The Great College Hoax

Trade schools need to grow back to what they were, and still are in Europe.

I miss the 80's. The whole shebang was only about $7,500 - $8,000 per year at State University:

Tuition $1650/year
Books $450
Dorms 15 meal plan $4500
Beer $500
Used bike as the old ones got ripped off once a year $50
Movies, dances, etc $350

Work/study at $3.85 per hour. Total debt out of college was about $10,000 at 5% and paid off in five years.

Professors promised that an easy $10 an hour job was waiting after graduation.

In reality my starting wage was $7 per hour, $7.25 the year after.

When the job market improved I finally was able to get a decent job that required a 4 year degree, so at least that piece of paper got my foot in the door.

Quote from Piccaboo : International Academy of Design & Technology in Orlando, Fla, my g/f son wanted to go to this place but wasn't accepted for the same thing as the young lady in that article - so he enrolled in Drexel instead at $40k a year Guess who is co-signing the student loans - his MOM - a single parent and the Dad isn't providing crappola. I said bad, bad move lady friend - you are gonna so sink when he finishes his schooling and he finds out unless he has already landed a job while on co-op - that he needs experience to get a good paying job. YOU will be liable for those loans as a co-signer when he can't pay up. There was no talking her out of it - he was a straight A student - he "deserved" the education

At least he's going to a school where he's getting some experience already with the co-op.

Somebody at my college committed suicide, and then his roommate got straight As. True story.

This is why my kids are going to CUNY. Brooklyn College, Baruch College, Queens College and City College offer a first rate education at a fraction of the cost (around $2,100 a semester). If they really wanna get away, then they can goto SUNY Binghamton, another first rate college, which will only cost about $9K a semester.

Quote from shhaggy : Somebody at my college committed suicide, and then his roommate got straight As. True story.

NYU or Columbia? I think that's the policy at both schools. I remember a few years back when NYU had a pretty bad year with suicides and atempted suicides

What a load of crap. Talk about feelings of "entitlement." First, HE CHOSE to major in History, an almost useless major from the get go-- then compounded that by CHOOSING to go into massive debt to go to law school. Then he cries about the stress that his own choices brought into his life. Yes-- college is not cheap these days and no guarantee of success in life comes with that diploma. It never has.

Quote from buyerandseller : This is why my kids are going to CUNY. Brooklyn College, Baruch College, Queens College and City College offer a first rate education at a fraction of the cost (around $2,100 a semester). If they really wanna get away, then they can goto SUNY Binghamton, another first rate college, which will only cost about $9K a semester. NYU or Columbia? I think that's the policy at both schools. I remember a few years back when NYU had a pretty bad year with suicides and atempted suicides

lol, it's not the policy at those or any other school.

Quote from shhaggy : lol, it's not the policy at those or any other school.

u sure? I coulda sworn hearing about how the roommate of someone who died at Columbia got an A for the semester.

Quote from Doctor_Wu : The Great College Hoax Kathy Kristof 02.02.09, 12:00 AM ET [forbes.com] Kellum's law school sweetheart, Jennifer Coultas, did much the same. By the time they graduated in 1995, the couple was $194,000 in debt. They eventually married and each landed a six-figure job. Yet even with Kellum moonlighting, they had to scrounge to come up with $145,000 in loan payments. With interest accruing at up to 12% a year, that whittled away only $21,000 in principal. Their remaining bill: $173,000 and counting.

They make at LEAST $200k/year ($100k/year each)- btw, which is something like in the top 5% to 10% of average earnings in the US in 1995 (the year the article cites). IMO, proof that it is worth it to go to college. This is just poor money management.

$200k in debt. That is $100k debt per person. With 12% interest?! My god, refinance that to a decent interest rate. Even with a 12% interest rate, their monthly loan repayments under a 10 year plan is $1,450 per person. Take home after taxes is $5,600 per month per person (assuming a $100k salary since it says they are making six figures each).

So lets see, combined they are bringing home $11,000 per month after taxes and student loan repayments are about $3000, leaving $8,000 per month spending money... Poor money management.

I've known people with $100-$150k/year that are worse off than people making $50k/year, just because people think they can live the "bling bling" lifestyle they see on MTV. They want to buy a yacht, a private jet and spend $15k on a vacation. That is spending well beyond their means. A $100k/year salary is enough for one person to live comfortably but not luxuriously.

Quote from buyerandseller : u sure? I coulda sworn hearing about how the roommate of someone who died at Columbia got an A for the semester.

No reputable school awards grades that way, think about it for a minute. You think you'd really pass Organic Chem and earn your BS just because your roommate jumped in front of a train? Come on now.

Quote from ASG : At least he's going to a school where he's getting some experience already with the co-op.

Yes, I agree - better some experience through co-op, then no experience at all. I just find the tuition at $40k a year myself, ridiculous to become a "Web Designer". I feel one would have been able to get the same degree for this at a less costly College, and not put the single Mom on the hook for the debt if the plans don't work out.

Quote from shhaggy : No reputable school awards grades that way, think about it for a minute. You think you'd really pass Organic Chem and earn your BS just because your roommate jumped in front of a train? Come on now.

didn't you just say that someone at your school got straight As? or did you mean they earned it?

u're right about the policy, I just looked it up and it's one of those urban legends. Funny thing is, I coulda sworn I had heard it on TV or read it in the paper.

Quote from buyerandseller : didn't you just say that someone at your school got straight As? or did you mean they earned it? u're right about the policy, I just looked it up and it's one of those urban legends. Funny thing is, I coulda sworn I had heard it on TV or read it in the paper.

....it was a joke

Quote from shhaggy : ....it was a joke