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A college degree is a lousy investment

Wake tuition crushes upper middle class families that don't qualify for financial aid and but aren't considered rich. These are just the type of families that Wake grads become with a little hard work. How is the average alum going to be able to send their kids back to Wake?

I don't plan to if it's this expensive (proportionally) once it's time, 16 years from now.
 
Wake tuition crushes upper middle class families that don't qualify for financial aid and but aren't considered rich. These are just the type of families that Wake grads become with a little hard work. How is the average alum going to be able to send their kids back to Wake?

yep. went to wake on academic schollies/financial aid. I have leveraged that education into a decently successful law practice, but am not "rich" enough for Obama to want to raise my taxes. Hard to imagine paying full Wake price for my kids, especially if tuition continues to rise for the next 12 years at the rate it has risen since I graduated from undergrad in '98.
 
I plan on being filthy rich and still not sure how I could afford more than one kid going to Wake.
 
yep. went to wake on academic schollies/financial aid. I have leveraged that education into a decently successful law practice, but am not "rich" enough for Obama to want to raise my taxes. Hard to imagine paying full Wake price for my kids, especially if tuition continues to rise for the next 12 years at the rate it has risen since I graduated from undergrad in '98.

I am "rich" enough in Obama's eyes and can't imagine having enough to send 3kids to college at 50k a year each. I can barely afford to rent an apartment in NYC with no kids!
 
Just to reiterate a point made earlier...

I totally agree that college tuition (including Wake) have gotten out of control. That said, when you're dropping 50k/year on a Wake education you are at least investing that money in a top 25 University.

I can't imagine dropping 50k on an education at a "mediocre" private school.
 
I'm kinda hoping endowments grow to the point tuition is no longer required. My hopes are NOT very high.

Let me spray my college tuition hypothesis on everyone.
My opinion is that college tuition is driven by the desire and ability of the very top colleges to spend money on students.
Example
Harvard has a gazillion dollars and can afford not to charge tuition if it wanted to, but it doesn't because people will shell out bucks to go to Harvard because it's Harvard. Harvard has so much money they can pay their staff whatever they want, they can fund whatever studies they want and they can get the best equipment and labs and facilties and still not have to worry about anything from a financial standpoint. In the endless race to be #1 and "keep up with the Joneses" other colleges have to spend similar amounts of money and do similar things just to stay highly ranked. It's a spending war, so to speak. Schools don't cover costs on ever increasing tuition not because educating a student is fundamentally that much more expensive, but keeping pace with the Elite schools and what they are doing and trying to position yourself as one of the best schools in the country/world is very expensive.
Soooooo......unless there is some fundamental shift in how college institutions and educations are percieved then regardless of endowment, tuition will likely never go away......maybe if the elite schools did it others would follow, but something tells me that probably won't happen anytime soon.
 
Let me spray my college tuition hypothesis on everyone.
My opinion is that college tuition is driven by the desire and ability of the very top colleges to spend money on students.
Example
Harvard has a gazillion dollars and can afford not to charge tuition if it wanted to, but it doesn't because people will shell out bucks to go to Harvard because it's Harvard. Harvard has so much money they can pay their staff whatever they want, they can fund whatever studies they want and they can get the best equipment and labs and facilties and still not have to worry about anything from a financial standpoint. In the endless race to be #1 and "keep up with the Joneses" other colleges have to spend similar amounts of money and do similar things just to stay highly ranked. It's a spending war, so to speak. Schools don't cover costs on ever increasing tuition not because educating a student is fundamentally that much more expensive, but keeping pace with the Elite schools and what they are doing and trying to position yourself as one of the best schools in the country/world is very expensive.
Soooooo......unless there is some fundamental shift in how college institutions and educations are percieved then regardless of endowment, tuition will likely never go away......maybe if the elite schools did it others would follow, but something tells me that probably won't happen.

