[billethkid]

Originally Posted by Love2Swim

Our son and his wife each have over $200,000 in student loans, and they didn't attend fancy ivy league schools. College is way more expensive now than it was when we were students, and these young kids have been victims of predatory lenders who charged exorbitant interest rates. Our son has been paying for at least 7 years, and has not yet started paying off the principal. I personally think there should have been more government oversight of the loan process, so the financial institutions were not taking advantage of the kids. As someone else mentioned, college is now the norm. When we were younger you could skip college and be assured of a good job. Not so much anymore unless you have the skills to get into a trade, which not everyone does. I'd like to see kids being given the opportunity to attend state universities/colleges for free for two years, the same way the government sponsors free high school education. I think our society has evolved to the point where that is needed. Any college education after that would be up to the individuals. As far as dealing with the existing debt, perhaps a scheduled forgiveness program if they serve a certain amount of time in certain volunteer/government sponsored programs like teaching in problems school districts for example.

When suggesting free just keep mind there is no such thing as free to the provider. They and now more that it is free will need to be paid....higher taxes...we all get to pay for the "free" stuff.....that is OK as long as folks keep in mind all the impacts of what ever is suggested or implemented.

And once the government gets into control then there will be ever increasing costs and inefficiencies....just because it is the government....and they do not use check book discipline.

[MorTech]

Legally, "predatory lending" can only apply if the borrower is mentally unfit...otherwise the court will determine it just "foolish borrowing". it's almost like a lot of people don't read the loan document.

[Love2Swim]

Its almost like an 18 year old is economically naive. Who would have thought...

As far as "free", it makes sense to have members of society educated enough so they can contribute more. In the long run, that pays for itself.

[Velvet]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

If they are smart enough to go to Harvard (whatever that is), they should understand the value of the investment they are making and the realistic ROI. "If I'm going to invest XX, how much more will I earn and how long will it take to pay it back.......taking into consideration economic impacts??"


"Harvard" educations ain't what they use to be in today's market.

This applies ONLY if you attend university in order to make money. But people attend for other reasons.
I had a lovely 75 year old lady next to me by the computers at the university. She had the most amazing large diamond on her finger, made it hard for her to type. I found out that she owned a large number of pharmacies, and was quite well off, but she never got her master’s degree. At graduation, she was the oldest student on the stage.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by Velvet

This applies ONLY if you attend university in order to make money. But people attend for other reasons.
I had a lovely 75 year old lady next to me by the computers at the university. She had the most amazing large diamond on her finger, made it hard for her to type. I found out that she owned a large number of pharmacies, and was quite well off, but she never got her master’s degree. At graduation, she was the oldest student on the stage.

I think this is what the thread is about.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by Love2Swim

Our son and his wife each have over $200,000 in student loans, and they didn't attend fancy ivy league schools. College is way more expensive now than it was when we were students, and these young kids have been victims of predatory lenders who charged exorbitant interest rates. Our son has been paying for at least 7 years, and has not yet started paying off the principal. I personally think there should have been more government oversight of the loan process, so the financial institutions were not taking advantage of the kids. As someone else mentioned, college is now the norm. When we were younger you could skip college and be assured of a good job. Not so much anymore unless you have the skills to get into a trade, which not everyone does. I'd like to see kids being given the opportunity to attend state universities/colleges for free for two years, the same way the government sponsors free high school education. I think our society has evolved to the point where that is needed. Any college education after that would be up to the individuals. As far as dealing with the existing debt, perhaps a scheduled forgiveness program if they serve a certain amount of time in certain volunteer/government sponsored programs like teaching in problems school districts for example.

Sounds like your son did not read documents. Sounds like parents did not assist in understanding. Nothing is free.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by Chi-Town

Had a home loan, paid it off. Had a car loan, paid it off. Had a student loan, paid it off. That's what you do.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Simple and accurate.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Love2Swim

Our son and his wife each have over $200,000 in student loans, and they didn't attend fancy ivy league schools. College is way more expensive now than it was when we were students, and these young kids have been victims of predatory lenders who charged exorbitant interest rates. Our son has been paying for at least 7 years, and has not yet started paying off the principal. I personally think there should have been more government oversight of the loan process, so the financial institutions were not taking advantage of the kids. As someone else mentioned, college is now the norm. When we were younger you could skip college and be assured of a good job. Not so much anymore unless you have the skills to get into a trade, which not everyone does. I'd like to see kids being given the opportunity to attend state universities/colleges for free for two years, the same way the government sponsors free high school education. I think our society has evolved to the point where that is needed. Any college education after that would be up to the individuals. As far as dealing with the existing debt, perhaps a scheduled forgiveness program if they serve a certain amount of time in certain volunteer/government sponsored programs like teaching in problems school districts for example.

