Was your college degree worth the debt?
- Thread starter Guard Dad
- Start date
honeybunny
Pursuit Driver
Yes.
The knowledge earned was worth the money.
But I have never used it to gain employment...
The knowledge earned was worth the money.
But I have never used it to gain employment...
JawJa
Driving Instructor
Hard to say...
I have an associates degree in general studies...
Around 40-45 hours of college credit... I realized that college and a cubicle hamster job was not for me even though my parents wanted me to do that)... so I stayed until I had something that represented my efforts...
Thankfully, we did not do student loans back in the dark ages (when I was college age).
Back on subject... the classes did broaden my understanding of many things... not all of them learned in the classroom.
OTOH... it had little to do with my income... as running a small business seems to be what I was destined to do.
I have an associates degree in general studies...
Around 40-45 hours of college credit... I realized that college and a cubicle hamster job was not for me even though my parents wanted me to do that)... so I stayed until I had something that represented my efforts...
Thankfully, we did not do student loans back in the dark ages (when I was college age).
Back on subject... the classes did broaden my understanding of many things... not all of them learned in the classroom.
OTOH... it had little to do with my income... as running a small business seems to be what I was destined to do.
I think this applies more to more recent college grads.
As we have discussed before, college has become quite a business these days, and a lot of people are being ran through the system, exiting with a nearly worthless degree and a whole lot of debt.
Certainly, there are exceptions, but I know a lot of college grads who have huge student loans and can't find jobs with the income potential to pay them back.
As we have discussed before, college has become quite a business these days, and a lot of people are being ran through the system, exiting with a nearly worthless degree and a whole lot of debt.
Certainly, there are exceptions, but I know a lot of college grads who have huge student loans and can't find jobs with the income potential to pay them back.
Paxilpapa
Serenity, through modern chemistry
One of the things I got from the article was why they are nearly worthless. Back in the day, not everyone went to college unless they had the independent means to do so, therefore there were fewer degrees,,, but they meant more to businesses. Now, with student loans, everyone and their brother is in college and the plethora of degrees gives them the relative value of a high school diploma back in the day, only now they still have the debt to contend with. Now if these college educated individuals are competing with high school graduates for a job they may not get because they are over qualified,,, I can see why a lot of them rue their education and its expense!!!
Yup. Programs like Hope Scholarship have pushed more people into going to college just because, and that's turned higher education into degree mills.
My daughter did fine (thanks in part to a professor who took an interest in her and steered her in the right direction), and got a degree that served her well until she became a stay at home mom with her second child. But every one of the girls from her high school entourage have huge student loans and not a one of them were able to get high paying jobs.
JawJa
Driving Instructor
I remember back in the dark ages...
I left Houston where I grew up... and went to Austin community college (could not get into UT/Austin)...
Worked and paid my own way, both college and a shared apartment.
And got to live in a cool place like Austin TX, before the lefties ruined it!
I left Houston where I grew up... and went to Austin community college (could not get into UT/Austin)...
Worked and paid my own way, both college and a shared apartment.
And got to live in a cool place like Austin TX, before the lefties ruined it!
That was when they had the one-room school houses and you took an apple to the teacher, right?
MudFlap
Pursuit Driver
What debt?
I graduated without debt, but that was back when the Earth was still cooling and classes cost about thirty-five cents per credit hour.
Our son graduates in three weeks from NAU in Flagstaff.
His college debt is zero.
Why? Because we started saving for his college the day he was born in a 529 account. (if you have young kids or grandkids, start this straightaway.)
We did the same for our daughter and she hasn't finished college (nor do I expect her too). She still has some coin left in her account too, but I might roll it over to our son if he decides on graduate skoooll.
I graduated without debt, but that was back when the Earth was still cooling and classes cost about thirty-five cents per credit hour.
Our son graduates in three weeks from NAU in Flagstaff.
His college debt is zero.
Why? Because we started saving for his college the day he was born in a 529 account. (if you have young kids or grandkids, start this straightaway.)
We did the same for our daughter and she hasn't finished college (nor do I expect her too). She still has some coin left in her account too, but I might roll it over to our son if he decides on graduate skoooll.
Yeah, I despise student loans.
I've told my story here before, but I started yet another business at 50 years old and worked many nights and weekends to pay for my kid's college. I actually made so much money for awhile, I also paid for her wedding, a couple of minor remodels, and put a new rock on "She who adores me's" finger.
The Sound Guy
Pursuit Driver
It's ridiculous that the price of a public education has risen so fast. In 1980, I paid $600 a year for my first year of college. I paid for that directly with a part time job and lived at home. Several years later, it was up to $1200 a year. I could still pay that directly from my job.
However, next year, its' going to be up to $5562 a year at KSU, *before* the bloody fees that the System is charging of $800+ a year. Then add the ridiculous prices for the textbooks that the professors require.
AJC reported that "A 2016 state audit found a 77% increase in the cost of attending a state college or university in the prior 10 years. "
If it wasn't for the government enslaving the students to their student loans by making them impossible to clear, no one would loan the money and the schools would be pressured to drop their rates to attract students. But by making loads available, they raise them whatever they want and the kids just pay them. Again, as the AJC reported:
I'd gone crazy knowing I had that kind of debt coming out of school. Esp with all the useless degrees out there now.
However, next year, its' going to be up to $5562 a year at KSU, *before* the bloody fees that the System is charging of $800+ a year. Then add the ridiculous prices for the textbooks that the professors require.
