interesting article in Slate: massive student loans/debt and the role of the parents

[Anonymous]

My main takeaway from this article...

http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2016/01/student_loan_crisis_at_its_ugliest_i_graduated_and_found_out_i_owe_200_000.single.html

...is that parents need to educate themselves about college loans, and that many parents, particularly the demographic that is represented in a lot of DCUM, needs to get real about their finances, and be prepared to tell their kids what they can and can't afford.
For many kids, that may mean not going to a private, when many of your friends are, or going part-time and working, when some of your friends are doing neither.
Sure, it's a bummer, but's it's much, much better than $200,000 of student loan debt.

I just think the parents of this kid needed to look at their finances and tell their kid "no".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My main takeaway from this article...

http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2016/01/student_loan_crisis_at_its_ugliest_i_graduated_and_found_out_i_owe_200_000.single.html

...is that parents need to educate themselves about college loans, and that many parents, particularly the demographic that is represented in a lot of DCUM, needs to get real about their finances, and be prepared to tell their kids what they can and can't afford.
For many kids, that may mean not going to a private, when many of your friends are, or going part-time and working, when some of your friends are doing neither.
Sure, it's a bummer, but's it's much, much better than $200,000 of student loan debt.

I just think the parents of this kid needed to look at their finances and tell their kid "no".

My takeaway is the same as yours is, with the following additional thought: If your high-performing child wants to go to a private school, or to a public school as an OOS student, then focus your search on schools that offer scholarship money to high achievers. These schools are not at the top of the USNWR lists, and do not have East Coast SLAC name-brand cachet. Despite this, they offer a solid education for far less money than you would spend at e.g. Connecticut College, Wesleyan University, Bowdoin, Bates, Trinity or Colby.

My child has several acceptances in hand from SLACs located in the Midwest and on the West Coast. All have offered $24K+/year merit aid, bringing the cost down to about $30K/year or less (rather than the $65K these schools' NESCAC counterparts would cost). We knew they would offer this merit aid, because we did our homework before applying by using the Net Price Calculator (NPC) for each school. DC's college list was populated by schools where we knew DC would get merit aid, and which we knew we can afford with zero loans.

Applying to schools the way the author did is just foolish. Shame on his parents.

[Anonymous]

He should have gone to his state school- University of Wisconsin instead of being lured away by a small expensive private. UW is a better school and a lot less expensive. It was a good honest article. High school students do get caught up in the "romantic" notion of college and brand and "fit". Undergrad is just 4 years of your life. Why pay $240,000 for an undergrad degree. It is the biggest scam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My main takeaway from this article...

http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2016/01/student_loan_crisis_at_its_ugliest_i_graduated_and_found_out_i_owe_200_000.single.html

...is that parents need to educate themselves about college loans, and that many parents, particularly the demographic that is represented in a lot of DCUM, needs to get real about their finances, and be prepared to tell their kids what they can and can't afford.
For many kids, that may mean not going to a private, when many of your friends are, or going part-time and working, when some of your friends are doing neither.
Sure, it's a bummer, but's it's much, much better than $200,000 of student loan debt.

I just think the parents of this kid needed to look at their finances and tell their kid "no".

My takeaway is the same as yours is, with the following additional thought: If your high-performing child wants to go to a private school, or to a public school as an OOS student, then focus your search on schools that offer scholarship money to high achievers. These schools are not at the top of the USNWR lists, and do not have East Coast SLAC name-brand cachet. Despite this, they offer a solid education for far less money than you would spend at e.g. Connecticut College, Wesleyan University, Bowdoin, Bates, Trinity or Colby.

My child has several acceptances in hand from SLACs located in the Midwest and on the West Coast. All have offered $24K+/year merit aid, bringing the cost down to about $30K/year or less (rather than the $65K these schools' NESCAC counterparts would cost). We knew they would offer this merit aid, because we did our homework before applying by using the Net Price Calculator (NPC) for each school. DC's college list was populated by schools where we knew DC would get merit aid, and which we knew we can afford with zero loans.

Applying to schools the way the author did is just foolish. Shame on his parents.

