Kathy Kristof of Forbes seems to think so. In this intriguing article, Kristof argues that with student loans with terms worse than what you can get from Vito down at the docks, and with the overinflated importance of a college degree, higher education can actually mean a financial disaster:
Mindy Babbitt entered Davenport University in her mid-20s to study accounting. Unable to cover the costs with her previous earnings as a cosmetologist, she took out a $35,000 student loan at 9% interest, figuring her postgraduate income would cover the cost.
Instead, the entry-level job her bachelor's degree got her barely covered living expenses. Babbitt deferred loan repayments and was then laid off for a time. Now 41 and living in Plainwell, Mich., she is earning $41,000 a year, or about $10,000 more than the average high school graduate makes. But since she graduated, Babbitt's student loan balance has more than doubled, to $87,000, and she despairs she'll never pay it off.
"Unless I win the lottery or get a job paying a lot more, my student debts are going to follow me to the grave," she says.
Link (Illustration: Alex Nabaum) - via The Zeray Gazette
College is not a scam, shark loans are.
For example, last october, student loans fixed rates in France (and I guess +/- in western Europe) were below 4% + 0.5% insurance...
There are a LOT of people in college who shouldn't be there....
There are some truths I guess in that not everyone with a degree will have that sterling job experience, and perhaps it is not for everyone. But I wouldn't let articles like these convince people that degrees are worthless or not worthy of getting.
Yes there are bad experiences but personally I feel that someone with a legitimate degree is already one step ahead. Having that paper opens doors for you, I can't tell you how many jobs that I applied for ask for a minimum of a bachelor's. The Bachelor's today is the equivalent of a high school degree, so in the long run I still feel having a degree is better than not.
Most kids are more interested in the experience college provides than the education opportunity it provides. This is why people pay 30k a year for school, and know that they will never be able to pay it back. It's the norm these days and its just keeping up appearances for children and parents.
What happened to the master and apprentice system which worked for so long to educate people in trades. You will never learn as much in a college as you will with hands on, one on one experience. The only problem is vocational school and skilled trades are looked upon like the bubonic plague by people these days.
The college experience is the scam. Stop selling the experience and start selling the education.
I think fundamentally, the problem is that the goverment is enabling people to get loans they couldn't otherwise get. This inturn tells universities they can ask for more and the cycle continues. No different than the housing bubble.
Regardless, you should always try to get an education or a skilled trade. There are just so many "good paying" factory jobs. What are you going to do work in a store, or flip burgers your whole life?
The accontant may not make a lot more, but I'll bet her benefits are much better. She probably has 401K matching and health benefits.
See she learned something.
I enjoyed the college experience, but it did nothing to boost my earning potential. I ended up going to a technical school after graduating from college just so I could get a decent job. Thankfully, I incurred no student loan debt.
The system makes it seem simple, easy and advantageous to acquire a degree no matter the costs. When I was in school I paid for all of my own supplies, books, software etc... out of my own pocket, but those with loans simply accepted the additional charge to their account at the (steeply marked up) school bookstore.
Our culture, and the advertising schools use does not make much mention of financing, other than to provide assistance in acquiring it. In reality, as graduation nears, those students with loans begin to see reality face to face. They are new to a job market with no guarantees, and faced with the realization that if they didn't push themselves to becoming capable in their chosen field, that their current part time job will not even begin to cover their future expenses.
Add to that any additional expenses already racked up through life experience, like child support or any thing else, and the experience can truly become overwhelming. I've seen all of this, and I'm just an observer, not a participant in the program. I'm sure it's a very stressful situation to be in, especially given our current economic state.
Yes, it will either take longer to get your degree and/or require tight budgeting. But it can be done. My husband is two classes away from his Electrical Engineering degree. When he finishes next year, it will have taken him 12 years to earn a "4 year" degree. But the day he graduates, we'll be able to celebrate his accomplishment and be excited about our new opportunity instead of having to start worrying about paying back a bunch of student loans.
Plus, you don't have to rush into the first high enough paying job that your new degree qualifies you for because you have to start repaying your loans. You can take your time and find the dream job that inspired you to make the sacrifices necessary to go to school and get that degree in the first place.
Seems like the real issue is what type of loan she took out. I know many people with student loans and none of them are paying over 5%.
The story has some good points but obviously it all comes down to making intelligent decisions based on research...
-the runaround in phone & person for any question
-a huge price tag
-a curriculum largely based upon large amounts of make-work work and not learning (I was recommended by an administrative counselor to skip lectures and readings to make time to write assignments)
-competitive, stressful environment with no one having the time or inclination to help anyone else
-very little content of real-world use provided
I will say that going helped to decide where I did want to go in my career path, to applied graphic design college! I'm working towards an advanced diploma, learning useful skills every day in every class, and afterwards I can enter the same graduate programs as university students. Hooray for applied college!
http://www.frbsf.org/education/activities/drecon/2004/0402a.gif
treat it as you would any other
For example of why college is a scam:
I and a fellow school mate went to the same college, same major, same classes. We both studied computer science.
I dropped out after the first semester seeing no classes that would matter at all in the coming years (this was late 90s and the school still taught COBOL)
He stayed in.
I started my own business, later moved onto a full time IT admin position at a manufacturing plant and make 35k+ a year with a nice 401k and full health care.
He works construction for his dad, Making I would assume sub 20k/year but he's got a piece of paper saying he's edumacated.
Education beyond high school, has caused more depression and death than heart disease,cancer, and smoking, Study completed over 25yrs and without the help of grants or politically motivated professors.Dis agree Here is my email Paulblack11@aol.com