I think your son borrowed too much money, especially if he is a teacher. Did he go to a community college and work part time for two years before going to a university? That would have saved money. But, $200,000 is way too much debt for a teacher to expect to pay back. He should have done the math. I understand that it is too late, but I wouldn't blame the lender or the Government.

[Velvet]

Well if this thread is solely about money, then we need to consider the real cost of higher education. It is not only the tuition fees, residence and living expenses, it is also the foregone income. Assuming a job after 2 years of college, one starts to earn a salary, compared to 4 years for BA, 2 years for MA, then professional certification, or residency etc or 6 years for PhD (which is the norm in my field) in some it can be only 4 years. So at least 8 years of foregone income should be added to the direct expenses to calculate the true price of education.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Velvet

Well if this thread is solely about money, then we need to consider the real cost of higher education. It is not only the tuition fees, residence and living expenses, it is also the foregone income. Assuming a job after 2 years of college, one starts to earn a salary, compared to 4 years for BA, 2 years for MA, then professional certification, or residency etc or 6 years for PhD (which is the norm in my field) in some it can be only 4 years. So at least 8 years of foregone income should be added to the direct expenses to calculate the true price of education.

I think this thread is simply about taking out a loan and then paying it back. If you want to borrow money to go to school, then fine, do the math, and calculate how much you can afford to borrow, and make a plan to pay it back. But, don't expect someone else to pay off the loan for you. That is your responsibility.

[Velvet]

Retired, your comment is very reasonable. I was trying to look at the bigger picture. For the students at age 18 or so to make those financial calculations, they need guidance either from parents or counselors. In their young, ideal state of mind, I’m not sure how many actually think it through.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Velvet

Retired, your comment is very reasonable. I was trying to look at the bigger picture. For the students at age 18 or so to make those financial calculations, they need guidance either from parents or counselors. In their young, ideal state of mind, I’m not sure how many actually think it through.

I agree that students should seek advice from parents and counselors. But, in our current legal system, when you become 18, you have the authority to enter into legal and binding financial contracts, and other contracts. Maybe, you are suggesting that we should raise the age to do that?

[Velvet]

Well as an educator, you can guess what my answer would be, the school system needs to do a better job educating the students about financial decisions and responsibilities (since we can’t guarantee the parents will).

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Velvet

Well as an educator, you can guess what my answer would be, the school system needs to do a better job educating the students about financial decisions and responsibilities (since we can’t guarantee the parents will).

I totally agree.

[billethkid]

Originally Posted by Velvet

Well if this thread is solely about money, then we need to consider the real cost of higher education. It is not only the tuition fees, residence and living expenses, it is also the foregone income. Assuming a job after 2 years of college, one starts to earn a salary, compared to 4 years for BA, 2 years for MA, then professional certification, or residency etc or 6 years for PhD (which is the norm in my field) in some it can be only 4 years. So at least 8 years of foregone income should be added to the direct expenses to calculate the true price of education.

I am the OP and this thread is NOT "...solely about money...".

It is about responsibility and honoring one's commitment...AS AGREED TO AND SIGNED FOR.....

Most of what we hear about is how unfair it is to expect people to to be burdened with such unreasonable education debt.
It was certainly not unreasonable when the agreed with the criteria to get the money.

It is a shame the responsibility has been politicized and now makes the obligation a selective decision.....with no penalty.

Too many of us have been in similar financially burdened times during those early years post graduation.....and made the right choices where and how/how not to spend our precious financial resources to MAKE SURE WE MET THE AGREED TO FINANCIAL OBLIGATION.

There is no excuse to default on the loans and the government pick up the tab.

We are becoming more and more tolerant of selective application of laws and obligations.