Curse

Toxage · Feb 11, 2008, 04:00 AM // 04:00

Education in America is skyrocketing. It is not uncommon for universities and colleges to cost between $40,000-$50,000 dollars a year. If you get a four year degree that could cost between $160,000-$200,000 dollars. But wait there's more, there's interest! In case your massive checks to your school weren't enough they slap on 5%-10% interest on your loans. Your debt increases $8,000+ dollars a year. With this large amount of debt, you’re forced to work. You can't lose your job, you can't afford too, and your loans will climb even higher. You’re stuck in this vicious cycle of working because you will be paying your school loans off the rest of your life. Your school will get back there money + hundreds or even thousands percent more. The time of privatized education must come to an end. It is not fair for ANYONE in this current system. You exclude the majority of people from gaining an education because the cost is so significant. The current system penalizes those who choose to get an education; they get a huge debt that keeps accumulating at a drastic rate, so your forced to work until the end of your days. Not to mention the damage on society. How is it beneficial for a society to have less then 20% of the population educated? Why would our government prevent us from gaining knowledge? Is our government trying to control us?

I pwnd U · Feb 11, 2008, 04:09 AM // 04:09

It's called paragraphs... that is a wall of text looking at me and I get to the But wait there's more!

First, my guess is you are mad because you have debt. The government has debt as well, about 2 billion+ tbh. They aren't trying to keep you from an education but the colleges need money to stay open. Without the tuition there would be no way for them to cover all the expenses there are for you to go to school.

Second, 20%? Where the heck are you getting your numbers from? Gonna have to see a refrence before I believe that chit.

maraxusofk · Feb 11, 2008, 04:19 AM // 04:19

......... in california the tuition for uc berkeley is 7000 a year. imagine that 7000 for the best public university in america and one of the top 10 graduate programs of any school, for 7000 still!

RPGmaniac · Feb 11, 2008, 04:36 AM // 04:36

We're kinda forced to work anyway to pay for things like food, a house, clothes, water, electricity, not to mention the most important thing of all... internet

Teachers need to be payed too especially if they're teaching subjects like advanced physics and whatnot.

Unlucky Slayer · Feb 12, 2008, 04:13 AM // 04:13

Alright, I've been asked to re open this being presented with information that may make this worth a re open. Any and all retarded posts of either just pictures or just plain trolling will be deleted, and if you can not keep a civil discussion going, this will be closed again and it wont be re opened.

RPGmaniac · Feb 12, 2008, 04:50 AM // 04:50

Yeah, I was the one who asked for the reopen because I just wanted to put this out there (slightly long, but I tried to reduce the wall of text as much as possible):

College is actually pretty affordable. I don't know where on earth you got those figures, considering not that many colleges cost that much.

Quote:

In-state students at four-year public schools are paying $6,185 this year, up $381 from last year, according to the nonprofit College Board's annual survey of college costs, released Monday. At four-year private colleges, tuition and fees rose 6.3 percent to $23,712.

Quote:

The published price is not the real price for many students. On average, accounting for grants and tax breaks, full-time students are actually paying $2,577 this year to attend four-year public universities. That's $209 more than last year.

Quote:

Prices at two-year colleges, which educate about half of American college students, rose 4.2 percent to $2,361. Accounting for aid, their average net cost is only $320 per year.

Quote:

However, the percentage of college-goers who pay such large sums is fairly small. Fewer than 10 percent even attend colleges with tuition and fees higher than $30,000, according to the College Board, and many of those students receive financial aid. About 56 percent of students at four-year colleges attend schools listing a price under $10,000, and about one-third attend schools charging under $6,000.

Source

Then there's this table too:

Quote:

Although some of the college price tags you hear about can be quite daunting—$30,000 or more for yearly tuition and fees—most colleges are more affordable than you might think. For example, did you know that about 56 percent of students attend four-year schools with annual tuition and fees below $9,000? After grants are taken into consideration, the net price the average undergraduate pays for a college education is significantly lower than the published tuition and fees.

Source

Point is, if you're having trouble, try to find a grant. Those don't even have to be repaid. It isn't as bad as you're making it out to be. Although interest rates are rising; just not as drastically as you're making it out to be.

I pwnd U · Feb 12, 2008, 06:18 AM // 06:18

^Exactly there are plenty of ways to get aid if you need help. I know that there is student loans, finicial aid, grants, scholarships. Theres plenty of ways to make college affordable IF you seek them out. You just have to want too, they won't find you.

Onarik Amrak · Feb 12, 2008, 06:44 AM // 06:44

In Australia, permanent residents and citizens get an interest-free government loan for tuition at universities. They do factor in inflation to the loan though. You can pay it back in big blocks to get a bigger discount or get it taxed off your salary once you earn a certain amount of money.

sreeja · Feb 12, 2008, 06:48 AM // 06:48

I heard that the education in America is so advanced.So cost is high for education.But they can reduce it would be much better.

Muspellsheimr · Feb 12, 2008, 12:52 PM // 12:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by sreeja

I heard that the education in America is so advanced.So cost is high for education.But they can reduce it would be much better.

I wouldn't say advanced, but College level education in America is indeed very good (usually - there are some shitty colleges). High School level education on the other hand...

As for the costs, expensive - yes. But not overly so, and typically well worth it. You should be able to obtain a job after graduating that can easily pay off your debt within a few years. The interest from student loans however, can be quite high - currently there are some that even breach 25%.

