Wow, great discussion, guys. I especially appreciated @Shank0668 's perspective as a recent graduate, and really loved this post by @old greybeard:
Here's another inconvenient truth:
I became much more aware of this last point when I went back to school full-time in my late 20's, surrounded by a bunch of 18 year olds. Blame the parents, if you don't want to blame the kids, it doesn't change the truth of these statements.
Rough numbers, if I couldn't pay back what I had borrowed within 6 - 8 years of graduation, I'd say I had made some bad choices in my vocation or schooling. At some point, most folks want to get on with buying a house and having a family, and not dealing with student debt. But the choice is yours, in what major you choose, where you attend, and what debt you take on in that pursuit.
Doesn’t mean we are without compassion, but its for those who are true victims.
If mommy and daddy never made Bobby uncomfortable, and celebrated every time he received a participant trophy its on them for letting the village raise their child. They probably also didn’t set examples of fiscal discipline.
Nothing new here, same ancient issues in a new wrap.
Here's another inconvenient truth:
There are plenty of options to have manageable tuition.
-A lot of students are wasting money and time obtaining degrees that are nearly worthless.
A lot of students I graduated high school with went places solely based on sports or friends.
I became much more aware of this last point when I went back to school full-time in my late 20's, surrounded by a bunch of 18 year olds. Blame the parents, if you don't want to blame the kids, it doesn't change the truth of these statements.
Exactly. This is really what this all boils down to. When people were blaming the banks for offering them mortgages they couldn't afford, I remembered my own self-discipline at age 23, in not buying the biggest house the bank told me I could afford. People need to be held accountable for their own stupid decisions, and stop blaming the enablers, who will always be there.While true, that is a factor that can be calculated prior to the commitment.
My first salary after graduation was $137,177, scaled to 2022 dollars, and it only went up from there. I'm not doing what I love, but it's tolerable, and I chose a career that I knew would pay off.What is the point that that would be worth it, salary wise? It would at least have to start near six figures upon graduation.
Rough numbers, if I couldn't pay back what I had borrowed within 6 - 8 years of graduation, I'd say I had made some bad choices in my vocation or schooling. At some point, most folks want to get on with buying a house and having a family, and not dealing with student debt. But the choice is yours, in what major you choose, where you attend, and what debt you take on in that pursuit.