As college costs rise, Student Loans become harder to get

[bobbyw24]

By David Cho
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 28, 2009; A01

When Daniel Ottalini entered the University of Maryland in 2004, his family had an array of choices to cover the cost -- cheap student loans, a second mortgage at low rates, credit cards with high limits and their own soaring investments.

By the time his younger brother, Russell, started at the University of Pittsburgh this fall, the financial crisis had left the family with fewer options. Russell has had to juggle several jobs in school, and the money he could borrow came with a much higher interest rate that could climb even further over time.

The upheaval in financial markets did not just eliminate generous lending for home buyers; it also ended an era of easy credit for students and their families facing the soaring cost of a college degree.

To pay for higher education, most Americans had come to rely on a range of financial products born of the Wall Street boom. Nearly all of these shrank or disappeared in the storm that engulfed the stock and debt markets.

Lenders have raised rates and tightened standards, dramatically limiting the availability of home-equity loans and private student loans. College savings accounts, known as 529 plans, had acute losses in the downturn. And a new law, set to take effect Feb. 22, will bar students younger than 21 from getting credit cards on their own.

Loans offered with federal backing were the lone form of student debt to expand, but only because the government stepped in last year to prevent this business from collapsing under the pressure of the credit crunch. Still, the most common type of federally backed loan has a limit of $5,500 a year, not enough to pay for most four-year programs.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/27/AR2009122702116.html?hpid=topnews&utm_source=The+Freeman&utm_campaign=f97ac85f06-In_brief_12_28_2009&utm_medium=email

 

[MelissaWV]

Take a year off, work, save.

Work through school.

Apply to every scholarship you even remotely qualify for.

Consider going to a low-cost community college, etc., for your first two years in particular. Even those jobs that do care where you went to school only look at where your degree is from, not where you were for all four years of school.

If you still can't afford school, take the year off and work, and save, but also be looking for a foot in the door at a stable company. Gaining practical work experience can be just as essential as (or in some industries, more essential than) getting your degree. On top of that, some companies still have programs where they offer to pay for education relevant to your field.

 

[LDA]

I think the reality is that a lot of people don't need to go to college. At this point, everyone coming out of high school thinks they need to get a college degree. Of course, having a 4 year B.A. in Sociology or some garbage humanities degree is just a waste of money. You've got to learn how to make something or do something that people want to buy, otherwise you're not going to survive in this economy. If people viewed college as a means to do what they want to do, rather than "High School #2," they'd be better off. If only I had known that 5 years ago.

 

[torchbearer]

I think the reality is that a lot of people don't need to go to college. At this point, everyone coming out of high school thinks they need to get a college degree. Of course, having a 4 year B.A. in Sociology or some garbage humanities degree is just a waste of money. You've got to learn how to make something or do something that people want to buy, otherwise you're not going to survive in this economy. If people viewed college as a means to do what they want to do, rather than "High School #2," they'd be better off. If only I had known that 5 years ago.

i agree 100%

 

[HOLLYWOOD]

I think the reality is that a lot of people don't need to go to college. At this point, everyone coming out of high school thinks they need to get a college degree. Of course, having a 4 year B.A. in Sociology or some garbage humanities degree is just a waste of money. You've got to learn how to make something or do something that people want to buy, otherwise you're not going to survive in this economy. If people viewed college as a means to do what they want to do, rather than "High School #2," they'd be better off. If only I had known that 5 years ago.

Tell that to H.R. I.R. departments... Human Resources and Industrial Relations set criteria. The US government is one of the largest psuhers for secondary education requirements.

NOTE: As soon as the Federal Government got involved in Funding, Financing, and Enforcing student loans, the cost of secondary education skyrocketed. You can tag the high cost of education directly to government involvement. When you have Student Loans ENFORCED by the Thugs in Washington DC / US Treasury/IRS it's liked this rigged game they win any which way.



Hmm another point, just like The judicial systems Judges, Attorneys on sentencing. Reduced sentences on misdemeanors if you pay the money that goes to the attorney. No Attorney, pay the court a higher fine and/or sentence. Seen it a million times... the rigged system.

