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I speak to maybe one guy occasionally from college and I went all four years. I moved after school and live over 3000 miles away from him. The rest of my friends scattered as well. Getting drunk in the dorms is fun I guess but I live in a city and can party at much classier places and take public transit.
I got my current job after applying for an ad on indeed.com. I make decent money too (probably as much as my ivy league friend working in consulting actually). My junior year I did an internship, volunteered and did a research project with a professor and presented a poster at a conference. This really helped me narrow down my career goals and let me know where my strengths lie. I got my first job from my college recruitment center but it sucked, and I quit and never even list it on my resume.
If I went to cc I would be in the same position with probably no student loan payment. The "connections for life" is propaganda spread by the college marketing offices.
Learn valuable skills and master them and you'll have a good career. Do fun things and meet friends with similar interests. I actually regret freshman and sophmore years because they were expensive and pointless. You often can't do interesting research with professors, get good internships, or take many interesting classes your first two years anyway.
For years, I kept up with no one from college, and I went all four years. I married young, moved away from the area. After while, the letters, Christmas cards, etc quit coming. There was no email back then. Now, with Facebook, I've finally gotten back together with a couple of people. I do still keep up with my BFF from high school, always have. Nursing as a career doesn't seem to depend on "connections" that much.
Why compare? People choose different schools for different reasons that vary in cost. Some people get satisfaction working through school without debt. Others believe the bigger picture is the future, and believe in themselves enough that there is a payback for large school debt.
Why compare? People choose different schools for different reasons that vary in cost. Some people get satisfaction working through school without debt. Others believe the bigger picture is the future, and believe in themselves enough that there is a payback for large school debt.
Don't break your neck falling off your high horse! That said, the average debt is about $30K, or the price of a new car. There are limits on student loans for undergrads. I don't really believe anyone is graduating from undergrad with $100K in student loans. Such people may have a lot of credit card debt, and perhaps a car loan as well.
Don't break your neck falling off your high horse! That said, the average debt is about $30K, or the price of a new car. There are limits on student loans for undergrads. I don't really believe anyone is graduating from undergrad with $100K in student loans. Such people may have a lot of credit card debt, and perhaps a car loan as well.
My daughter went to BC nursing school and came out with $100k debt. BC was close to $50k/year all costs included.
She went to work in private after graduating, and then into the Army a couple of years later. The Army paid most of the loans off, and her professional career is great.
No high horse here - just facts. Each case is different.
As a boomer you are likely very unfamiliar with the crushing student debt graduates of today have.
I borrowed $20,000 between 1971 and 1977 which is about $100,000 in today's money. Most of it was for a full-time MBA. Millennials are not the first generation to face high college costs and debt loads, although I agree that the real price of a college education is much higher now (and you don't get anything extra for the additional money).
I made the $20,000 back in two years (first two years' comp minus what I thought I was worth with just a BA). The same is possible in today's money (making back the $100K) - MBAs usually make six figures as a starting salary, while hardly any BAs do.
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Many MDs and high end MBAs actually regret spending so much on undergrad actually.
How did they get to be an MD or high-end MBA without a high GPA from a top undergraduate school? There is always somebody from Non-Flagship State with a perfect 4.0 and amazing test scores, but they are a tiny minority in any highly selective graduate program.
I borrowed $20,000 between 1971 and 1977 which is about $100,000 in today's money. Most of it was for a full-time MBA. Millennials are not the first generation to face high college costs and debt loads, although I agree that the real price of a college education is much higher now (and you don't get anything extra for the additional money).
I made the $20,000 back in two years (first two years' comp minus what I thought I was worth with just a BA). The same is possible in today's money (making back the $100K) - MBAs usually make six figures as a starting salary, while hardly any BAs do.
How did they get to be an MD or high-end MBA without a high GPA from a top undergraduate school? There is always somebody from Non-Flagship State with a perfect 4.0 and amazing test scores, but they are a tiny minority in any highly selective graduate program.
Easy, they applied, had what the med school was looking for. You don't need a 4.0 to get into med school, nor do you need to go to a "top" school. You need to have a reasonable GPA, a reasonable score on your MCAT, volunteer and shadowing hours and probably some research. The first round of med school acceptances is computer scored, MCAT/GPA, no bonus points for going to any college, nor is it even a consideration. If you did your research, you would find that students from regional liberal arts colleges actually have higher acceptance rates to med school vs your "top" colleges....
Don't break your neck falling off your high horse! That said, the average debt is about $30K, or the price of a new car. There are limits on student loans for undergrads. I don't really believe anyone is graduating from undergrad with $100K in student loans. Such people may have a lot of credit card debt, and perhaps a car loan as well.
Many of the students who end up with $100k debt for bachelor's degrees use federal and private student loans as "free money" while in school. They borrow the maximum amount they can every year and spend the amount in excess of their tuition, fees, books, and on-campus room and board supposedly on "living expenses", which often include cars, trips, electronics, etc in addition to bonafide living expenses.
Easy, they applied, had what the med school was looking for. You don't need a 4.0 to get into med school, nor do you need to go to a "top" school. You need to have a reasonable GPA, a reasonable score on your MCAT, volunteer and shadowing hours and probably some research. The first round of med school acceptances is computer scored, MCAT/GPA, no bonus points for going to any college, nor is it even a consideration. If you did your research, you would find that students from regional liberal arts colleges actually have higher acceptance rates to med school vs your "top" colleges....
You don't need a 4.0 for med school, but you better be pretty close. US Medical Schools: MCAT Scores and GPA A quick glance at this list showed me about 5 schools with an average GPA < 3.5 out of all the med schools in the US, and those were in the 3.4 category. Most are 3.7 and above. Now this is admitted students, not applicants. Undergrad school does count, too. Going to what US News calls a "Tier 2" (bottom 25%) college is a detriment. It wouldn't be impossible to get in from such a school, but it's harder. As in grad school, grades and test scores are the most important. Many med schools have added a volunteer/shadowing requirement, but thousands of hours of that with glowing reports won't trump a poor GPA.
My daughter went to BC nursing school and came out with $100k debt. BC was close to $50k/year all costs included.
She went to work in private after graduating, and then into the Army a couple of years later. The Army paid most of the loans off, and her professional career is great.
No high horse here - just facts. Each case is different.
I agree each case is different. Statements like "(o)thers believe the bigger picture is the future, and believe in themselves enough that there is a payback for large school debt" are a bit sanctimonious IMO. Not everyone wants to join the army. Not everyone can join the army. While the armed forces in general seem to be always looking for nurses, not every graduate has a skill they want.
Last edited by Katarina Witt; 12-07-2015 at 09:21 AM..
How did they get to be an MD or high-end MBA without a high GPA from a top undergraduate school? There is always somebody from Non-Flagship State with a perfect 4.0 and amazing test scores, but they are a tiny minority in any highly selective graduate program.
Really? I know plenty of people with MBAs, JDs, PhDs, etc. from top programs that went to state UGs. I have a buddy that is at Columbia right now for his MBA, graduated with an accounting degree from Maryland. These schools care a lot less about where you went to UG than you think they do. I was in a top 10-15 fully funded PhD program in my field and the most elite university a person in the 4 cohorts I was familiar with graduated from was Emory.
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