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I'm one of seven children. We all paid our own way through college. On the other hand, I really envied my classmates who never had to pay for anything, even housing and insurance, and didn't have to work as well as attend classes and study.
Am I the only one?! I feel like it. I come across sooo many people who were lucky enough for their parents to pay for college. My loans have increased $12,000 in interest since the 8 years I’ve been out of college. It just sucks....
No, you aren't. It just feels that way. I won't say they didn't help, they offered some help and I'm grateful. But, college was expensive and even with a scholarship and what they could do, I was still saddled with sizeable student loan debt.
I got not one penny from my folks for education, found a 2 year technology program and turned that into a 30 plus year career. None of the other 5 kids got anything either...wait....6 kids....I think I get it!
OTOH, I was very happy to help my one and only daughter out.
Am I the only one?! I feel like it. I come across sooo many people who were lucky enough for their parents to pay for college. My loans have increased $12,000 in interest since the 8 years I’ve been out of college. It just sucks....
It's expensive. I'm still paying for mine even with my parents help.
Am I the only one?! I feel like it. I come across sooo many people who were lucky enough for their parents to pay for college. My loans have increased $12,000 in interest since the 8 years I’ve been out of college. It just sucks....
No OP you're not alone and as other posters have already commented, neither did I and I didn't pay for my children either, they applied for grants as well as student loans. I think, in general (and it is unfortunate) that people appreciate what they've earned and paid for and yes, it just sucks.
Count me among those who doesn't think the cost of my education was out of line.
Yes, I got about 75% paid for, free and clear, via grants and scholarships.
Yes, I went to a private out of state liberal arts college with a high sticker price (that I came nowhere near being charged).
Yes, it was 20 years ago. It was still expensive in 1990s dollars, then.
But the 25% that my scholarships and grants didn't cover? The 25% I took out student loans for (not that my parents paid for, or my parents took out loans for..that I took out loans for)? Less than the cost of a new car. People drop that and more on a vehicle and think nothing of it. But if they owe it for school, they're outraged. I never identified with this. It's the best investment I ever made.
seems the ones who complain about cost are the ones who regret college and any cost would be too much for them, they shouldnt have attended in that case but they didnt want to work at 18 either...
seems the ones who complain about cost are the ones who regret college and any cost would be too much for them, they shouldnt have attended in that case but they didnt want to work at 18 either...
This is an unfair shot at college grads with mounting debt. Many of them took on that debt, only to find that the jobs they qualified for after a BA was in hand don't pay much. To make enough money to be able to pay for living expenses (plus debt payments) and have a hope of raising a child, some find out they'll need an MA, and more debt. There's some justification for worry or complaint about the size of the debt. The OP's situation is unnerving; interest on his college loan has gone up $12,000 in 8 years, while he's been making payments? That's scary!
OP, have you looked into public service jobs that provide loan forgiveness? There's a government program, that forgives the loans for people who work several years for non-profit organizations, or who choose certain government jobs.
I went to school out of state and financed my undergrad degree primarily through scholarships.
Students will have to be more strategic in this way, in the future, and go to schools that offer a good financial aid package, and work harder in HS to qualify for scholarships. They also may have to forgo going to their top-choice schools, in order to take the best financial aid package. After a friend of mine did the college tours with his son, only to find out that while all of them offered generous financial aid (the student also got a couple of scholarships), the remaining amount the schools all required the parents to contribute was more money than they had. So the boy went to a small private school that offered the most financial aid. There was no other workable choice. He's lucky that one of his scholarship sources is offering him a summer internship that pays well.
Students and parents will have to do a lot of research, to find the schools that offer the best financial aid packages. It's becoming a trend for some universities to offer full financial aid that is a combination of various non-loan aid. Let's hope that trend gains momentum.
This is an unfair shot at college grads with mounting debt. Many of them took on that debt, only to find that the jobs they qualified for after a BA was in hand don't pay much.
unfair or not, my shot is aimed at why it took them that many years to figure out what the starting pay is
you said college was an investment, what other investments do you know of that does not have some resemblance of forecasting finances?
i've seen advice saying total student debt should be about first years salary... but people dont look into what that salary could be until after the debt has accumulated, kind of too late at that point isnt it? <--- which at this point, puts medical school right at the edge of being "affordable", if that isnt an investment on education, not sure what would be
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