[quote=bearishgurl]I’ve seen a lot of young people fall for these “sales pitches,” but, for the life of me, why would a baby boomer attempt this with age discrimination rampant all over the country? IMO, it’s absolutely financial and retirement suicide, esp in this economy.[/quote]
Well for young people even if you take on $120K in debt to get a degree, long term it *should* still pay off, assuming you stay the course and get your degree in something with market value.
As for older workers, I think it’s a combination of layoffs and feeling unhappy with their current jobs. My own mother never went to college and works retail; there was a time she considered getting her degree but decided the math didn’t just add up. For her it was a straight money decision, but there’s a lot of people where there’s a prestige and emotional component.
I do expect there will be some reform in lending especially with regards to for-profit universities. Both sides of the political aisle have incentive to reform the system, and while their goals might be slightly different, there’s a lot of common ground.
