I can't open a newspaper or a magazine that there isn't some boo-hoo article about college debts and how will kids pay for all this. Well, I have to look no further than Mom and Dad for not saving for their kids education and not giving them better council on what to get their degree in while they were in school. I also can't say enough about the choice of schools either. What were they thinking when they went to a school with $50k/yr. tuition? And to top it off they got degrees in History or English or some other field without a prayer of making a decent income for all that expense and effort.
I was aghast at finding a friend of mine had managed to rack up $140K in college debts. What are these folks thinking when they sign on the dotted line. The average graduate these days comes out with about $25K in college debt. The media is making a big deal about this and I have to ask why? People routine sign on the dotted line for a new car and all they are concerned about is the monthly payment. They quickly forget it is for 60-72 months and they have a worn out piece of rust when it is finally paid off.
Parents have the obligation to help their kids pay for college and at the same time direct them to a course of study that has a job waiting at the end of four years. They also need not get all gushy about which school their kids attend. Not once was I ever asked where I went to college. Employers are more concerned about putting your kid in a room with his sheep skin and can he or she solve a problem. Critical thinking and problem solving are more important to employers than where junior went to school.
The idea that grants and free money from the government will be there when a kid graduates from high school is a myth. Start saving for their education the day they exit the birth canal and send them to a state supported school in-state for their undergraduate degree work. Grad school is another matter but in-state is still better than a place that will place a financial burden on the family or the student.
Make them take 15 units or more each semester and get the hell out of college as quickly as they can. This means advance placement in high school and they can be out in a little over three years or less.
I find it somewhat amazing colleges don't provide parents a copy of grades. We are paying the bills and deserve to know the results. Another thing that bothers me is councilors who tell kids to take a minimum of credits each semester. I found out my son was taking 10 credits one semester and asked what is going on here. The candid response from my Son was his advisor told him to only take that many credits. They want to keep kids in college until they are ready for Social Security and as a parent I want them off my payroll as quickly as they can reasonably do it. I really have some heartburn with how college is marketed to parents and students. I also have a problem with parents who don't give their children good guidance when picking a College Major. Full disclosure to the people paying the bills needs to be a right of parents who are paying the bills for college.
ReplyDeleteYou are right about the ridiculous amount of time that we stay in school. COLLEGE is alot of work. You should have just picked your kids job, that's what you sound like to me. I earned my college and so have alot of kids in school. We earned them in combat, and unfortunately I can't finish a Batchelor in 36 months, so I have to take student loans. I am blown away by you, it doesn't sound like you have stepped into a college before. 1 more thing kids have to pick what they want to do with there life, not mom or Dad. You are a moron and you sound like the rest of the old retards who run canyon county.
DeleteI wonder if the person you refer to knows how to spell the word " bachelor".
DeleteTvcc is the only positive thing that I have seen Caldwell do in years. Its a blessing for us students that can't drive to the outskirts of Nampa for an education. The city is run rampant with drugs and pawn shops and pay day loan shops. Not to mention an overpriced Albertsons and the ridiculous WalMart ghetto shop. You all seem like what is wrong with this city a bunch of old people who don't want any kind of change. This city is well on its way to South central La. The sheriff office is bleeding with corruption the courts seem to be the city's answer for money by making probation and the justice system a set up to fail. I will finish my degree and the students that would be future leaders for a new Caldwell are going to leave this craphole. All of the old gaurd can sit and fiddle while your city burns.
ReplyDeleteOh to be 20 something again when I was young and pretty and I could still fly. I should have become rich when I still knew everything.
ReplyDeleteThe Sheriff's Office is bleeding with corruption? How so?
ReplyDeletePaul has certainly "drank the Kool-Aid" regarding young folks and college. I've never been to college and have never earned less than 30,000 per year even when I was in my 20's. As I'm now in my 50"s I earn approximately 50,000 per year. I can read, write and spell better than 95% of people. "Higher" education is a scam, becoming worth less and less as the economy and job markets decline. BSU and CWI are nothing more than diploma mills whose main objective is to enslave you to their financing schemes.
ReplyDeleteI too earned good money in my 20s - nearly 30k per year. I realized that wasn't good enough, so I went to college and got a math degree. I am now in my late 30s and I am making a little better than 75k per year. I did not rely on my parents to pay for this expense - it's my burden, not theirs. Besides, they don't have that kind of money, and not everyone has the Bank of Momanddad to turn to. I have apx 80k in student loans, but because I will be earning so much more once they are paid off (in 2019), the investment in myself (student debt) is clearly worth it. Even after making all my student loan payments, I still make far more than Brian Vermillion's annual salary of 50k.
ReplyDeletePaul, your comments appear to be addressing a group of students that don't represent the majority of college grads - making more money, contributing more to society, and reaping benefits of being a high demand commodity (aka, educated in Idaho).
Yes, I hate my student loans and I hate paying for them, but like a mortgage with a bank, it is an investment that my purchase will appreciate over time. Unlike a mortgage though, the investment in my education is not dependent on inflationary forces and the future popularity of my neighborhood. Rather, my investment in myself pays more the harder I work.
Here are some facts to chew on: 1. College educated people earn about 40% more than if they only finished high school; 2. Earnings rise about 85% faster if you have a college education; 3. Unemployment is about 7% lower for those with a college education; 4. Federal, state and local governments enjoy higher tax revenue from a college educated populace and spent about 10% less on public assistance programs; 5. College graduates are 15% more likely to have jobs that provide insurance and retirement benefits; 6. Adults with higher education volunteer for organizations and schools about 25% more frequently; and 7. College educated are healthier (less smokers and less obese).
Education is an investment that a smarter populace will ultimately make a better more prosperous society. You can’t cut your way to prosperity (see Kansas, for example).
The problem in Idaho isn’t that Universities aren’t producing what the market needs, it’s that the state doesn’t have what businesses want: educated people. It’s no coincidence that Idaho’s recovery from the recession has not been as robust as it has been in states that support higher ed.