[quote=zk]My point is that potential college students should be able to borrow enough to go to college, that they should be able to pay it off after college, and that they shouldn’t have to pay usurious rates. If you disagree with that, and I’m not sure whether you do, then why?
If they borrow more than they need, that’s their own fault. But if they can’t borrow as much as they need, then that’s not going to be good for the country.[/quote]
Define “need,” zk, as it applies to an unemployed or min-wage-earning student. Does “need” include an expensive apt in Santa Barbara (or even half or a third of one)? Monthly highlights and mani-pedi at a salon? Weekend “socializing $$?” Private dorm room? Maintenance on an expensive and/or gas-guzzling vehicle? A $3000+ new “wardrobe?” All new stuff for a dorm room? etc, etc.
I think not … but that is how a lot of college students live today.
Do you realize you can buy used college textbooks off Craigslist anywhere for 70-80% off “new” prices? Yeah, they may be “last years or the year-before’s edition” but this shouldn’t be a problem. When the instructor says, “turn to page 115,” you just turn to page 121 (or however the book is laid out). You will know how it is laid out when you compare it to your classmate’s “new” edition on the first day of class. Then follow it accordingly throughout the semester or year. Buying grossly overpriced textbooks is the biggest joke in college these days.
Regarding exorbitant tuition/fee rates, I don’t see public colleges going down in price. However, I DO see private colleges coming down in price if student-loan qualifications go up and/or the gov’t backed student loan-limits are reduced. Many private colleges (such as “Univ of Phoenix”) are a colossal ripoff, IMO.
We are not currently living in an economy where it makes sense to overspend on education, since there is little chance of landing a well-paying job with benefits right out of college in most fields. It’s wiser for a lot of young people to instead try to obtain on-the-job training while working FT and obtaining benefits (or get low-cost ROP training in the “trades.”) Four years later, a lot of these young workers’ *newly degreed* compadres are going to be indebted to the hilt with no way to pay the debt back and still live. Hence, the “usurious” practices you’re referring to here when their loans are repeatedly consolidated and deferred, adding endless late fees and deferred interest on the back end.