 

[Zippyjuan]

While this may be painful for some in the short term- it may be beneficial in the long tern. Students will not graduate with as much debt. Unlimited access to loans will slow the increases in tuition (education is like healthcare- it is capable of absorbing and spending every dollar you throw at it and loans and insurance only feed the beasts).

 

[heavenlyboy34]

While this may be painful for some in the short term- it may be beneficial in the long tern. Students will not graduate with as much debt. Unlimited access to loans will slow the increases in tuition (education is like healthcare- it is capable of absorbing and spending every dollar you throw at it and loans and insurance only feed the beasts).

IMO, that varies greatly depending on the degree. Some fields (like film or visual arts) change so quickly that the degree is worthless without experience.

 

[LiveFree79]

I think the reality is that a lot of people don't need to go to college. At this point, everyone coming out of high school thinks they need to get a college degree. Of course, having a 4 year B.A. in Sociology or some garbage humanities degree is just a waste of money. You've got to learn how to make something or do something that people want to buy, otherwise you're not going to survive in this economy. If people viewed college as a means to do what they want to do, rather than "High School #2," they'd be better off. If only I had known that 5 years ago.

Yeah I guess it would be a wonderful society if we all lived with engineers, doctors, lawyers, etc. Society NEEDS BAs in sociology, psychology, communications, humanities etc. as much as we need engineers and doctors. I know what you are saying and agree with it to an extent. But college is not nor was it ever soley about "getting a job". It's ALWAYS been about becoming a more informed, wordly, educated, independent thinking individual. Obviously that's not the case nowadays as college is simply a means to a job. 50 years ago you could go to college or not and you could still end up enjoying the same amount of prosperity, retirement etc. I think the problem with college is the fact that college really doesn't teach anyone anything nowadays except how to be good little corporate slaves marching to the drum of a hierarchical company.

90% of ALL corporate jobs require a college degree of some sort. But does it really take a college degree to do the job? of course not. I was more than qualified to enter the corporate workforce at 18. I was responsible, mature, punctual, and very hard working. But no one is going to hire a high school graduate into an entry level corporate position paying them $35K a year. It doesn't look good on paper...and nowadays that's all that matters. So I went went to "college" and racked up $50K in debt. Thankfully I chose healthcare as my profession and make good money in a very safe job market. But if I would have chose something else I would probably be declaring bankruptcy.

 

[Jeez]

I think the reality is that a lot of people don't need to go to college. At this point, everyone coming out of high school thinks they need to get a college degree. Of course, having a 4 year B.A. in Sociology or some garbage humanities degree is just a waste of money. You've got to learn how to make something or do something that people want to buy, otherwise you're not going to survive in this economy. If people viewed college as a means to do what they want to do, rather than "High School #2," they'd be better off. If only I had known that 5 years ago.

Regardless unemployment for college grads is around 5%, care to guess what unemployment for HS degree is?

 

[ItsTime]

Regardless unemployment for college grads is around 5%, care to guess what unemployment for HS degree is?

Source? Because I have read very different numbers.

10.6%?

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-jobs-graduates14-2009dec14,0,718691.story

And I recall seeing recent grad unemployment rates at 25%.

Edit: I guess those numbers are just for 20 to 24 year olds

 

[gls]

I see this as a good thing. Most colleges and universities amount to little more than leftist indoctrination centers; naive students who lack any real world experience being spoon fed statist propaganda by naive "professors" who lack any real world experience. It is not about critical thinking and individual achievement; it is about being politically correct and assimilating to collectivist groupthink.

The less young people who go to these four year brainwashing camps, the better prospects for the future of the freedom movement.

 

[Jeez]

Source? Because I have read very different numbers.

http://www.starnewsonline.com/artic...orial-Jobless-data-show-importance-of-college

The disparity in jobless numbers when broken down by education is dramatic: bachelor’s degree, 4.9 percent; some college, 9 percent; high school, 10.4 percent; less than high school, 15 percent. A year ago when the national unemployment rate was a respectable 5.8 percent, the rate among graduates of four-year colleges was 3.2 percent. So in a year that’s seen the rate surge among most groups, it’s risen only 1.7 percent among college graduates.

