Student loan documentary

[bldclot2]

Cue the violins!!!! Here's another one, what do you guys think? I'm sick and tired of reading this type of story, but this story and many like it have helped me stay away from student loans.

This Bright-Eyed Young Man Was Utterly Demolished by Student Loans - Yahoo! Finance

defaultmovie.com | the student loan documentary

[clydosaurus]

I can't really begrudge a 17-year-old for not knowing or understanding the details of their loans. It saddens me that they go into this with seemingly no parental guidance... but many parents are financially clueless themselves. My first time college-go-round was 17 years ago, and I took out < $3k in student loans. Just paying that $50/mo for a few years burned my butt. Its been paid off for many years now, but still. I have friends whose balance is just as high as graduation day 10 years later. What really blows my mind are parents who co-sign these loans without reading the fine print, and grown adults who return to school still clueless about what a 50K debt looks and feels like. I have friends who owe close to 200k and they're not doctors. I fall into the category of folks who didn't learn about personal finance until I had my own meltdown, but geeze, student loans are dangerous debt, and I thought that was common knowledge!

Over the years I regret not having a degree, but I'm working on that now. As early as 2000 (a year after my proposed graduation) I already knew that I was unwilling and unable to finance a $40K education debt. I already had a mortgage, car payment and living expense, there was no money left over and I was not entirely convinced that a degree was going to bring in much more money. I'm still not... but I'm willing to make a $5K investment, it won't ruin me forever.

[Lyanne]

I'm about to go into debt for student loans for my daughter. She's graduating high school next week, got accepted to a couple of good schools that offered zero aid, so we had to tell her she couldn't go. She's in IB so has some college credits under her belt (we won't know how many until test scores come back) but she's going to a UC that offered some aid. The closest CC to us is over an hour away, closest Cal State is 45 minutes away, and she doesn't have a car. This UC doesn't accept CLEP or DSST. We're still going to have to pay maybe 15K but it's all relative; so much less than the 60K dream school we had to tell her she couldn't attend.
Part of it is my ignorance, I made her apply to a Cal State as a safety school, not realizing that they only accept some figure like 11% of qualified applicants. Didn't realize it was such a popular school. Now Cal States have frozen applications for winter and next year, waiting to see what congress does to their budgets. She also felt like she had busted her butt so hard these past few years in IB, that going to a "lesser" school made it all seem like a waste.

[rebel100]

I can't really begrudge a 17-year-old for not knowing or understanding the details of their loans. It saddens me that they go into this with seemingly no parental guidance... but many parents are financially clueless themselves.

This kid had parental guidance...Dad was willing to pay for a degree that would have given the kid better prospects. I have a really hard time conjuring up a measurable amount of sympathy on this one.

[rebel100]

I'm about to go into debt for student loans for my daughter. She's graduating high school next week, got accepted to a couple of good schools that offered zero aid, so we had to tell her she couldn't go. She's in IB so has some college credits under her belt (we won't know how many until test scores come back) but she's going to a UC that offered some aid. The closest CC to us is over an hour away, closest Cal State is 45 minutes away, and she doesn't have a car. This UC doesn't accept CLEP or DSST. We're still going to have to pay maybe 15K but it's all relative; so much less than the 60K dream school we had to tell her she couldn't attend.
Part of it is my ignorance, I made her apply to a Cal State as a safety school, not realizing that they only accept some figure like 11% of qualified applicants. Didn't realize it was such a popular school. Now Cal States have frozen applications for winter and next year, waiting to see what congress does to their budgets. She also felt like she had busted her butt so hard these past few years in IB, that going to a "lesser" school made it all seem like a waste.

Why not let her do the first two years via distance? You can pay cash for an AA/AS at a place like New Mexico Junior College and she could just stay home (or attend there for a semester or two they have on campus housing and its really quite affordable). Once done with that re-visit where she will finish up.

This is a great learning moment for your family...do some research and figure it out. $15K is a huge yoke around her neck...is that a total figure for 4 years or an annual projection? Are you expecting to pay it for her or letting her take on the repayment responsibility?

[bldclot2]

Lyanne,

I also live in California and currently attend a CC, you should have your daughter take online classes at the local CC. California has one of the most affordable CC tuition rates, even with the increases. Then she can transfer to a UC or CS, most community colleges have bridge programs that get you in to those schools faster than having to wait around to be accepted. About 2 years ago I was accepted to Cal State Uni of Northridge as a transfer student but opted not to attend because of the price tag. It's harder to get into UC's (UCLA, UC Santa Cruz etc) but not impossible.

Good Luck.
-bldclot2

[Lyanne]

Why not let her do the first two years via distance? You can pay cash for an AA/AS at a place like New Mexico Junior College and she could just stay home (or attend there for a semester or two they have on campus housing and its really quite affordable). Once done with that re-visit where she will finish up.

This is a great learning moment for your family...do some research and figure it out. $15K is a huge yoke around her neck...is that a total figure for 4 years or an annual projection? Are you expecting to pay it for her or letting her take on the repayment responsibility?

I know, I know....but when it comes right down to it, she wants to go away, she comes from an accelerated high school program and I can see why a Junior College or Community College would seem like a huge step backward to her. Plus the added fact that transferring into the 4 year institutions she''s interested in is much stricter than starting from Frosh. It seems these 4 year unis are doing what they can to deter people from the 2 year CC to 4 year route. We used to live 5 minutes from a CC and I had been telling her since middle school that she would go there for 2 years, then go away to finish her degree. Circumstances are just different now for us. We weighed the cost of getting her a car to commute, as well as the worry of a 17 year old spending hours on the freeway. Also, if she stayed home, she would get a job and that would adversely affect future financial aid. Part of me wishes I had gone away to college and because I regret not going, I don't want her to regret it either, especially when she wants to go so badly.
The $15K is what's left after aid that doesn't need to be paid back. Some of the offered loans are in her name, some pare parent, so we're having her take them, and...if in the future we are in a position to pay them off, we will. We have sent my 2 step children to college too (with a dollar amount mandated by the court system), so there's an element of "we paid $X a year for these children, so...can we really deny our own child..?" It's hard to explain...

[clydosaurus]

This kid had parental guidance...Dad was willing to pay for a degree that would have given the kid better prospects. I have a really hard time conjuring up a measurable amount of sympathy on this one.

Nah, this one is a yutz, but its the same story over and over. Caveat Emptor! In this dude's case, what happened to going to CC, demonstrating some talent and coming up through the ranks? Oh My, I'd loooooooove to study culinary art in France or Italy or some place equally wonderful... but if I ever actually do go to culinary school it will be at my local CC.

[bldclot2]

Lyanne,

I understand, my sister is going through the same thing with my niece. My niece was accepted into a program at Stanford, but will most likely go to a CC due to the price tag of Stanford. Oh, but I forgot my brother-in-law was just rated by the Veterans Affairs and apparently here in California anyone rated a VA compensation can send their children to UC and CS for FREE! So, I guess my niece will get a better chance at a UC or CS. Good Luck

Here's the link for anyone that isn't aware of this program.

CalVet | Education

[jam123]

Cue the violins!!!! Here's another one, what do you guys think? I'm sick and tired of reading this type of story, but this story and many like it have helped me stay away from student loans.

This Bright-Eyed Young Man Was Utterly Demolished by Student Loans - Yahoo! Finance

$142,000 in loans for culinary school? He spent 8 years? His starting pay will be under $30k? Seriously?

I am so tired of morons being made out to look like victims. I am so tired of supporting people who CHOSE to do stupid things whether its student loan debt, having babies, doing drugs, etc.