I truly see more and more great students going to state schools. I think this trend will continue and you will see schools like Wake passed over for good state schools. I am hoping this will necessitate some kind of change in philosophy. What works for Harvard should not be for Wake. I'm not putting down Wake there, but Harvard opens doors just with its name to a degree that Wake never will be able to.
 
I truly see more and more great students going to state schools. I think this trend will continue and you will see schools like Wake passed over for good state schools. I am hoping this will necessitate some kind of change in philosophy. What works for Harvard should not be for Wake. I'm not putting down Wake there, but Harvard opens doors just with its name to a degree that Wake never will be able to.

That could be something that happens, but more schollies may be available for "great" students (at least that's how I'd see if playing out). Tuition would continue to increase and those that can afford it will pay it.

for the record, this already happens at places. I bet marginally qualified students (not unqualified) are given the benefit of the doubt if they can pay full tuition.
 
That could be something that happens, but more schollies may be available for "great" students (at least that's how I'd see if playing out). Tuition would continue to increase and those that can afford it will pay it.

for the record, this already happens at places. I bet marginally qualified students (not unqualified) are given the benefit of the doubt if they can pay full tuition.

Definitely the case. There are private schools for dumbasses that can't get into a good state school and won't lower themselves to going to one they can't get into. Can you imagine paying $35,000 a year to get a diploma from Queens University?
 
Just to reiterate a point made earlier...

I totally agree that college tuition (including Wake) have gotten out of control. That said, when you're dropping 50k/year on a Wake education you are at least investing that money in a top 25 University.

I can't imagine dropping 50k on an education at a "mediocre" private school.

:werd:
 
I have major issues with paying 50k for any school that I am likely not going to make 50k a year coming out of. That eliminates most schools.

I don't follow your logic. Look at the average salaries for college grads in the current economic climate. I'd be willing to be most (even from top schools) are making less than 50k to start.

Basing your college decision on what you are likely to make the first year out of school is shortsighted.
 
I don't follow your logic. Look at the average salaries for college grads in the current economic climate. I'd be willing to be most (even from top schools) are making less than 50k to start.

Basing your college decision on what you are likely to make the first year out of school is shortsighted.

Kids getting out of Ivy League schools might make what they pay per year. Those are the only schools I would bother paying for my kids to go to other than public schools. I just think otherwise it makes no sense financially. My lofgic is that Wake at 50k, when you probably can't make 50k out of Wake in your first five years is a stupid financial decision. I've been out of college since 2003 and I still have friends whose lives are completely "on hold" because of student loans.
 
so for us to laugh at elon kids for paying 40k a year for an elon degree.... i'm sure ivy league students are wondering why the fuck wake students pay 50k for a wake degree.
 
so for us to laugh at elon kids for paying 40k a year for an elon degree.... i'm sure ivy league students are wondering why the fuck wake students pay 50k for a wake degree.

Yup- agree. I will say that I would never take back my Wake degree, but it was a horrible investment on my parents' part from a strictly financial perspective. I could have gone to a state university and then law school and had the exact same job I am in now.
 
Kids getting out of Ivy League schools might make what they pay per year. Those are the only schools I would bother paying for my kids to go to other than public schools. I just think otherwise it makes no sense financially. My lofgic is that Wake at 50k, when you probably can't make 50k out of Wake in your first five years is a stupid financial decision. I've been out of college since 2003 and I still have friends whose lives are completely "on hold" because of student loans.

So let's say you plan to go to school in NC, undecided major and your options are as follows because although you'd be in the top 25% of the incoming class at UNC-CH, the NC legislature has foolishly decided that it needs to admit morons from rural counties instead of the actual best students in the state. Therefore, UNC-CH is not an option, the following schools are:

Wake
Elon
NC State
App, ECU, UNC-C, UNC-G, UNC-W, etc
USC - out of state

Should you go to Wake, which is a top 30 institution; State, which is a decent school in the top 150 and much cheaper; USC which is less specialized and costs between State and Wake; or one of the public diploma mills?

Keep in mind, none of these schools are free, and the college experience you actually sought was at UNC-CH. Where are you most likely to find it?
 
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