I’ve got 3 done so far and it hasn’t cost me anything.

This makes no sense to me, please explain why a person would not want repay a loan?

I much prefer a world where doctors go to medical school, engineers learn physics and math and any number of other professions have educated people.

I however believe that too many people go to college to pursue useless degrees. We need more people attending votech and trade schools.

As for the cost of college. I have two in college and two still at the house (Junior in high school and 5th grader). Push kids to pay for their own college with their own work and accomplishments. Oldest is about to finish and paid her way with an academic and a D1 athletic scholarship. She will graduate with an engineering degree and is headed to medical school. Second received a full scholarship (tuition, room and board) for academics and is studying accounting. The plan is that she will attend law school. Third is working on applying and getting appointed to either the Naval Academy or West Point--so no cost. Fingers crossed. No clue about the youngest--we have time.

I paid for every penny of my college and law school. My wife did the same with an academic scholarship. I set the expectations early for my kids to do the same. It will mean more to them if they earn it.

Seriously college is perfect for some people in some fields, but these days it is nothing but a money pit for most young people. There are so many better ways to get an education or learn a trade. College is not what it used to be that's for sure. A waste of money in most cases.

It’s weird,,,,you don’t see the protests at trade schools


Why is that?

When I went to trade school, if you missed more than 2 days of a class, you had to retake it. You could retake 1 class for free, but you had to pay after that.

When my wife went to a private University, she could skip as much class as she wanted, so long as she could pass tests nobody cared. (She skipped lots of class, and graduated summa cum laude but she's an awesome genius)

Go for a trade you will make more money.

Many choose a four year degree to make a living in a career they really enjoy, so maximum profit or income is not always the end goal for everyone. We have two granddaughters who are HS juniors so we will see next fall how things play out. We have put monies away for all 3 of our granddaughters so we can help with expenses.

Bryce

All of my boys had scholarships.
Easy to do.
You need brains or build…..

Shout out to S D school of mines and technology…

Through work, scholarships, our help and grad fellowships our two children have advanced degrees with no debt.

Bryce

Many were told just get a degree in anything it does not matter what and you will earn a few mill more during your life. I was told this in school and it completely bs for a large % of the population. Unless it's engineer, law school, nursing or a specific career that requires a degree and you know what you want to do collage is a joke. You wast 4 years of earnings and many rack up debt. The girl checking me out at the gas station today has a 4 year degree the debt and a $15 an hour job she didn't need the education to obtain. Many are just like her that bought into the lie. They would have been better off in an apprenticeship in many cases.

If everyone has a 4 year degree that degree become less valuable because scarcity is a big factor in determining value. Highschool deplomas don't mean much today because everyone has one. Collage degrees would be the same.

A four year degree certainly doesn’t carry the same weight as it did for the baby boomers.


And the cost has gotten ridiculous. Charge the students tens of thousands while slurping up government money and sitting on endowments in the billions.

I mentioned a young fellow I met at the airport in NYC heading to Maine to pursue a four year degree in music at $50,000 a year. $200,000 in student loans for a four year degree. Maybe it will work out and he becomes the next Keith Richards. Highly doubtful.

If you add the opportunity cost of 4 years of lost wages at $50,000/year, the total cost is $400,000.

College can be done on the cheap if you go to a public school (not some private school where tuition / room and board can be $60,000 + a year) and only pay for tuition. The key is to maximize work, scholarships, and savings to cash flow your way through.

My daughter’s going to UofM for environmental sciences this fall…..she could change a different science path after she gets her basic courses the first year or 2. Think it’s about $5000CA a year, $30000 for 5ish years.

One brother went ROTC and received BS and MS. Sister went National Guard and received BS and MS. No debt and both had great careers.

About the only thing I have used from my college degrees for is the transcripts to qualify for a series. My work ethics and experience and desire to learn and do my job has been what lead me to succeed. I would really like to question physicians and surgeons to see if medical school really taught them more than what they learned during hands on experiences. Even lawyers I would have to think learn more from experience than what law school teaches. My wife and I both have over 6 years of college and both of us would rather have our children become an apprentice and learn from someone doing a job. I have met too many Amish and Mennonite youngsters that figure out how to succeed with only an 8th grade education. None of our public schools or colleges teach work ethic and determination.

The best advice that i received from a friend was to not have much money in the bank when your kids are
college age!