AJC reported that "A 2016 state audit found a 77% increase in the cost of attending a state college or university in the prior 10 years. "
If it wasn't for the government enslaving the students to their student loans by making them impossible to clear, no one would loan the money and the schools would be pressured to drop their rates to attract students. But by making loads available, they raise them whatever they want and the kids just pay them. Again, as the AJC reported:
I'd gone crazy knowing I had that kind of debt coming out of school. Esp with all the useless degrees out there now.
Betcha that if someone ran the numbers, the increases would closely align with the Hope Scholarship program.
The Sound Guy
Pursuit Driver
That as well. Dump a load of "Free" money in any system and prices are going to go up. Basic Economics that Liberals like to ignore.
Far West
Pursuit Driver
I think I have a lot of knowledge that I may not have been exposed to if I did not go to college. I worked two jobs to pay for my degree so I did not have any debt. Because of that it took longer, but again I graduated without debt.
Back then the thought was finishing college showed employers you had the ability to learn and complete something. Now, I think college is still important, but as many point out it is important to have a specific skill you learn and are trained in from that degree.
My daughter in law is graduating with her medical degree as a dentist next month. They have been as conservative as possible incurring debt. My son has worked hard to cover as many of the expenses and keep the amount she needed to apply for in loans conservative. She has contract to join a practice and will be able to pay off her loans in the next couple of years. They just sold their house that they bought before she started Med School. The house kept their housing cost low. They have the profit from the house to roll into a new house they are buying in the new town/state where her practice is.
They planned how it would work because of fear of debt... I think they are going to be fine. They did not just jump into debt without figuring out how to repay those loans - having the means to pay back the loan based on employment.
Back then the thought was finishing college showed employers you had the ability to learn and complete something. Now, I think college is still important, but as many point out it is important to have a specific skill you learn and are trained in from that degree.
My daughter in law is graduating with her medical degree as a dentist next month. They have been as conservative as possible incurring debt. My son has worked hard to cover as many of the expenses and keep the amount she needed to apply for in loans conservative. She has contract to join a practice and will be able to pay off her loans in the next couple of years. They just sold their house that they bought before she started Med School. The house kept their housing cost low. They have the profit from the house to roll into a new house they are buying in the new town/state where her practice is.
They planned how it would work because of fear of debt... I think they are going to be fine. They did not just jump into debt without figuring out how to repay those loans - having the means to pay back the loan based on employment.
Don't get me wrong, I am very pro college for people who should go to college.
I'm just saying between "free money" from Hope and the current climate that is pushing so many people to go to college; college has become a business that is more interested in running as many people as possible through the system and collecting the money, and far too many of them are coming out the other side with an almost worthless degree and huge debts.
Many of these would have been better off to learn a trade. They could have done that with little or no expense and be making good money now instead of waiting tables or baby sitting. There is a severe shortage of trained and experienced workers in the skilled trades, and many of those trades pay good money.
I'm just saying between "free money" from Hope and the current climate that is pushing so many people to go to college; college has become a business that is more interested in running as many people as possible through the system and collecting the money, and far too many of them are coming out the other side with an almost worthless degree and huge debts.
Many of these would have been better off to learn a trade. They could have done that with little or no expense and be making good money now instead of waiting tables or baby sitting. There is a severe shortage of trained and experienced workers in the skilled trades, and many of those trades pay good money.
Worth every penny but mainly because I graduated with no debt. Now for the next question.....did my degree help me get to where I am now? Nope, you don't need a degree to start a business (as long as you don't need business loans). A burning desire to succeed and a growing frustration at my current place of employment led me to take the risk and open my business. It has however, come in handy from time to time, going back to look through some of my old accounting books.
Last edited:
Boss 302
Pursuit Driver
While in graduate school (paid for with my Post 9/11 GI Bill), I did a paper on the cost of a college education. During the 60s and 70s, a student could work full-time at minimum wage during the summer to save enough money to pay for the tuition for the next academic year. Today, a student would need to earn more than $36 an hour working full-time during the summer to do that.
My research showed that each time the government made it easier to acquire federal subsidized student loans, colleges and universities would increase their tuition rates significantly to take financial advantage of those student loans. Tuition has increased more than 100% since 1974. What's amazing is, the vast majority of colleges and universities are accepting the same number of enrollments they did back then. Instead of spending money on adding more classrooms; they spend the money on amenities to lure more students to apply, creating a higher demand to justify raising their tuition rates even more.
When it comes down to it, the federal government while having good intentions initiated these programs that have increased tuition rates, flooded the market devaluing a college education, and increased the greed of colleges and universities. Another result is the creation of many new colleges that never existed before, but were created for the purpose of making money.
Back before the 80s, a person could graduate with a Liberal Arts degree and actually get a high paying job because businesses viewed any bachelors degree as valuable because of the dedication and work a person put into getting a degree, That's not the case today as the market is flooded with degrees today. I graduated with my MBA two years ago. It really has no value in the job market today.
My research showed that each time the government made it easier to acquire federal subsidized student loans, colleges and universities would increase their tuition rates significantly to take financial advantage of those student loans. Tuition has increased more than 100% since 1974. What's amazing is, the vast majority of colleges and universities are accepting the same number of enrollments they did back then. Instead of spending money on adding more classrooms; they spend the money on amenities to lure more students to apply, creating a higher demand to justify raising their tuition rates even more.
When it comes down to it, the federal government while having good intentions initiated these programs that have increased tuition rates, flooded the market devaluing a college education, and increased the greed of colleges and universities. Another result is the creation of many new colleges that never existed before, but were created for the purpose of making money.
Back before the 80s, a person could graduate with a Liberal Arts degree and actually get a high paying job because businesses viewed any bachelors degree as valuable because of the dedication and work a person put into getting a degree, That's not the case today as the market is flooded with degrees today. I graduated with my MBA two years ago. It really has no value in the job market today.