[quote=AN][quote=bearishgurl]
My rant was not about any of these things, brian. There’s nothing overly complicated about incurring massive debt. Would YOU like to be 22 or 23 with no job in sight hanging out in your old bdrm at home with student loan payments looming after you spent four years at UCSB and racked up $64K in loans (mostly for living expenses)??[/quote]
Why wasn’t such student working while going to school. Also, are you telling me students are paying $1300/month for rent per person as a student? Such student is living WAY TOO LAVISHLY to be complaining.[/quote]
The $1300 isn’t just “rent,” AN. They have to buy books, pay for gas or transportation, parking at school and/or work, food and share the cost of utilities, etc. $1300 mo doesn’t go very far in LA, SB, SF, SJ, Irvine & Berkeley. Of course the student has roommate(s) and has to work. That is a given.
Many of these VA kids (unless their parent has 100% service-connected disability) only get FEES paid by the VA. The CalVet program even has a limitation on FEES. With that program, there is about a $12K limit per year on the child’s income to qualify. If the student makes over about $11K, they don’t pay all the fees, they only pay $1275 to $1500 in fees per semester (if any Piggs know if this benefit went up, correct me here).
Then there is the gas or train/airline tix to go home for holidays.
And this is all assuming parents cover cell phone, car insurance and health insurance.
“Chapter 30” students (who have a parent w/100% svc conn disability) get about $820 mo for living expenses and books (any Piggs correct me if this went up a little) on top of the tuition and/or fees pd. This is still not enough to live on every month, even in Merced. Even the “Chapter 30 student” has to work, take out loans, or both.
In a high-cost area, if the student doesn’t make $25-$30K min annually AND live with 2-3 roommates, they can’t stay. They will end up having to leave school early or take out loans.
AN, are you aware the CSU system fees were just increased to over $1,600 for 6 sem hrs or less (the *new* “part time”) for Spring 2011 semester that has just begun??
