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There were always rich kids in college who could afford stuff like this, most college towns just don't even really offer it. I bet this is mostly international kids who have families with tons of money.
I'm actually all for it. Even though I made some friends and learned a lot, overall....I hated dorm life. I really started doing much better in school when I got my own room in an apartment. I DO think living conditions can affect performance, and the ROI of investing in a better place to live to allow better study habits and performance in college pays off for a lot of people. Of course, you have to be able to afford it in the first place.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CCATL
They are actually cheaper than most on-campus dorms, when split with a roommate. Old timers today complaining about how kids sacked with student debt are to be blamed for their own actions, without understanding what it actually means or costs to get an education today
Having just graduated 2 years ago and now in grad school, this is very accurate.
Even in College Station there are some upscale apartments similar to this. One even has a lazy river with a huge movie screen by the pool. Two places opened up near the bars during my last year there (Johnny Manziel was rumored to have lived there). There were a few other places as well that were very nice. 2 bedrooms are over 900 a month (each person) which for College Station is way up there. I don't even wanna know what one bedrooms are. This place in particular is right across the street from a nice park and has shops below.
But, for every student living in a nice place like that, there are just as many (or more) living as cheap as possible (like a lot of Home Park houses for Tech). There were also plenty of people driving $1,000 cars or didn't have cars at all. There were some that could eat out every night and those that could afford ramen only.
Also yes, on campus dorms are often really expensive even just for 2 semesters. It was cheaper for me to be off campus with a 12 month lease than pay thousands each semester plus an expensive meal plan while living in a 50 year old dorm scheduled to be torn down.
Costs have gone up just in the last few years. When I started A&M (2010-2011), in state tuition (I forgot what out of state was) was about $8,000. Just five years later, it had increased $2,000 to over 10K a year just for tuition which definitely outpaced inflation. Rent for my 3 bedroom apartment 4 years ago was 525 a month. It's now over $600 a month. My 4 bedroom rent 2 years ago was around 475, it's now $525 a month. And these are middle of the road 10-15 year old apartments that are hardly state of the art. Fairly cheaply made with lots of rowdy college student wear and tear. Their statuses keep sliding but rent keeps rising.
I'm actually glad I got out when I did. I can't believe how much more expensive it would've been if I had been born just 2 years later.
They are actually cheaper than most on-campus dorms, when split with a roommate. Old timers today complaining about how kids sacked with student debt are to be blamed for their own actions, without understanding what it actually means or costs to get an education today
Which is actually pretty crazy when you think about it. Luxurious high rise living (though shared) is cheaper than barebones dorms in the same neighborhood
They are actually cheaper than most on-campus dorms, when split with a roommate. Old timers today complaining about how kids sacked with student debt are to be blamed for their own actions, without understanding what it actually means or costs to get an education today
Well, I don't have a lot of education myself so I am probably not aware of how they get saddled with hundreds of thousands in debt. Back in the day you went to community college or State U. or something else you could afford.
If you wanted to go to some expensive private college you had to earn a Scholarship. You didn't borrow a bunch of money because (a) you couldn't and (b) you'd just have a bunch of debt.
Well, I don't have a lot of education myself so I am probably not aware of how they get saddled with hundreds of thousands in debt. Back in the day you went to community college or State U. or something else you could afford.
If you wanted to go to some expensive private college you had to earn a Scholarship. You didn't borrow a bunch of money because (a) you couldn't and (b) you'd just have a bunch of debt.
Even State U is now expensive and risk students getting into a lot of debt.
Well, I don't have a lot of education myself so I am probably not aware of how they get saddled with hundreds of thousands in debt. Back in the day you went to community college or State U. or something else you could afford.
If you wanted to go to some expensive private college you had to earn a Scholarship. You didn't borrow a bunch of money because (a) you couldn't and (b) you'd just have a bunch of debt.
The unfortunate reality is that even state schools are getting ridiculously expensive. Also, not every state has something like the HOPE scholarship, which really is a great thing for undergraduate students in Georgia. Also, you are thinking very major metro area centric - for students from rural areas, even going to a community college will require the you rent and apartment because you are going to school far away from your house. In general, everywhere, off-campus housing is much cheaper than living in an on-campus dorm, after all costs are taken into account.
In terms of the student debt, it really isn't the undergraduate degrees that are killing people. I mean, yeah, you can wrack up debt with those, but generally it is going to be less than $60k unless you pick a really expensive private school that didn't give you any scholarship. The real killer is graduate school - go get a masters, and odds are you're taking an additional $30 - $60K or more in additional loans. Usually PhD programs will give you a bare bones stipend plus tuition costs ($25k/year or so), but that usually isn't enough to live on, requiring more loans. And good luck saying to a full-time PhD student that they should get a side job while getting that degree, it is nearly impossible. The good thing about schools like GSU is their classes are offered mostly at night, and they allow students to be part-time, so you can finish a PhD within 9 years and hold a full time job, but this is very rare among these types of programs. For any other professional school - good luck. If you want an MD, be prepared to have $250K plus in total loans after all of those years are finished.
