A college degree is a lousy investment

[DiegoTiger]

I know Arizona State/Arizona are getting more applicants this year because California in state tuition is almost the same as our out of state tuition. To me, that's nuts. UCLA's in-state tuition is like $11,200 and ASU's out of state is $10,900. The cost of living is way cheaper here then in California too.

Do states still do in state tuition agreements for their neighbors? I think at one time Cali had that type of agreement with Oregon and Arizona.

California is an odd case. If you want the college experience of big sports programs, and a college atmosphere where everything you do is related to the college community, as opposed to commuting, then you are kind of screwed. You either need daddy and mommy's bucks to attend USC or you need ridiculous scores/grades to attend UCLA, Berkeley, or Stanford. There really isn't an ASU/NCSU/Oregon type college in the state.

[ITK]

Do states still do in state tuition agreements for their neighbors? I think at one time Cali had that type of agreement with Oregon and Arizona.

I think that is called the Western Undergraduate Exchange, but I have no idea how it works.

[jwmann2]

Second thought: these articles seem to be everywhere these days. The message should not be "a college degree is a bad investment" because clearly that is untrue. It is a terrible idea, however, to run up a huge amount of debt to go to a school like Temple or Tulane. That's just not sensible.

A lot of kids end up working regular jobs instead of work study jobs which chip away at the debt little by little over four years. That is my only regret in terms of undergrad. That and having a girlfriend.

[awaken]

Are student loans the next housing bubble?

[SkyDivingDeacon]

Are student loans the next housing bubble?

Yes. Put this in another thread, but my buddy at Barclay's runs a structured product group and they are all over trying to figure out how to package student loan debt a la CDO's with sub-prime loans.

And Apollo group is going bust. Mark it down

[awaken]

Wake HS and Wake Tech partnership

[ITK]

Yes. Put this in another thread, but my buddy at Barclay's runs a structured product group and they are all over trying to figure out how to package student loan debt a la CDO's with sub-prime loans.

And Apollo group is going bust. Mark it down

As well they should.

[Deadbolt]

Wake HS and Wake Tech partnership

Long overdue, IMO. At some point we developed this idea that everyone should go to college, yet only around 27% of Americans have a college degree. Let's face it...most people aren't cut out for college. Give these people a skill and let them be productive parts of our economy instead of pushing an unattainable goal on them.

ETA: Reference http://chronicle.com/article/Adults-...ees-in/125995/

[AMCDeac]

Good article:

http://www.smartmoney.com/spend/fami...1330033152060/

[OGBDeacon07]

Good article:

http://www.smartmoney.com/spend/fami...1330033152060/

Good article. Here are some key points:

Lesley Turner, a PhD candidate at Columbia University, looked at data on aid from 1996 to 2008 and calculated that, on average, schools increased Pell Grant recipients' prices by $17 in response to every $100 of Pell Grant aid. More selective nonprofit schools' response was largest and these schools raised prices by $66 for every $100 of Pell Grant aid.

Aid from schools over the past decade has increased about half as fast as federal aid, according to the College Board.

Perhaps worse for students than a crowding out effect is the Bennett Effect, named for William Bennett, who 25 years ago as Secretary of Education wrote for the New York Times, "Increases in financial aid in recent years have enabled colleges and universities blithely to raise their tuitions."

[PhDeac]

Good articles, but I feel like they're regurgitating arguments from 2 years ago. There hasn't been much movement on this issue from the schools or federal government. It's frustrating because people are broadly identifying a problem that nobody is trying to fix.

[OGBDeacon07]

Good articles, but I feel like they're regurgitating arguments from 2 years ago. There hasn't been much movement on this issue from the schools or federal government. It's frustrating because people are broadly identifying a problem that nobody is trying to fix.

True. Let's hope they fix it by the time your kid is ready for college!

[PhDeac]

Haha. I'm training him to fix his own problem. Scholarships.

[HeavyPetter]

Good articles, but I feel like they're regurgitating arguments from 2 years ago. There hasn't been much movement on this issue from the schools or federal government. It's frustrating because people are broadly identifying a problem that nobody is trying to fix.

Yeah, that's how our government works.

[deacondamo]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/02/opinio...html?hpt=hp_t2

Interesting take by the president emeritus of GW.

[Deadbolt]

Top ten schools in NC in terms of student loan debt.

Wake came in a #3...surprisingly, Campbell came in at #1. http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/...=image_gallery

[Manifest Destiny]

Top ten schools in NC in terms of student loan debt.

Wake came in a #3...surprisingly, Campbell came in at #1. http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/...=image_gallery

I almost went to law school there but its crazy expensive. I know a bunch of people who went there that are gonna be pissed when they get out.

[Deadbolt]

I almost went to law school there but its crazy expensive. I know a bunch of people who went there that are gonna be pissed when they get out.

I have one friend who is still there finishing up his Pharmacy degree. The undergrad schools aren't too bad (my debt was nowhere near 38 grand), but the grad schools at CU are insane, and that's what most people go to CU for.

[BillBrasky]

So what's the end game for all the excessive costs? In health care it can be traced back to insurance, unneccesary procedures, HMO's, etc.

What's at the heart of this college loan/tuition bubble? Endowments? I honestly don't know.

[buckets]

Just like the housing bubble, it can be traced back to the government's loosey goosey lending standards. It wasn't that long ago that you could loan your way through the University of Phoenix on government-backed cash moneys.