Comments on: The College Student Debt Machine: A National Disgrace

By: paula

paula — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 04:21:15 +0000

this is a little late, and you may not get this reply, but i LAUD you!
i’m a grad student, and when i finish, i will have upwards of 100k in student loans, for a social science degree. i do have a child. i am unmarried. but education is important, if anything, because it has made me smarter about the world.
not to mention new programs like income based repayment, which in my view, has been getting bad feedback from people who believe no one should take on a debt that they cannot handle.

By: Patricia

Patricia — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 16:25:50 +0000

ck Camwell — 4/26/11 10:13am

College tuition is rising at the institutional level because a lot of colleges are starting to focus on more, shall we say, non-academic stuff. They’re trying to boost their enrollment numbers, so they spend an inordinate amount of money on “student services,” which often times is just a euphamism for crap they don’t really need.

This is especially prevalent at smaller universities. Where I graduated not too long ago, the administration paid a stand-up commedian $3,500 to do a one night show on campus for the kids. Just take a guess at the History department’s library budget for that same year . . . $800.

I wish I were kidding, but it was true. The history department was given $800 for that entire academic year to buy new books for the library’s history collection. And who feels the pain of all this spending? The student body. They rose tuition by $1,500 that same year, and the faculty didn’t see a dime of it.

The problem with college is that we have this weird notion that everyone has to go. We get a bunch of kids in there who have no business being in higher education, so colleges have to dumb down their curriculums just to keep the tuition money flowing. So now, we have a bunch of universities selling cut-rate degrees (that laregely mean nothing unless they’re in math or science) for exorbitant prices.

By: Rishona

Rishona — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 16:25:42 +0000

This article is right in that student loans and college costs are a problem. I am also not a fan of private student loans. But I do have $100K in federal loans. I make under $30K annually. I do NOT lose sleep over my situation. I spent 5 years in college (changed my major) so that’s $20K per year BEFORE taking out money for tuition and rent…which were about $12K per year for me. The remaining $8K per year took care of everything else (+ the funds I earned from part-time work). The price of college, not my own misguided view of debt, is what made my debt load the level that it is. Also, student loans are capped…and federal ones are determined by income. The goal is not to lend out money recklessly; the goal is to enable people to earn a college degree.
And that $100K? Not a big deal at all; not when you consider that I am 30 years old, I have NEVER purchased a new car (just buy them cash…and they’ve all ben less than $10K), I don’t have credit card debt, I don’t own real estate (which is something that has consumed $100K and a lot more from people across the country). I live within my means…renting a modest apartment for $400/month and shopping at the thrift store. I am single, but if I do get married, I most definitely won’t be dumping $30K into a wedding. So there…that’s the $100K right there!
The fact of the matter is that no debt is ‘good debt’, but student loan debt is one of the better debts you can take on. You can defer it…you can have the payments decreased to a percentage of your income….it can be forgiven if you work in certain industries. Student loans are not the enemy; rapidly rising college costs with little accountibility is (and I say this, and I work at a college)!

By: Above Average Citizen

Above Average Citizen — Sun, 15 May 2011 23:15:41 +0000

This article provides facts on the enormity of student debt and the societal consequences of it. It does not provide any reasons why this situation has developed and expanded to such detrimental levels. The only plausible reason is that the US higher education system is dominated by the far left political philosophy, which believes that debt is a desirable attribute for the government, its organizations, and its citizens. We refuse to examine the far left’s reason for being, which is ultimately to replace our system with another entitlement system far larger and more dominant than the one we have now, a system influenced by socialism and communism, one that does not believe in capitalism. The only way to accomplish this new system is to totally destroy the old one, and that is exactly what is happening to higher education in the US right now. It will take another 50 years, but the far left types have lots of time and patience. US higher education is controlled complelely by the far left, and no one can look withing except those from the far left. The American public and our government simply trusts and follows these wolves who are eating more and more of the sheep each day, leaving their bones to rot in the sun, while they prey on more and more of our posterity. Truly, the US debt machine of higher education is a national disgrace.

By: JP Merzetti

JP Merzetti — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 14:38:14 +0000

It’s exactly the contrast between your circumstance and your friend’s – that is entirely the issue here.
Of course you are better off without the debt (for an education of dubious value) and ironically, write better than a lot of “higher educated” people do…which is a trend I’ve noticed over the past few years.
The fact is (as your story points out) that higher education has the uncanny ability to blow up people’s lives – if they are incapable of making wise choices.
And unfortuately, many more people fall into that category these days.
Which makes me wonder…just as the foolish choices that have created wage slavery to things like payday loans, rent-to-own fiascoes, bankruptcies and ultimately foreclosures…unlike most of those mistakes, educational debt cannot be discharged, and will often follow working people into retirement and beyond, which is a hell of a way to start a working life.

I’d say you’re well-educated quite enough to understand the true “value” of an education.

By: Charles

Charles — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 05:05:18 +0000

Colleges are definitely playing a role in the student loan debt problem. Just like lending institutions in the mortgage fiasco.

@Angie-In the past I felt like you with my personal Debt Demon stressing me outall the time. Not any more! Fortunately for me I was introduced to a little known program that showed me how to pay off my student loans & all my other debt in 1/2 and the time and save thousands in interest all without increasing my monthly payments, and using my current income. Most of us know about the traditional ways to repay your student loans but there are some non-traditional programs out there that work really good too! If you are open minded, and willing to research and conduct your due diligence you can find them.Over the past few years I have committed myself to helping other people in the same situation that are suffering from student loan, credit card and other consumer debt.

@Stephanie-Thanks for sharing your story. I believe too many young people borrow money to attend college but have no financial POA (plan of action). The end result, they graduate with a mountain of credit card or student loan debt. There needs to be much more emphasis on the potential consequences of student loan debt and how to manage your finances prior to entering college (perhaps starting in High School) and accepting loans. Then this process needs to continue throughout the college experience.

By: frugalscholar

frugalscholar — Thu, 21 May 2009 20:58:35 +0000

At least physicians can pay off their loans! I totally agree with the analysis in the original post–colleges are playing two roles! As loan officers, they are not the student’s friend.