Point is, it is very easy to wrack up lots of student debt, and there aren't many options to avoid doing that, especially if you come from a rural area and getting advanced degrees. And I'm pretty sick of hearing people say, well go get an engineering degree and you'll pay it back quick! Two things, (1) not everybody wants to be, or can be, and engineer, and (2) it is still not right that any person who got an advanced education to make their lives better begins their life with huge amounts of student debt that needs to be paid back. Education costs are outrageous, and shouldn't be sitting on the backs of people who need it to get life started.
The unfortunate reality is that even state schools are getting ridiculously expensive. Also, not every state has something like the HOPE scholarship, which really is a great thing for undergraduate students in Georgia. Also, you are thinking very major metro area centric - for students from rural areas, even going to a community college will require the you rent and apartment because you are going to school far away from your house. In general, everywhere, off-campus housing is much cheaper than living in an on-campus dorm, after all costs are taken into account.
In terms of the student debt, it really isn't the undergraduate degrees that are killing people. I mean, yeah, you can wrack up debt with those, but generally it is going to be less than $60k unless you pick a really expensive private school that didn't give you any scholarship. The real killer is graduate school - go get a masters, and odds are you're taking an additional $30 - $60K or more in additional loans. Usually PhD programs will give you a bare bones stipend plus tuition costs ($25k/year or so), but that usually isn't enough to live on, requiring more loans. And good luck saying to a full-time PhD student that they should get a side job while getting that degree, it is nearly impossible. The good thing about schools like GSU is their classes are offered mostly at night, and they allow students to be part-time, so you can finish a PhD within 9 years and hold a full time job, but this is very rare among these types of programs. For any other professional school - good luck. If you want an MD, be prepared to have $250K plus in total loans after all of those years are finished.
Point is, it is very easy to wrack up lots of student debt, and there aren't many options to avoid doing that, especially if you come from a rural area and getting advanced degrees. And I'm pretty sick of hearing people say, well go get an engineering degree and you'll pay it back quick! Two things, (1) not everybody wants to be, or can be, and engineer, and (2) it is still not right that any person who got an advanced education to make their lives better begins their life with huge amounts of student debt that needs to be paid back. Education costs are outrageous, and shouldn't be sitting on the backs of people who need it to get life started.
UGA says it costs $25,134 a year, including tuition and fees ($11,622), books, supplies, residence hall, meal ticket and living expenses. Use the HOPE and you can knock the bottom out of that tuition cost. You're going to need food and shelter whether you go to college or not. It's about the same at Georgia Tech, Georgia state and any of the other 29 state colleges and universities.
How does this add up to massive debt?
Of course it's going to cost more if you want to pursue additional degrees, but isn't that a matter of choice?
Well, I don't have a lot of education myself so I am probably not aware of how they get saddled with hundreds of thousands in debt. Back in the day you went to community college or State U. or something else you could afford.
If you wanted to go to some expensive private college you had to earn a Scholarship. You didn't borrow a bunch of money because (a) you couldn't and (b) you'd just have a bunch of debt.
My dad went out of state to Clemson for 3 years (4 years at Tech before that, long story...) in the late 70s/early 80s.
Here's tuition going back to 1985. It was 3,910 per year for out of state. It's close enough to when my dad went. Back in 1985, minimum wage was $3.35 an hour. If you worked 40 hours a week for 52 weeks a year, before taxes you made $6,968. To make it simple, let's just say $4,000 a year for tuition and you made $7,000 a year before tax working a full time minimum wage job. That leaves a couple thousand leftover. My dad did work a min wage job way back then, just not sure how much.
Fast forward to today. Tuition at the same university for 2014-2015 out of state costs a whopping 31,426 dollars. Working a minimum wage job (7.25) 40 hours a week 52 weeks a year gets you $15,080 a year before tax. Yep, not even half of tuition is covered by a minimum wage job. Now, in state is cheaper but you're barely breaking even.
In the 70s and 80s my dad was able to go out of state for a solid engineering degree (which led to fairly successful career) and pay all of tuition with a minimum wage job. The same is not true today. It was cheaper 30 years ago to go out of state than it is today to go instate.
Another tidbit of info. GA Tech's in state tuition has increased by over $2,500 just in 4 years. All while minimum wage has stayed the same (in fact, with inflation, real wages have decreased slightly).
Well, if I couldn't swing the tuition I'd stay in state. At least that's what we did back in the day.
Also the community college route is not a bad option. I had to leave high school early and the community colleges saved my neck. After a couple of years I was able to get back on track by simply attending in the evening. It may take an extra 12 months but the courses were some of the best I ever had and you don't incur a bunch of debt.
Well, if I couldn't swing the tuition I'd stay in state. At least that's what we did back in the day.
Also the community college route is not a bad option. I had to leave high school early and the community colleges saved my neck. After a couple of years I was able to get back on track by simply attending in the evening. It may take an extra 12 months but the courses were some of the best I ever had and you don't incur a bunch of debt.
I flunked out of TTU after getting the first year of Tennessee's lottery scholarship, community college saved me and I was able to pull 2 straight semesters of 4.0.
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