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Hey guys. As a graduating senior, paying for college is one of those topics that are constantly on my mind. In the US, college is expensive, and I think much of TL knows that. However, what some of you may not know is that the Higher Education Act, one of the most important laws allowing the federal government to fund college tuition, is up for re-enactment in 2013. The Higher Education Act funds Pell Grants, student loans, etc.
I was wondering what you guys thought about the law. Should we cut government spending and reduce tax credits, grants, etc? Should we just re-enact it without any changes? Should we make the funds for it larger? Or should we not re-enact it at all and leave the market to act on its own? Personally, I believe we should re-enact it and expand it, but I don't want to bother you with the whole argument. It's posted here.
Let me know your thoughts!
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We should change it, if you choose to go to state school (in state or out of state) you can get government aid, and if you want to go to a private institution you cannot, that way people will be more reasonable with what they can afford and what they want from their educations.
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College inst that expensive to be honest. As a graduating senior with white middle class parents who actually saved a decent amount of money for college. (while not sacrificing mind you) just save like you have an IQ in the 3 digit range and you'll be fine. Not one of my 3 brothers and sisters have had to take out student loans. To emphasize again we are a (maybe upper, but not really) middle class family. Its just not that hard.
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On May 24 2012 05:12 Kuja wrote: College inst that expensive to be honest. As a graduating senior with white middle class parents who actually saved a decent amount of money for college. (while not sacrificing mind you) just save like you have an IQ in the 3 digit range and you'll be fine. Not one of my 3 brothers and sisters have had to take out student loans. To emphasize again we are a (maybe upper, but not really) middle class family. Its just not that hard.
How much do your parents make combined per year, just for some perspective.
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My mom (doesn't work) gets about 2k a month from the interest a 6 million dollar trust that disperses to 7 recipients (hasn't dispersed yet, nor been invaded). My dad is a juvenile public defense attorney and makes around 90k a year i think, maybe a bit more maybe a bit less.
EDIT: for even more context we live in Scottsdale, Arizona so living cost is relative.
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On May 24 2012 05:34 Nick_54 wrote:Show nested quote +On May 24 2012 05:12 Kuja wrote: College inst that expensive to be honest. As a graduating senior with white middle class parents who actually saved a decent amount of money for college. (while not sacrificing mind you) just save like you have an IQ in the 3 digit range and you'll be fine. Not one of my 3 brothers and sisters have had to take out student loans. To emphasize again we are a (maybe upper, but not really) middle class family. Its just not that hard. How much do your parents make combined per year, just for some perspective.
1. That is rude to ask.
2. Income isn't the only factor to be considered. There are plenty of of people making six figures who have a difficult time paying for their kids' college tuition because their kids want to got to a $20k/year school, have $3k/month mortgage payments, 2+ $400/month car payments, etc. etc.
I worked at a university as an accountant so I have seen all kinds of financial backgrounds. Like above, I have seen parents making $300k/year and struggle to pay for their child's education. On the flipside, I've seen some parents making $50k/year pull out 529 plan checks for a full 4 years of their child's college education.
As he said, it is definitely possible to pay for school without any additional assistance. College is probably more expensive than it should be, but it is still affordable. You just have to make smart decisions, and so do your parents, long before you're even born.
This is the one valuable lesson I've learned working for a university. I'm not even married yet, and I'm already making financial decisions involving my children(s)' education.
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On May 24 2012 05:12 Kuja wrote: College inst that expensive to be honest. As a graduating senior with white middle class parents who actually saved a decent amount of money for college. (while not sacrificing mind you) just save like you have an IQ in the 3 digit range and you'll be fine. Not one of my 3 brothers and sisters have had to take out student loans. To emphasize again we are a (maybe upper, but not really) middle class family. Its just not that hard. lol.
well unfortunately many of us aren't blessed with "maybe upper but not really" middle class families nor can we persuade our parental units to save like they have an IQ in the 3 digit range. many of us don't have the luxury of even thinking about invading a $6mil trust fund. i'm not saying you should be demonized for having reasonable living conditions but please don't make broad generalizations like "college isn't expensive".
