student loans!!!

[rebel100]

things-student-loan-companies-wont-say-smartmoney: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

What a mess they can make of your life. I especially liked the nod to a more expensive college in order to save a couple points off the loan. Who created a system that is designed to help people get ahead, then encourages those people to place shackles upon themselves and their family. Backwards!

Be careful with student debt.

[beargins]

things-student-loan-companies-wont-say-smartmoney: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

What a mess they can make of your life. I especially liked the nod to a more expensive college in order to save a couple points off the loan. Who created a system that is designed to help people get ahead, then encourages those people to place shackles upon themselves and their family. Backwards!

Be careful with student debt.

Yikes, its good to avoid those [student loans] at all costs!
College Conspiracy - YouTube

[ryoder]

I borrowed $3500 at 0% on a federally subsidized stafford loan while attending USF for 3 years. I worked 32-35 hours per week while class was in session and 47 hours per week during Christmas break, spring break and summer.
I also did some on site computer repair to make extra money.

I felt like I borrowed a lot and quickly paid it off once I got a real job.

Once you get a job, the employer will most likely pay for tuition reimbursement so if you want to do it cheap, get an associates quick and then have your employer pay for the rest. Of course now I would just do a TESC degree for around $6k with testing and fees and be done with it.

If I had kids in high school I would have them CLEP all summer long and take Penn Foster, Straighterline and other courses so that they can graduate college at 18 and get right into a job that will pay for their masters degree.

[rebel100]

A few grand I don't have an issue with, part time work at McDonalds can cover that. I don't get the serious 10's of thousands some take with no real hope of being able t pay it back without parental help (if the parents can do it). Co signing for crippling loans? Yikes!

[ryoder]

These are people that are lacking in reasoning skills.
They end up costing the rest of us money.

[cookderosa]

Yikes, its good to avoid those [student loans] at all costs!
College Conspiracy - YouTube

I just watched that vid (over an hour long!) I wish it wasn't so heavy handed, because I'd love to show that at a CLEP/homeschool presentation. Lots of good info buried inside their agenda. (for the record, I agreed with 99.9% of it) but it had a little too much evangelicalism for the average joe imo.

[nflight]

I borrowed $3500 at 0% on a federally subsidized stafford loan while attending USF for 3 years. I worked 32-35 hours per week while class was in session and 47 hours per week during Christmas break, spring break and summer.
I also did some on site computer repair to make extra money.

I felt like I borrowed a lot and quickly paid it off once I got a real job.

Once you get a job, the employer will most likely pay for tuition reimbursement so if you want to do it cheap, get an associates quick and then have your employer pay for the rest. Of course now I would just do a TESC degree for around $6k with testing and fees and be done with it.

If I had kids in high school I would have them CLEP all summer long and take Penn Foster, Straighterline and other courses so that they can graduate college at 18 and get right into a job that will pay for their masters degree.

What made you decide to get both an MBA and a second undergraduate?

[ryoder]

I always thought of my self as a scientific and technical person and I had a whole bunch of totally unused credits from my engineering days at USF so I wanted to use those for the BA Math/NS at TESC. I also had almost a whole year left on my enrollment money at TESC so I wanted to maximize that investment.
The MBA was really my goal all along. So I decided that the best and fastest path to an MBA was a BSBA at TESC. I had considered doing a BSGS locally at USF but if I had gone that route, I wouldn't be done with coursework until the end of this year. As it stands now, by the end of the year I will have 3 degrees instead of one.

[nleamons]

Indeed students hurt students and families. I have heard of many former students, who are still paying off their loans from quite a few years ago. As always, my family taught us to be debt free as much as possible. In my case, I have not taken a loan throughout my college career, but I will probably borrow a little money to finish my degree.