+1. We took the same approach with our kid, who wanted to go to a SLAC. DC has high stats, but we don't qualify for financial aid and can't afford to pay more than the cost of our in-state publics. Now there are merit scholarship offers on the table from 4 good Midwestern SLACs, none of which will cost us more than UVA/W&M/Tech would have cost. Kid is very happy and we are, too.

[Anonymous]

Can you share the names of these great, generous Midwestern SLACs? Not being snarky just would like to get them on my radar. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

My take away is a combination of thinking the author was not being entirely honest in the article (he really had no clue he had private loans from Sallie Mae from undergrad until after he finished his masters? Sallie Mae never contacted him upon his graduation from Conn College about repayment, and magically knew he was going to grad school?), and refuses to accept personal responsibility. He apparently signed multiple promissory notes each semester, but never even looked at them enough to notice how much they were for (to notice that he was borrowing approximately $16k each semester) or who was providing the funds (so know that some were Sallie Mae); he was specifically advised that he should work full time for Penn and pursue his masters part-time for free but decided to go full time and incur $70k in debt instead; and just skipped loan payments for a few months because he didn't understand the statements he was getting. A day on the phone and looking through his copies of the loan paperwork and he could have worked out really fast what was going on. And really, who needs to incur $70k in debt for a single year of grad school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My main takeaway from this article...

http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2016/01/student_loan_crisis_at_its_ugliest_i_graduated_and_found_out_i_owe_200_000.single.html

...is that parents need to educate themselves about college loans, and that many parents, particularly the demographic that is represented in a lot of DCUM, needs to get real about their finances, and be prepared to tell their kids what they can and can't afford.
For many kids, that may mean not going to a private, when many of your friends are, or going part-time and working, when some of your friends are doing neither.
Sure, it's a bummer, but's it's much, much better than $200,000 of student loan debt.

I just think the parents of this kid needed to look at their finances and tell their kid "no".

My takeaway is the same as yours is, with the following additional thought: If your high-performing child wants to go to a private school, or to a public school as an OOS student, then focus your search on schools that offer scholarship money to high achievers. These schools are not at the top of the USNWR lists, and do not have East Coast SLAC name-brand cachet. Despite this, they offer a solid education for far less money than you would spend at e.g. Connecticut College, Wesleyan University, Bowdoin, Bates, Trinity or Colby.

My child has several acceptances in hand from SLACs located in the Midwest and on the West Coast. All have offered $24K+/year merit aid, bringing the cost down to about $30K/year or less (rather than the $65K these schools' NESCAC counterparts would cost). We knew they would offer this merit aid, because we did our homework before applying by using the Net Price Calculator (NPC) for each school. DC's college list was populated by schools where we knew DC would get merit aid, and which we knew we can afford with zero loans.

Applying to schools the way the author did is just foolish. Shame on his parents.

+1. We took the same approach with our kid, who wanted to go to a SLAC. DC has high stats, but we don't qualify for financial aid and can't afford to pay more than the cost of our in-state publics. Now there are merit scholarship offers on the table from 4 good Midwestern SLACs, none of which will cost us more than UVA/W&M/Tech would have cost. Kid is very happy and we are, too.

+2. Smart

[Anonymous]

A college kid can easily sign loans and not really understand the impact it will have on them later in life. High school students spend four years working their tails off for some golden ticket to their "dream" school. It is all a mirage. They should be educated to look for the best deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you share the names of these great, generous Midwestern SLACs? Not being snarky just would like to get them on my radar. Thanks!

Lawrence
Beloit
Kalamazoo
Knox
Cornell College
Coe College
St. Norbert
Denison
Gustavus Adolphus
Luther
Albion
Hope
Augustana
Marquette
DePaul
Loyola in Chicago
Drake
Creighton

These are the colleges my children, or children I know, have received very generous merit offers from bringing costs down into the $30K or below range (not all SLACs, obviously).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A college kid can easily sign loans and not really understand the impact it will have on them later in life. High school students spend four years working their tails off for some golden ticket to their "dream" school. It is all a mirage. They should be educated to look for the best deal.

