Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
"Nationwide, the student-loan default rate stands at 8.8 percent. Of the 443 public, private, and proprietary colleges and universities in California, Thomas Aquinas College is one of only seven whose graduates receive federal student loans but do not default on them. Among those seven institutions the College has the second-highest percentage of students receiving aid and the second-highest graduation rate."
What's the secret? Besides a unique curriculum that attracts serious-minded students, the college caps student borrowing at $16,000, never turns down qualified applicants due to financial need, and has many devoted and generous benefactors.
So what happens to the poor agnostic who doesn't want a Catholic education? Any of those "generous benefactors" helping her out?
I noticed USC also has a low default rate. So the moral here is go to a private school where there are "generous benefactors" (or football fans) to help you out? (Interesting that the public schools in poor minority areas have a high default rate. That makes sense. Lousy economy and graduates can't get jobs. No "generous benefactors" helping foot the bill so they have to borrow to try and get some sort of an education. My guess is, were the economy better and these kids were finding jobs, the default rates for those schools would be MUCH lower.)
Last edited by DewDropInn; 08-16-2012 at 04:26 PM..
I think the cap helps. I have two nieces that went to private 4 year colleges and used loan money to pay for them as well as their spending money. Each owes astronomical amounts in loan money and neither got jobs in their fields of study. I told my SIL not to let them do it and to stay home and do 2 years CC and transfer to the state college.
I went to college on the GI bill and even with that you only got so much money. I did the 2 year CC stint and then transferred and always got used books and spoke to the professors to see if we needed to buy the books. I chose my classes carefully and stuck to what I needed for a degree.
I'll bet those with the caps are doing the same thing.
Check out the syllabus, DewDrop. This is an outstanding education for anyone, not just Catholics, and that's why it has such enthusiastic benefactors.
I'm not arguing whether or not it's a good school. I just think it's a little disingenuous to say "look at the low default rate" when it's a school that is very discerning on whom it admits AND puts a cap on the loan limit. A CC in Riverside doesn't get to do that.
And they don't offer merit scholarships. That's interesting. Do you know why?
(I actually looked at the website and the alumni and was surprised to see a name I sort-of-knew. Good Catholic family. That didn't surprise me.)
Last edited by DewDropInn; 08-16-2012 at 07:26 PM..
I'm not arguing whether or not it's a good school. I just think it's a little disingenuous to say "look at the low default rate" when it's a school that is very discerning on whom it admits AND puts a cap on the loan limit. A CC in Riverside doesn't get to do that.
Well, a CC in Riverside (hmmm ... do we have connections?) doesn't cost $31,400 per year to attend. Do CC students really take out federal loans? I didn't, but that was the class of '88.
I'm not sure why you think it's disingenuous to bring this up. If some colleges/universities have low default rates, others might like to find out why and move in that direction. Providing a quality education is a good start if you want to attract benefactors. Putting a cap on student debt is another. TAC provides work opportunities to help fill the gap. Finally, yes, being a little more selective when it comes to admissions isn't a bad idea either.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DewDropInn
And they don't offer merit scholarships. That's interesting. Do you know why?
That is interesting, and I'm not sure why. I think I'll go ask someone right now at the dinner table ...
Other 0% default schools:
Caltech (the school with the top grad rate), Canada College, UC Merced, University of the West, World Mission University.
There were also over a dozen schools who look to have been within a very small number of students of having no defaults (in some cases, less than 1 per year). Looking at the list, they all look to be schools with very few transfers in or out.
Which might be the biggest factor with Thomas Aquinas. They have a 0% transfer rate. They accept no credits from other schools nor do they transfer credit to other schools. They also require all students to be full-time and it appears houses all students on campus (with a student body under 400 students).
Also part of it is luck. Many of the low default rate schools have student bodies so small that it was probably single digit defaults in the three year period.
Other 0% default schools:
Caltech (the school with the top grad rate), Canada College, UC Merced, University of the West, World Mission University.
UC Merced? Impressive!
Quote:
Originally Posted by marigolds6
Looking at the list, they all look to be schools with very few transfers in or out. Which might be the biggest factor with Thomas Aquinas. They have a 0% transfer rate. They accept no credits from other schools nor do they transfer credit to other schools. They also require all students to be full-time and it appears houses all students on campus (with a student body under 400 students).
It's true that they accept no transfer credits from other schools, but other schools do accept theirs. I wonder if the full-time resident student requirement acts as a filter for seriousness and commitment, which translates into fiscal responsibility post-graduation.
It's true that they accept no transfer credits from other schools, but other schools do accept theirs. I wonder if the full-time resident student requirement acts as a filter for seriousness and commitment, which translates into fiscal responsibility post-graduation.
It think it's more like they get students right out of high school who can afford to go to school full time and live on campus. No career changers, no older students, no married students, yada, yada.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WesternPilgrim
Well, a CC in Riverside (hmmm ... do we have connections?) doesn't cost $31,400 per year to attend. Do CC students really take out federal loans? I didn't, but that was the class of '88.
I'm not sure why you think it's disingenuous to bring this up. If some colleges/universities have low default rates, others might like to find out why and move in that direction. Providing a quality education is a good start if you want to attract benefactors. Putting a cap on student debt is another. TAC provides work opportunities to help fill the gap. Finally, yes, being a little more selective when it comes to admissions isn't a bad idea either.
Yes, CC students are eligilbe for student loans and take them out.
I have nothing against selective colleges, both my daughters, DH and I all attended such colleges, but less selective schools and the CCs with no admission requirements do fill a niche.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
