Nickname: Indentured Servant

Review: The situation of student debt definitely needs to be changed. We are destroying our human resources for the next forseeable generations. It reminds me of Myanmar (Burma). The universities there were closed after the student uprising in 1988, as a result the people from that age-group on have no education. Unless they find a way to pay for private schooling or leave the country. People from Singapore used to go and study at the universities in Burma. Now the younger generation is uneducated and more easy to manipulate and control. The situation in the United States of America is not so different from that in Myanmar. We just don't believe it. Schooling should be affordable for all and not put us into a lifetime of debt. No wonder the US is starting to resemble a third world country. No longer are we in a country so blessed that all have the right to "pursuit of happiness"...

Date reviewed: Aug 6, 2007 2:32 AM

Nickname: skeetabug25

Review: I just recently graduated from college with a BS in social work and $15,000 in student loan debt. The sad part is I did not need the loan money. With scholarships and grants I had more than enough to complete my education. I applied for Grad school but at $15,000, Grad school will have to wait. I have chosen to pay down my student loans and then pay for grad school. I'm 30 years old and the light bulb just came on regarding financial responsibility. I have three children we now reside in a 3 bedroom apartment. We will downsize into a two-bedroom unit so I can apply extra money towards my car loan in order to pay it off early. It is about sacraficing and not giving in to instant self gratification.

Date reviewed: Sep 20, 2006 2:39 PM

Nickname: Jack

Review: Absent this discussion has been any critical look at the massive inflation afflicting college tuition. I graduated last year from a school with tuition of $40,000 a year, and I won't be surprised if I have to pay $100,000 a year for my kids. And yet, at my school, there were mass organic chemistry lectures with over 200 students enrolled and only one instructor. Unless professors are millionaires (and they are not), I am mystified by the inability of universities to translate the huge economies of scale they can deploy into cheaper education. Where does the money go?! Students are increasingly not majoring in the capital-intensive science and engineering majors, and instead major in book-based disciplines like business. Every new facility is endowed, and all tenured professors are required to fund their research with outside grants. The only explanation I can offer is the explosion of administration at universities, which is well-documented.

Date reviewed: Aug 14, 2006 9:27 PM

Nickname: Baby Boomer now Busted

Review: I am at the end of the boomers generation, but what has happened to me puts me in a different, yet similar place. I have had 2 layoffs, 2 kids, 2 business degrees, a college loan, and now at a limited-tenure job in a small town where costs are less. I don't have the American dream that I wanted and planned for. Things happen outside of our plans and dreams! I waited to have kids because of my job at IBM (I wanted to climb the corporate ladder). I not only got laid off from my job, but lost my second child because of the stress. The first degree because I was told I needed one to "get ahead" and a second degree because I was laid off at another software company, thus a college loan to top it off. All this time, the CEOs were getting paid bonuses for saving company funds. They were raping company coffers and tying company performance to their paychecks. Who wouldn't see company performance improve when you lay off employees or get bonuses based on "projected" performance.

Date reviewed: Mar 28, 2006 11:29 PM

Nickname: over the hill

Review: WRT to the last commenter, don't work a second job. You will owe the IRS money if you are taxed at a different rate than at the first job. I did that in the 80's (I am the previous commenter) and the IRS threatened to attach my savings account that had $30 in it at end of the year. So, all I got out of doing a second job was tired. Its better to starve if there is no big picture gain. Also, if you go into a house with a relative other than your spouse, be careful not to get into legal hassles later on when you want to sell the property (as I have). You can move to a place where the cost of living is low, but don't be surprised if your quality of life becomes non-existent, as the only jobs in those areas could be at your local Wal-Mart. And if you put off getting your diploma too long, you may probably not finish ( as responsibilities and the need to work to survive start to snowball). No wonder people can't get ahead.

Date reviewed: Mar 17, 2006 6:50 PM

Nickname: Tomb

Review: Ballooning entitlement spending promises to defeat simple fixes, while comments on life in the 70s or 80s ignore the plain truth that today's costs are truly much higher. The long-term solutions probably lie in re-imagining higher education delivery, and systematic solutions to seemingly unrelated issues like exploding state Medicaid outlays. The (partial) short-term solutions are oatmeal-bland, but equally potent at promoting long-term (fiscal) health and a fighting chance to make your education work for you, and not vice-versa: Earn before attending (long haul trucking: $50K/yr and tons of jobs), max community college credits for first two years, attend a solid in-state school (highest benefit/cost ratio), maximize your credit load, live at home, use your heart and head when choosing a degree. After graduating, start your career in an inexpensive city, work a second job, and as others mention: think about what "essential" really means.

Date reviewed: Mar 16, 2006 1:08 AM

Nickname: Over the Hill

Review: I am a baby boomer, and I actually went thru the same thing at their age in the 70's and 80's. My twenties were a waste of time in the job market. I was stuck in this vicious cycle of the permanent underclass. I worked as a secretary, all the while thinking I couldn't afford to go to college because I didn't want to go into debt. For over 10 years I paid on the same $2k I owed Visa because I needed money faster than I could pay it off. I drove a piece of junk and lived in Section 8 apartments with Welfare recipients, criminals and thieves. I bought a house, but had to go in it with a relative. I got my A.S. at 32 (that I paid for myself) and a B.S. much later, but I got it by making my employer pay for it while I went at night. Now I am doing pretty well (am a professional) and am not in debt. I got there but I paid my dues and put in the time. I feel for Generation X but at the same time I sure would like to be 25 again.

Date reviewed: Mar 14, 2006 4:28 PM

Nickname: RW grad

Review: I graduated with over 20k in student loans from a state school. While I believe that college funding from the state governments needs to be increased, the legislatures should also restrain top-line growth at the universities. Some academic fields are covered multiple times. What is the difference between sociology and multicultural studies? Women's studies is an academic field but should it be an acredited degree or an option onto an anthropology/sociology degree? The problem is that the U systems in this country are using the Federal loan program as a big feeding trough. If the guaranteed loan program did not exist, departments would be cut and prices lowered so that the university could keep the enrollment numbers necessary for NCAA Div. 1. Students could get loans through private banks at reasonable rates if the loan balances were smaller. The federal loan program is basicly a student funded welfare program for bloated degrees where students are indoctrinated, not educated.

Date reviewed: Mar 7, 2006 3:11 PM

Nickname: sandylighthouse

Review: Right on, TR! Just look at how how they live -- iPods, new cars, CD collections, DVDs, fast food, clothes, etc. No desire is even momentarily delayed. This is definitely Gen Y - pronounced "whine". Their next course should be in "sucking it up" at the school of hard knocks.

Date reviewed: Mar 7, 2006 2:31 PM

Nickname: Todd

Review: The military offers great programs to pay for education. For instance, Virginia National Guard offers 100% Tuition Assistance. I think that military service is an option that more young people need to consider. I can tell you from personal experience that my military education makes me a much more effective person than college education alone. Leadership, planning operations, organizational and system skills, logistics, and the drive and innovation to ensure mission accomplishment are all valuable skills for the civilian job sector. The superior and unchallenged place of instruction of these skill sets is the military. So instead of getting broke and fat while going to college, students can get paid and fit to go to college while gaining an edge and more options after graduation.

Date reviewed: Mar 6, 2006 2:13 PM