 

[ItsTime]

http://www.starnewsonline.com/artic...orial-Jobless-data-show-importance-of-college

Thanks. Now I guess all we need to do is get everyone a college degree and everything will be alright

 

[armstrong]

Housing, college degree, health care costs, and prices in general - so the more dept. you have the more successful you are ? Seems to me costs of goods and services are exceeding or way out pacing our earning ability in most cases to earn enough to provide basic services we all need, and then throw in that we have outsourced so much in making things in this country to provide jobs. not everyone is going to have a 4 year degree.

 

[MelissaWV]

The disparity in jobless numbers when broken down by education is dramatic: bachelor’s degree, 4.9 percent; some college, 9 percent; high school, 10.4 percent; less than high school, 15 percent. A year ago when the national unemployment rate was a respectable 5.8 percent, the rate among graduates of four-year colleges was 3.2 percent. So in a year that’s seen the rate surge among most groups, it’s risen only 1.7 percent among college graduates.

Another case of making the numbers dance however you want. I would wager that part of this disparity is that the largest number of jobs eliminated were in manufacturing, and lower level jobs along the corporate ladder. You will also find that the majority of outsourced jobs were not exactly made for the college graduate. Lastly, the healthcare industry is booming right now, and that sector is composed largely of college graduates.

Had companies trimmed the fat at the top, and kept the grunts, or if for some reason healthcare got rid of a lot of workers, you would be seeing a steeper rise in college graduate unemployment... and a far less dramatic rise in the numbers for other groups.

Also, I am curious. What percent of the US population has a four-year degree? What percentage has "some college"? What percentage has "less than high school"? Out of those, which are employable? Could it be that a similar numerical change in the "degree" group (which I believe is around 30% or so; numbers will vary) and the "less than high school" group (which I'm not sure of, but I'm guessing is smaller than 30%, no?) would produce a far more pronounced percentage change among the smaller population?

Statistics. I always hated that class.

 

[ItsTime]

Another case of making the numbers dance however you want. I would wager that part of this disparity is that the largest number of jobs eliminated were in manufacturing, and lower level jobs along the corporate ladder. You will also find that the majority of outsourced jobs were not exactly made for the college graduate. Lastly, the healthcare industry is booming right now, and that sector is composed largely of college graduates.

Well it takes one or two graduates to run 100 hs grads. So when a plant closes 1 or 2 college educated people lose their job per 50/100 hs and under grads.

 

[LDA]

Yeah I guess it would be a wonderful society if we all lived with engineers, doctors, lawyers, etc. Society NEEDS BAs in sociology, psychology, communications, humanities etc. as much as we need engineers and doctors. I know what you are saying and agree with it to an extent. But college is not nor was it ever soley about "getting a job". It's ALWAYS been about becoming a more informed, wordly, educated, independent thinking individual. Obviously that's not the case nowadays as college is simply a means to a job. 50 years ago you could go to college or not and you could still end up enjoying the same amount of prosperity, retirement etc. I think the problem with college is the fact that college really doesn't teach anyone anything nowadays except how to be good little corporate slaves marching to the drum of a hierarchical company.

Sure, we need some individuals in humanities. You can't build an economy on it, though. Economies need production and entrepreneurship to prosper. A packaged curriculum that gives you a little general knowledge about a lot of different stuff isn't that useful. College needs to be actually teaching you how to succeed in a profession of some sort, not just how to write papers and "play the game" of passing classes.

90% of ALL corporate jobs require a college degree of some sort. But does it really take a college degree to do the job? of course not. I was more than qualified to enter the corporate workforce at 18. I was responsible, mature, punctual, and very hard working. But no one is going to hire a high school graduate into an entry level corporate position paying them $35K a year. It doesn't look good on paper...and nowadays that's all that matters. So I went went to "college" and racked up $50K in debt. Thankfully I chose healthcare as my profession and make good money in a very safe job market. But if I would have chose something else I would probably be declaring bankruptcy.

