her saying her salary indicated the coffers were well stocked and to never bother me again. One huge cost of higher education is to pay for b.s. administrative positions created like the one I mentioned. Certain deans make $400k. I understand the need to keep gears greased and moving, but the student loan funding stream has allowed the creation and of useless, overpaid bureaucrats. With so much online learning, I’m hoping Covid might re-index cost for education.

[ChattanoogaPhil]

People borrow money then complain about paying it back. Hardly a unique story.

What are the son and daughter doing with their college educations that prevents them from helping their parents pay back those college loans now 18 years later?

[dmd08]

Here's a fun data point. NYU Dental school's projected total cost for incoming 1st year dental students this year is just over 700K. This doesn't include any undergraduate debt. They're probably the top of the heap cost wise but 4-500K for dental school is commonplace. I feel lucky I got away with only a few hundred K a decade ago. You can't work nights and weekends through school and crack that nut. Nearly unlimited school loans has led to rapidly ballooning tuition.

[SteyrAUG]

Here's a fun data point. NYU Dental school's projected total cost for incoming 1st year dental students this year is just over 700K. This doesn't include any undergraduate debt. They're probably the top of the heap cost wise but 4-500K for dental school is commonplace. I feel lucky I got away with only a few hundred K a decade ago. You can't work nights and weekends through school and crack that nut. Nearly unlimited school loans has led to rapidly ballooning tuition.

And IF / WHEN you graduate, malpractice insurance premiums are waiting for you at the end of the tunnel to make sure you never get your head above water. Not sure what it's like currently, but after the housing market crash things got so bad that most of the doctors I knew personally in South Florida in private practice either retired for good early or went into something else. Basically the insurance companies were making more than their take home pay at the end of the month.

[MegademiC]

My parents took some plus loans for me.
Im paying them all back (will be paid off in 2 mo).
The kids should definitely pay them.

I also worked through school and ended up with a ChemE degree and $40k in debt right out of school. 100% worth the investment. Imo... but I was also realistic about my capabilities and projected earnings to determine a rough roi.

[everready73]

Wee took one out for my stepson. We were able to help pay or most of it and he had a 529 that helped. he is graduating this year and will be paying the loan back himself. We are having it transferred to just him after a few on time payments. I would rather not have done it,but he wouldn't have graduated if we didn't. He is in engineering and should be ok job wise when he gets out. I wouldnt have agreed if he was in a bs major that wouldnt land him a decent job

I tried to get him to go to trade school or electrical union where we had some connections, but he chose his path and will have to take on the debt. He will be better off than many others.

My 4 year old has a 529 that my wife and i contribute to monthly and his grandparents help sometimes too. Hopefully it will be fully funded, but god knows how much college will cost in 16 years. I kinda hope he just goes for HVAC or something. The 529 can go towards that or even transferred to grandkids etc, but you have to pay taxes AND a 10% penalty if not used for educational purposes.

The best bet for kids these days if they dont have parents footing the bill is to do as much undergrad as possible at a community college while living at home and then transfer to a state school etc when you have to. It will at least save some money. Trade schools are overlooked way to much as well. You can make some good money in the trades if interest is there

[chuckman]

I see this from a bunch of perspectives: I am adjunct faculty at a top-10 private university, I have four degrees from three schools, and I have a son "in college." My second son scored a 35 on the ACT when he was 16, he is taking the college prep/transfer program in the local community college, and will transfer to Duke, UNC-CH, or NCSU, so only on the hook for "real" college tuition for two years. He'll live at home. (This is the plan for all my kids who go to college). There are work-study programs, scholarships, all sorts of financial aid other than "student loans."

Tuition won't come down, probably ever, but the right start would be a full higher education reform/rebuild. There is no sense in the price of higher education, in which the cost/consumer growth has outpaced just about every other sector in the US.

[Allen]

Tuition won't come down, probably ever, but the right start would be a full higher education reform/rebuild. There is no sense in the price of higher education, in which the cost/consumer growth has outpaced just about every other sector in the US.

A rebuild is already in progress: I and several friends with several people who went through ~$30-40K boot camps for software dev/engineering or Sales/Marketing/Design & have seen 3-5x Y1 ROI on it. Primary education is coming ala Stephenson's Diamond Age. The opportunity cost of non traditional education is approaching sub 20% that of a 4+ year degree, and the time commitment is closer to ~12%. Go to Lambda School, get a $200K TC remote software job and do a night B.S. at Georgia Tech, Stanford or Bizerkly who'll give you work experience credit on your way to getting a MBA through them.

The current university education system prioritizes teaching what keeps the teachers employed, not what the market wants. If you're non STEM, you need to go into a work study program that has minimum intern time requirements before you graduate. If you're not going to THE best school for your program, the financially prudent thing to do is go instate & save money until you can transfer or graduate. I know plenty of people from when I went to college who're B.A. in lib arts bullshit & spent 3-4 years managing retail before going into the trades full time because they were making more money putting decks in on the weekend then in their 9-5.