You are mixed up LOL! Admit few, more graduate, less waste, total cost comes down. Rice admits few, graduates more. Therefore wasted money (money spent on students who did not get degree) is less. Cost decreases.
The comment makes sense because there will always be people who can afford it.....so the downward pressure on price isn't there. It's just that your admissions are coming from a smaller subset -- the weathly or those who's families put a lot of value on education...so we all miss out on the benefits of an education to someone who doesn't come from that background.
Yes but I think the .gov has less of a role than commercial student loans, and other sources of credit. So i think the real choice might be somewhere inbetween, like i originally stated. In the countries where school is almost free, the student impact on the demand curve is almost zilch.
I agree that college is not for everybody and many people simply go or try it out because of the pressures mentioned. I am also not opposed to making funding of college through government loans and grants that much harder to get, the problem is how do you do that and still make it fair? I disagree however that the problem is solely in college or starts there. I believe it starts at the lower level and proceeds upward as evidenced by my first post in this thread.
ahhh...got it. but i'd think though some could afford it, most couldn't. and as long as you have standards beyond just, "can you afford it?" you should be fine. or..if not fine...at least making progress on making college somewhat affordable. i think the credit crunch this country is at least partly due to the fact that 22 year olds are coming out years behind in debt because they're told college loans are "good debt." so instead of getting jobs to help pay for tuition along the way, they're borrowing more and more money.
Thing about education in America, I do not think it is totally misguided, outdated, and horrible, at the same time .... there is alot of room for improvement. 1) Education shouldn't necessarily prepare you for only a job or career, students should also learn how to be creative through the arts and language - - students should especially in this day and age take foreign language courses beyond the usual French and Spanish. Also, I know this is skating along a bit, but I think everyone should take programs involving athletics or physical activity especially since we are experience and obesity crisis in this country. It should be as an after-school activity, most likely mandatory and it could definitely keep kids out of trouble to an extent. 2) Our structure is not built for taking care of kids indivdually, because the classrooms are so large and the funds are often misused by administrators and powers to be in Dept. of Education or local states. 3) I learn another element to education when I was in my last days of high school going into my entire college career... you must have a desire to learn about new things, people, places, or concepts, while even learning things away from the classroom.....you're not going to make a very good student in college, if you can't learn beyond the classroom, since you only spend about 45 minutes to 2 and half hrs. every week in that setting...
BINGO! I was reading a story about a woman who graduated from Tennessee Tech University and she had $50,000 in student loans.....for her first bachelors degree and last time I checked TTU was not on par with any type of Ivy League education or recognition. I'm sure there are many more out there like her.
And a 20 year old kid thinks, "sure..no problem. when i get a job and start making money it won't be a problem. i'll pay it back easy."
Rice has a multi-billion dollar endowment that was used to artificially keep tuition low for years. Yet even Rice has dramatically raised tuition costs the past ~decade.
Exactly and they receive no real education on the borrowing of these funds. Sure the schools and creditors give them documents and what not to read and sign and turn it but how many of them actually do this? Then the kid ends up with this much debt thinking, as you said, no problem when I get a job I can pay it back easily until they realize that the payments are $500+ per month and that takes out a huge portion of their income or even worse they're stuck without a job after graduating and the loans get deferred, stuck in forbearance, or even worse defaulted on destroying the kids credit and messing up other opportunities in their lives.
I think another thing about colleges is the ridiculous fees they charge to students that make the price overwhelming. A full time student can attend the college I work at for under $2000 per semester. You add those ridiculous fees to the mix and it almost doubles. Add fees that aren't included in your bill and it more than doubles.
yeah but I always assumed those fees actually paid for things like the gym or student union or library or etc. you're right, i think most tuitions at most state schools for most states are actually fairly cheap. its the fees
if getting a job is the #1 priority rather than an education, then it seems like it detracts on the case for vocational schools. That depends on the state, and some other factors as well for federal money. The studies show that teachers and administrators are under representing minorities in gifted classes despite their tests showing that they do qualify, and over representing them for special ed when they don't qualify. So sadly some meet requirements or don't meet requirements but are incorrectly placed to their detriment. These third graders are extremely poor, don't have lawns, or know people that have lawns. They've never heard the term 'lawns' and certainly don't have the familiarity with it that other children do. Their neighborhoods aren't safe, and they can't really play outside or ride bicycles around their neighborhoods. Yet questions ask about weeds growing in places that aren't mowed, and the children have no concept of mowing the lawn. Furthermore they don't have the concept of flying a kite, some questions about flying kites, bike riding, family vacations, nursery rhymes, etc. These are all general background required to answer questions that some students could answer if they had the background. Math is universal depending on how it's presented. For instance a test to assess math shouldn't matter about language, but if there is a word problem asking them to compare the amount of lemons to limes, it can throw some Spanish speakers off, because the word for both in Spanish is limon. So there are instances where a test that isn't even assessing language, can have language throw off the results. Ask the same students questions with background information they are familiar with, or isn't culturally biased against them, and they will have no problem showing they understand the math involved. But if the number 1 priority of college is not education but job preparation then everyone striving for college would be a great thing. Again to ensure that all students are really assessed to their ability and not just certain students who are previously exposed to certain backgrounds, and cultures would be essential in changing college and more advanced education.
All of the student loans are overwhelming but what about credit card companies that inundate these kids with offers? They pump their mailbox full of crap and give them tons of credit that they are not worthy. On top of that, they have zero education on how to handle it.
There is a total disconnect between the type of degree you get and the actual jobs after school. I don't see how it makes sense for you to come out of a 4 year program with 50 to 100g of debt, while getting a job that pays 35k a year. Only some of the undergrad degrees pays enough, the rest either need to specialize with another degree or stay in academia. People with large student loans are very much at a disadvantage compare to their peers.
