Why go to Wake for $62K?
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TownieDeac
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I'm not sure I buy the education bubble theory.
It would be nice to see some standard consumer protections given back to student loans (truth in lending, bankruptcy protection, refinancing, Fair Debt & Collection practices). You have to think that'd make lenders more cautious and you'd start to see tuition prices drop again.
It would be nice to see some standard consumer protections given back to student loans (truth in lending, bankruptcy protection, refinancing, Fair Debt & Collection practices). You have to think that'd make lenders more cautious and you'd start to see tuition prices drop again.
wakedeac98
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For the majority in terms of their future career, college is only about having a diploma that says you finished. It's just another hoop to jump through. I use absolutely nothing I learned in the classroom college in my current job. Zero. 98% of what I learned in college was useless for grad school. In that respect, I could not care less about arguments made for better classroom teaching at Wake vs. a more inexpensive option. I suppose I'm slightly more well rounded and educated with a few abstract nuggets of theatre or English literature which for all intents and purposes are useless in my everyday life. But that isn't worth the extra price tag Wake commands these days.
The real question in my opinion is "Does a degree from Wake carry enough weight and open enough doors by name and reputation alone vs. a state school?". I don't have a great answer, but my guess is not in most situations to justify the extra cost. There were plenty of very smart people in grad school with me who were accepted from state schools. I don't think my Wake degree gave me preferential admission to grad school, which was more about standardized tests. If anything, Wake possibly hurt my application by grade deflation and relatively lower GPA. People with state school degrees will also do just fine when looking for jobs in the same region. Wake would help more if you wanted to move to a different part of the country.
I loved my four years at Wake. If I had to do it again I would not change it. However I finished in '98 when costs were 1/3 of what they are now. I just don't see enough reasons now to justify the current price tag.
The real question in my opinion is "Does a degree from Wake carry enough weight and open enough doors by name and reputation alone vs. a state school?". I don't have a great answer, but my guess is not in most situations to justify the extra cost. There were plenty of very smart people in grad school with me who were accepted from state schools. I don't think my Wake degree gave me preferential admission to grad school, which was more about standardized tests. If anything, Wake possibly hurt my application by grade deflation and relatively lower GPA. People with state school degrees will also do just fine when looking for jobs in the same region. Wake would help more if you wanted to move to a different part of the country.
I loved my four years at Wake. If I had to do it again I would not change it. However I finished in '98 when costs were 1/3 of what they are now. I just don't see enough reasons now to justify the current price tag.
ImTheCaptain
I disagree with you
i think the broader question we're going to have to face is "In 2015, is a liberal arts undergraduate degree worth what we think it is?" Worth being defined as "useful training for the post-undergraduate world"
Buttermaker
Well-known member
I guess the question then becomes, is that experience worth the delta between $62k and state school costs (let's say $20k) per year?
EatLeadCommie
Tommy Elrod
Very true, but in retrospect, I wonder what the smaller class sizes did to really benefit me. It was easy to approach and talk to your professors out of class to be sure, but mostly when I had to do that it was because I was having trouble in a class and wanted it to be known that I wasn't apathetic about my class performance. At a state school, I doubt there would even be the need to have that convo. I do recall some nice convos with Zuber and maybe a few other profs, but I don't think that's worth 60 grand.
I'm not sure you can afford it.
You can live in a house, you can liquidate your house, you can short sell your shouse and you can discharge your housing debts in bankruptcy. Also, there isn't a shadow market of substitute housing goods at 1/4 of the costs.
But I don't think those differences help your argument.
Uh-huh. Perhaps the pool of people who can afford to pay full freight completely overlaps in every respect with people who did well on the SAT, and there would be no "business" reason to drop the SAT as an entrance requirement. I guess anything is possible.
BeachBumDeac
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What's Ph's argument?
ImTheCaptain
I disagree with you
That the education bubble is not as dangerous as the housing bubble. In one sense, he's right in that it is not as widespread but on the other hand it is more devastating to the impacted people. Crushing student loans are a financial death sentence under existing law.
Kent
JTNB
Wake, along with lots of other schools, has become a school for the very rich. Unlike some of them, it has a niche as a school for the very rich who have smart kids. The demand is there- just look at tuition for many lower rated private schools.
It's not worth it, but here's the angle that works: would a wealthy parent pay an additional $10-15K a year to send their kid to Wake over another lower rated but still overpriced private school? Lots would, and that's why applications keep going up. As long as there are people willing to overpay tuition, there will be schools willing to cash the checks.
It's not worth it, but here's the angle that works: would a wealthy parent pay an additional $10-15K a year to send their kid to Wake over another lower rated but still overpriced private school? Lots would, and that's why applications keep going up. As long as there are people willing to overpay tuition, there will be schools willing to cash the checks.
PhDeac
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Where did I post that?
Here, unless you actually meant place the bubble "theory" on a countertop.
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Do you get any sort of tuition concessions in the state where you teach? Any (very) early thoughts on where you might try to send your kids if you have to keep them in state for cost reasons?
We're only 6 years away from the oldest going to college and he has high hopes of the Air Force academy, but that's a long shot for virtually all applicants. I'm hoping UNC is a good fall back option for us for cost reasons. The thought of putting 3 kids through college keeps me up some nights.
TheTwinAndreBen
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I would go a step further and ask if the education at Wake will get you a job that pays significantly better than had you gotten a degree at a public school.