There is a difference between not understanding the implications for your financial future of graduating from undergrad with $130k in student loan debt and claiming you had no idea you even took out the loans. He's not claiming the former, he's claiming the latter. You really would have had to turn a blind eye to all those numbers on the page when you were signing it.

[Anonymous]

Tulane offered my child a merit scholarship. She didn't take it because she got a better deal elsewhere, but Tulane is another good school offering merit scholarships to tempt good students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you share the names of these great, generous Midwestern SLACs? Not being snarky just would like to get them on my radar. Thanks!

NP but there was a great thread on this recently:
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/509774.page

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you share the names of these great, generous Midwestern SLACs? Not being snarky just would like to get them on my radar. Thanks!

Lawrence
Beloit
Kalamazoo
Knox
Cornell College
Coe College
St. Norbert
Denison
Gustavus Adolphus
Luther
Albion
Hope
Augustana
Marquette
DePaul
Loyola in Chicago
Drake
Creighton

These are the colleges my children, or children I know, have received very generous merit offers from bringing costs down into the $30K or below range (not all SLACs, obviously).

I'll add (not all Midwestern):

Rhodes
Wooster
St Olaf
Earlham
Allegheny
Case Western
Clark
Lewis & Clark
Muhlenberg
Puget Sound
Austin
Southwestern
Trinity U (TX)
Hendrix
Juniata
Eckerd

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He should have gone to his state school- University of Wisconsin instead of being lured away by a small expensive private. UW is a better school and a lot less expensive. It was a good honest article. High school students do get caught up in the "romantic" notion of college and brand and "fit". Undergrad is just 4 years of your life. Why pay $240,000 for an undergrad degree. It is the biggest scam.

UW (Madison, at least) is very difficult to get into. More difficult than all but the top SLACs. The "just go to your state flagship to save money" advice is somewhat dated today.

Virtually all popular state schools have become dramatically more selective over the last 20 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My main takeaway from this article...

http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2016/01/student_loan_crisis_at_its_ugliest_i_graduated_and_found_out_i_owe_200_000.single.html

...is that parents need to educate themselves about college loans, and that many parents, particularly the demographic that is represented in a lot of DCUM, needs to get real about their finances, and be prepared to tell their kids what they can and can't afford.
For many kids, that may mean not going to a private, when many of your friends are, or going part-time and working, when some of your friends are doing neither.
Sure, it's a bummer, but's it's much, much better than $200,000 of student loan debt.

I just think the parents of this kid needed to look at their finances and tell their kid "no".

My takeaway is the same as yours is, with the following additional thought: If your high-performing child wants to go to a private school, or to a public school as an OOS student, then focus your search on schools that offer scholarship money to high achievers. These schools are not at the top of the USNWR lists, and do not have East Coast SLAC name-brand cachet. Despite this, they offer a solid education for far less money than you would spend at e.g. Connecticut College, Wesleyan University, Bowdoin, Bates, Trinity or Colby.

My child has several acceptances in hand from SLACs located in the Midwest and on the West Coast. All have offered $24K+/year merit aid, bringing the cost down to about $30K/year or less (rather than the $65K these schools' NESCAC counterparts would cost). We knew they would offer this merit aid, because we did our homework before applying by using the Net Price Calculator (NPC) for each school. DC's college list was populated by schools where we knew DC would get merit aid, and which we knew we can afford with zero loans.

Applying to schools the way the author did is just foolish. Shame on his parents.

+1 My DS is only in 7th grade but really wants to go to college in CA. We've been very clear with him that we can afford the cost of VA in-state tuition. If he does well in school and can find a CA private college that offers merit aid to bring the cost down, then that is fine. But forget about going to UCLA. Recently he said maybe he'll move to CA after college and then go to UCLA for grad school, which sounds like a great plan. I did the same in reverse -- I'd always liked DC when we visited relatives here but OOS tuition wasn't OK w/ my parents so I went to a good CA public U, worked in CA for a few years, used that experience to get a job in DC and then went to grad school here.