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Part of the problem is the high cost of undergradate and graduate education. The other part of the problem is high interest rates, even for government loans.
Part of the problem is students who think they need to spend four years in an educational corporation satisfying needless requirements. Many could cut that tuition in nearly half by attending a local junior college for stuff like Composition and Rhetoric, College Math, History, Government, Foreign Language.
Save an expensive four year school for the last 30 hours. Unless the school wants to give the student a scholarship. It which case the school will need to satisfy the students requirements.
If by benefit, you mean "hey look, more of my tax dollars out the window to REWARD my neighbor for his bad decision-making in buying a house he couldn't afford in the first place", then yes.
Of course, that doesn't sound like much of a benefit, really. As is always the case in this country these days, the responsible are always penalized to reward the irresponsible.
I found this community college number odd, since I went to a prestigious university and it was only 30-some-odd thousand a year in tuition. So I looked up 2 local community colleges in my area. They averaged to 71 dollars per credit hour.
It varies by region to some extent. I paid about twice that per credit hour eight years ago the year I went to a community college. Don't forget as well that you can't get more than an associates degree at a community college. Which really doesn't get you that far, career wise. Community college credits will not transfer as anything above a 200 level class to a four year school.
This is similar to how is hard to pin a price on a state school. When I looked at grad programs, I saw some state programs charging as high as $25,000 a year for a full time student (in state). Like I said, I pay $10,000. It works great for me because I also happen to be part of a good program. What do you do when the best schools in your field are the most expensive?
Another problem creating debt are the certification programs out there. For instance, in many medical field tech jobs require a certification today where once these skills were simply trained on the job. I've had this discussion with quite a few medical professionals. Some say that for some fields, certification yields better techs, but in others, it is just an excuse for the school to make money and the employer to tout some load-of-crap credential.
If by benefit, you mean "hey look, more of my tax dollars out the window to REWARD my neighbor for his bad decision-making in buying a house he couldn't afford in the first place", then yes.
Of course, that doesn't sound like much of a benefit, really. As is always the case in this country these days, the responsible are always penalized to reward the irresponsible.
I agree you have a legitimate gripe. But we are rapdily approaching the point where more than half of Americans will not be able to buy homes, cars, and possibly groceries.
The medical school scenario is a good idea for that subject: medicine. But what about the countless graduates who study something government has no use for. Think of all the vocational schools you see commercials for during daytime television. They are obviously targeting the unemployed since the majority of their advertising is done during the day. Did you know many vocational schools cost 15,000 to 30,000 per year? That's more than most state universities (for in state tuition)! And these people are hoping to make what - $10 an hour upon graduation? The economics don't make sense. You have on the one hand a service which is paid for by a third party, student loans. And on the other hand you have desperate or stupid people who get talked into paying whatever it takes to get a semi-worthless degree.
It doesn't just have to apply to those in medicine, teaching, etc.. What about forgiving for volunteerism? There are plenty of places that would love a skilled tradesworker to volunteer their time to help. Schools instead of paying for plumbers could have a volunteer. Others can volunteer to read with students.
It doesn't have to be in schools either, what about shelters? Habitat for Humanity? The library system having a person skilled in computers help set-up, virus removal, etc... instead of having to pay for a person on staff.
Regarding discharging student loans with bankruptcy. I think this is a very smart idea that it isn't done. Think of it, how many students graduate from college with a job waiting for them that will pay back those student loans? I would bet that once that six month grace period rolls around and there still isn't a job, the graduate is still living with mom and dad, that person will go for bankruptcy just to get the monkey off of his/her back.
I wish more states would have more HOPE scholarships in place like Georgia and Tennessee do. Get great grades in high school? We'll pay your tuition at a state school. I wish I had that, I graduated in the top 5% of my high school class.
Though is it really smart to have these loans follow people around from their 20s until eternity?
I mean, if someone can't pay at 25 when they graduate, fine, no discharge. At 30, still no discharge. Once they reach 35, that student loan balanced has likely tripled due to interest, fees, and penalties. At that point, enough should be enough.
It's absolutely amazing that a corporation can run up billions in debt, declare bankruptcy, and the execs can keep millions in ill-gotten salaries, but students can't discharge student loan debt in bankruptcy!
Part of the problem is students who think they need to spend four years in an educational corporation satisfying needless requirements. Many could cut that tuition in nearly half by attending a local junior college for stuff like Composition and Rhetoric, College Math, History, Government, Foreign Language.
Save an expensive four year school for the last 30 hours. Unless the school wants to give the student a scholarship. It which case the school will need to satisfy the students requirements.
I quoted this post, but I'd also like to discuss tuition at CCs. Here is the tuition schedule for my local CC:
However, virtually all colleges require that roughly half the coursework be taken at that college. You can't do the first 90 hours of college at a CC and then the last 30 at a 4 yr institution and get a degree from the 4 yr college. CCs don't even offer junior year courses.
Scholarships are highly hyped. In this state (Colorado) it is very difficult to get a scholarship at a state u unless you meet some sort of underserved criteria. I guess they feel the cut in tuition is scholarship enough.
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