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On May 24 2012 05:45 Kuja wrote: My mom (doesn't work) gets about 2k a month from the interest a 6 million dollar trust that disperses to 7 recipients (hasn't dispersed yet, nor been invaded). My dad is a juvenile public defense attorney and makes around 90k a year i think, maybe a bit more maybe a bit less.
EDIT: for even more context we live in Scottsdale, Arizona so living cost is relative.
Your parents are in the 83red percentile as far as income goes. As to the guy above me saying its rude to ask, its rude to say things like. College isnt very expensive at all just save with a triple digit IQ. Its not quite as easy as people make it out to be without 6 mil trust funds.
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I dont think you understand trusts. All we get from the trust till it disperses is the interest, nothing else at all. We get nothing at all of the actual money in the trust. These have been really hard times, before the stock market crashed that trust had 12 million in it; so we took a huge hit in terms of income just like everyone else. $2000 a mouth is not going to raise a family of 6 people esp in Scottsdale.
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On May 24 2012 05:50 jacosajh wrote:Show nested quote +On May 24 2012 05:34 Nick_54 wrote:On May 24 2012 05:12 Kuja wrote: College inst that expensive to be honest. As a graduating senior with white middle class parents who actually saved a decent amount of money for college. (while not sacrificing mind you) just save like you have an IQ in the 3 digit range and you'll be fine. Not one of my 3 brothers and sisters have had to take out student loans. To emphasize again we are a (maybe upper, but not really) middle class family. Its just not that hard. How much do your parents make combined per year, just for some perspective. 1. That is rude to ask. 2. Income isn't the only factor to be considered. There are plenty of of people making six figures who have a difficult time paying for their kids' college tuition because their kids want to got to a $20k/year school, have $3k/month mortgage payments, 2+ $400/month car payments, etc. etc. I worked at a university as an accountant so I have seen all kinds of financial backgrounds. Like above, I have seen parents making $300k/year and struggle to pay for their child's education. On the flipside, I've seen some parents making $50k/year pull out 529 plan checks for a full 4 years of their child's college education. As he said, it is definitely possible to pay for school without any additional assistance. College is probably more expensive than it should be, but it is still affordable. You just have to make smart decisions, and so do your parents, long before you're even born. This is the one valuable lesson I've learned working for a university. I'm not even married yet, and I'm already making financial decisions involving my children(s)' education. Yes, what I was trying to get at is college is affordable as long as you live within your means and plan out your and your childrens futures carefully.
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bro. you're not average american. that being said, i agree to live within your means. i went to community then transfered to state. no loans to worry about
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United States24483 Posts
Wanting people to be responsible about what school they choose to go to based on their financial situation is good, but it should also be a goal not to make schools with the better reputations only accessible to the children of rich parents. This creates a society where poor people never break out of the cycle, while rich people stay in their own bubble.
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the 2k a month puts your family income at over 100k a year.
Also a graduating senior here
I chose to go to community college. My parents make about 80K a year. I did do dual enrollment so when i graduate high school i have 60 credits of college done. Community college also gave me a 1500$ scholarship so next year I only have to pay 1500 in tuition throughout a whole year not including books.
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College is expensive as hell. I did two years at a CC and paid it all in cash, but now I'm t a state university and I can only afford half in cash and the other half is loans. I work 40 hours a week, and man it's a pain to manage a full time job with school. My parents are lower class (less than 30k) combines income, so saving for college was never an option. I'll be nearly 18k in debt when I'm done.
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I am the rare person who doesn't think its the parents responsibility to pay for college. If yours can and are willing thats great. If not, go to a state school, apply for scholarships, (you can get a lot of money by just jumping through stupid hoops) and work. Live at home if its an option.
The thing is, most people want the "college experience" which is ok, but you pay for it.
Edit: In my personal experience, you can go to a shitty state university (mine is/was awful) and it doesn't really hurt you that much. When it comes to grad school you might not be able to get into top5 class schools in your field, but top 20class is totally doable.
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Bot edit.
User was banned for this post.
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