Like I said, college degrees have become the new high school degree. Because student loans are easy to get (due to government backing), and they're basically free (2% fixed rate), anyone can go, and anyone does go. People just go to college because it's expected of them. Colleges can charge whatever they want because they know students will get loans. There's no incentive to increase efficiency, reduce costs, or provide a quality education, because the demand for a degree is distorted.

Regardless unemployment for college grads is around 5%, care to guess what unemployment for HS degree is?

Probably lower, but that doesn't mean college degrees are really training students to do a job. Most college degrees don't represent expertise in any field, it just shows that you were able to pass classes and graduate.

Tell that to H.R. I.R. departments... Human Resources and Industrial Relations set criteria. The US government is one of the largest psuhers for secondary education requirements.

Yeah, I agree, but the actual quality of the degrees aren't that good. Certifications (like for CPAs) have a much better track record. In a 4 year degree, you have to take a bunch of worthless classes just for the sake of general education requirements. People could be taught to do jobs in a year or two. When it takes 4 years, and in that time you still don't learn how to do anything, you know our higher education system has failed.

 

[Pedro TT]

Yeah, I agree, but the actual quality of the degrees aren't that good. Certifications (like for CPAs) have a much better track record. In a 4 year degree, you have to take a bunch of worthless classes just for the sake of general education requirements. People could be taught to do jobs in a year or two. When it takes 4 years, and in that time you still don't learn how to do anything, you know our higher education system has failed.

Exactly. It really irked me paying $300 PLUS a few hundred more in fees, materials, ect. to take classes that had absolutely nothing to do with my major.

I was looking a few months ago about getting into petroluem engineering at texas A&M and it amazed me how many BS classes you have to take per semester. The degree course from the beginning included many courses per semester which focused on engineering but at least 3-4 credit per semester are wasted on BS classes which turned a managable 12-14 credit load into an absolutely ridiculous 17, 18 and even 19 credit load. It seems like a waste of time and money especially for someone paying out of state tuition (me).

 

[LiveFree79]

Sure, we need some individuals in humanities. You can't build an economy on it, though. Economies need production and entrepreneurship to prosper. A packaged curriculum that gives you a little general knowledge about a lot of different stuff isn't that useful. College needs to be actually teaching you how to succeed in a profession of some sort, not just how to write papers and "play the game" of passing classes.

Yes we need production of stuff society actually NEEDS. Technological innovation. The only way to add value to an economy is to grow it, mine it, or build it. Entrepeneurship is NOT the same thing as production. There are TONS of people out there starting their own business and becoming "entrepeneurs". But what do they actually produce? What kind of services to they actually provide? Marketing? Advertising? Dog washing? Yeah those are really great businesses that are going to bring back industry and innovation.

Just because someone starts a webpage or throws an ad on their truck doesn't mean they are a "small business" owner.

That's the whole fucking problem with America. Everybody wants to be an "entrepeneur" yet half the people going into business for themselves or opening up a business are not creating jobs. They are just wasting time, money, and energy trying to become the "millionaire next door".

We need people that are starting businesses that actually PRODUCE SOMETHING NEEDED BY SOCIETY i.e. food, medical products, technology, resources, energy, etc. The wannabe entrepeneurs are killing our economy. Just look at real estate and the financial industry.

 

[Zippyjuan]

It does not matter what they actually produce as long as people are willing to buy it at a price the business can make a profit from. Then they can hire more people who have money to spend on things in the economy and create jobs and in turn demand for even more products made by other people. If people are willing to pay enough for me to say wax their cat then that is a good business. If people are not willing to pay then I will fail. If I succeed then maybe I will hire someone to help me do more cats and thus create jobs. There are real estate agents and financial planners because people are willing to pay them to do the job. If they take their money and spend it at the local grocery store and hardware store- that benefits the grocery store and hardware store owners and workers. As far as the economy is concerned, it does not matter whether the agent or planner produced a physical product which is consumed.

If you are not able to domestically produce all the things you consume then you have to rely on outside producers and this can be a national security concern possibly but that is a seperate issue.