Etta · Feb 12, 2008, 02:25 PM // 14:25

I went to the university in England, I'm half brit so there was no fee at all whice was awesome. That was 4 years ago, though. I think you have to pay for the courses now, £3,000 ($6500) a year or so, I think. I also have a student loan as well, still paying them back. :P Ah good old days.

Lol high school was a different story, though. I went to Dwight High in Manhattan and well.....rather not say.

I pwnd U · Feb 12, 2008, 02:29 PM // 14:29

Ya I found out how big of a gap there is between high school and college. In high school I was a Straight A student my Sophmore through Senior year. Had a great GPA, never studied, and still passed my classes with ease. Went off to college, a private school, and suddenly I have to study for hours just to get a B or C in a class (that has to do with my major). It's a huge step up, and you def feel like high school didn't prepare you for it. The school I go to has a tuition of around $27,000 a year. (Again, private school) But there are plenty of scholarships avaiable where you ever you look plus lots of financial aid. So it makes it more afordable.

Trakata · Feb 12, 2008, 02:55 PM // 14:55

I can't remember what I wanted to say when I first read this, since it was closed, but suffice to say that it is not hard to get into college, get the education, and pay for it. There is always something that you can do; filing the FAFSA, taking up a work-study program, student loans, tracking down a handful of the billion or so scholarships out there, etc. I used to think that I wouldn't be able to get into college because of the cost, but realistically if that's the only thing keeping you out...

lakatz · Feb 12, 2008, 03:38 PM // 15:38

RPGManiac - That's some good information you've provided and well documented. I'm glad you asked for this thread to be re-opened. It's not a good thing when bad information (like in the OP) goes unchallenged and spreads like decay.

Onarik Amrak - interesting system Australia provides. It just goes to show that if there's a conspiracy about education in any government it's to make it available to as many people as possible.

I could be very wrong, but I think our OP might have read (without fully understanding) something about the student loan scam that Congress has been instrumental in perpetuating and is finally turning around... albeit slowly. There have been companies subsidized by the government and in which some government officials have held an interest that have been giving high-interest student loans.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/...mment-opinions

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/08/opinion/08tue3.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...012100519.html

But, like previous posters in this thread have said, student loans aren't the only way to finance your college education. Many grants and scholarships are available as well.

Flem · Feb 12, 2008, 03:46 PM // 15:46

I agree with the sentiment that having that much dept at such a young age can be overwhelming and that privatized colleges are one of the biggest blights on the current society. But it's not the end of the world. As long as we have grants and such to help us out then hopefully we won't all turn into ignorant zombies.

Divinitys Creature · Feb 28, 2008, 12:58 AM // 00:58

I wouldn't suggest anyone go to college until they have an income and then they can do it part time. It isn't worth it in today's climate unless you're going to be a doctor.

You future employers are going to make money off your education so they should pay for it not you.

Here in the UK a degree-level education was free up until about 10 years ago. How did they manage to pay for it then?

Winterclaw · Feb 28, 2008, 01:07 AM // 01:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by I pwnd U

First, my guess is you are mad because you have debt. The government has debt as well, about 2 billion+ tbh.

More like 9 trillion plus a foreseen 50 trillion dollar debt in the next 20-30 years.

[marax]in california the tuition for uc berkeley is 7000 a year. imagine that 7000 for the best public university in america and one of the top 10 graduate programs of any school, for 7000 still! [/quote]

That include living in a dorm, books, lab fees for some classes, etc?

Anyways, I'm not a big fan of colleges for a number of reasons. I see the imporance of having a place of learning, but I have issues.

RPGmaniac · Feb 28, 2008, 01:14 AM // 01:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winterclaw

[marax]in california the tuition for uc berkeley is 7000 a year. imagine that 7000 for the best public university in america and one of the top 10 graduate programs of any school, for 7000 still! [ /quote]

That include living in a dorm, books, lab fees for some classes, etc?

This link has the fees for an undergrad student at Berkeley

http://registrar.berkeley.edu/Regist...html#undergrad

RamenFiasco · Feb 28, 2008, 01:30 AM // 01:30

College is a real pain in the neck, for me, my parents, and my sisters. Families like mine, who have a dad that's almost at the age of retirement and a mother who's working full time at a low paying job would find college a scary thought. Our income level just doesn't seem feasible, but my parents managed to send my sister and I to college, while my youngest sister is still in high school.

I don't want to imagine how it's like for other families that are even at a worser situation.

I did do a persuasive speech about this last year, so I'll share a couple of the articles. Note, these are a year or more old, so keep in mind the changes that could've occurred.
http://www.usatoday.com/educate/coll...s/20070121.htm
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0617/p15s01-lehl.html
There's a chart in this article that somewhat details the increase of higher education compared to other costs.
http://tsp.convio.net/site/PageServe...=rising_prices

Dante the Warlord · Feb 28, 2008, 01:30 AM // 01:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by RPGmaniac

This link has the fees for an undergrad student at Berkeley

http://registrar.berkeley.edu/Regist...html#undergrad

Thats nice for the residents, but not for the nonresidents

$10,000 extra fee is not fun at all, im hoping that not all colleges do that. Im currently in High School, not a bad one IMHO since it recently recieved the one of the top ten ratings in the nation according to News Week, although i don't exactly think that this was a 100% accurate survey, ill take it

. Im just starting my college search (im a junior), looking into majors(right now political science and business seem to be awesome, but not rly sure if ill survive there), ill take any hints

about anything to deal with college costs.