Parents Paying for College is Real Reason College Has Become Unaffordable for Many

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP—You should demand a refund from that college you paid for. They gave you a diploma but forgot to ensure that you could form a logical idea.

+ a million
I actually laughed.

[Anonymous]

My mother, and her siblings, had their parents pay for college...in the 70s & 80s. This is not new.

In the 70s & 80s they did have less nice dorms, rec centers, dining hall experiences, and other perks.

[Anonymous]

“Rich people paying for Hermes handbags is the real reason Birkin bags have become unaffordable for many.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let’s face it. Everyone who pays for their (grand)child’s college education is complicit. Few of my friend’s had parental help and we graduated from Top 20 schools. We paid with summer jobs, small jobs during during the school year (8-10h/wk), scholarships, and student loans. My mom took out a $2k loan my first year, which I paid back within a couple years after starting work. Sure, I got a small care package every semester with some snacks but the rest was on me. I am proud in having paid my own way. Ditto many friends. We also paid for our own weddings and houses. Grown kids now don’t even pay for their own phones, some are still taking money from their parents.

If we really want to make college affordable, parents need to stop paying.

This is a dumb take. Rich kids have always had their parents pay for college. Same with UMC. Also same with middle class until the 90s/00s when the cost went crazy. In fact until then there never was a time when anyone other than lower middle class and poor parents did not pay (except for the ahole parents who could pay but did not). My dad paid his own way through college and law school 50 years ago. Was he proud that he could do it? Yes. But he thought the process was a waste of time that could have been spent learning and growing. The experiences his rich friends had were different and in his view much better than his. One of the things that drove him to have the money not to have his kids do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What the heck? Your logic escapes me. How will that work exactly?

actually- this is correct but the horse can't be put back in the barn. In 2008- colleges realized that parents will mortgage their Homes, sell their kidneys to pay for their kids to go to college. its basically supply and demand- the schools all operated on the idea that people are desperate for their kids to go to college and took advantage plus the amenities at these schools.. I mean talk about ridiculous.

young adults used to be reconciled to the idea that their standard of living once they moved out of their parents homes and lived on their own would take a hit. This is not the cultural norm any longer so dorms and amenities at colleges had to adjust. A lot of cultural norms have rapidly altered in the past 30 years, people are used to a much higher standard of living.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let’s face it. Everyone who pays for their (grand)child’s college education is complicit. Few of my friend’s had parental help and we graduated from Top 20 schools. We paid with summer jobs, small jobs during during the school year (8-10h/wk), scholarships, and student loans. My mom took out a $2k loan my first year, which I paid back within a couple years after starting work. Sure, I got a small care package every semester with some snacks but the rest was on me. I am proud in having paid my own way. Ditto many friends. We also paid for our own weddings and houses. Grown kids now don’t even pay for their own phones, some are still taking money from their parents.

If we really want to make college affordable, parents need to stop paying.

This reminds me of a semi-serious thought piece in the NY Times a few years ago about how loving families are the greatest mark of inquality, and how we should abolish the concept of the nuclear family if we want a more just and equal future.

[Anonymous]

Lack of state funding for public universities and easy access to debt are the big drivers.

I went to college in the late 80s/early 90s and my parents paid for all of my college, as did most of my friends'. But we went to a public university where tuition for the whole year was only about $2k. Really, $2k in tuition for one year (plus food/dorm/etc.). Using an inflation calculator, that would be $5500 this year but that college now costs $13,000. Still relatively inexpensive vs. a lot of others but more than double in real terms what we paid back then. Most of the difference is cuts in public funding.

[Anonymous]

There is a grain of truth in pp's post. Supply and demand are very much in effect when it comes to colleges. Parents still see the value, as do children. Yes, the loan business has probably made it worse, but people are still taking the loans out. For all of the "don't go to college, be a plumber" coming from the Right, kids and parents still go, and still seem to be making good incomes and living successful, happy lives. It might be the case that four years at, say, Wash U are worth $400k. After all, we spend $80K on cars that are worthless after 10 years. That degree's value accrues. At some point--maybe now--the market will say "no more" to the 5% CAGR tuition growth, but at the current point, there doesn't seem to be a lack of demand.

[Anonymous]

Is OP like some grandma who graduated college in 1975? What job can a 20 year old get that can pay your way through college at any of the colleges that aren't laughed about on this forum?

Maybe you can get through NOVA or Montgomery College working yourself, over like 5 years, but any of these aspirational colleges have been beyond the reach of "work your way through" for decades.

[Anonymous]

Your mom is still affordable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lack of state funding for public universities and easy access to debt are the big drivers.

I went to college in the late 80s/early 90s and my parents paid for all of my college, as did most of my friends'. But we went to a public university where tuition for the whole year was only about $2k. Really, $2k in tuition for one year (plus food/dorm/etc.). Using an inflation calculator, that would be $5500 this year but that college now costs $13,000. Still relatively inexpensive vs. a lot of others but more than double in real terms what we paid back then. Most of the difference is cuts in public funding.

There is a lot of state funding to state colleges but the colleges have a spending issue and want to make the schools bigger, better, more exciting and there is so much waste. There is no reason why a student taking 5 classes should pay $100K a year, which is $20K per class.

[Anonymous]

529 are also a culprit. Colleges know how much money is invested in those accounts and price accordingly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your mom is still affordable.

Are you going to post this everywhere today? Get back to class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is OP like some grandma who graduated college in 1975? What job can a 20 year old get that can pay your way through college at any of the colleges that aren't laughed about on this forum?

Maybe you can get through NOVA or Montgomery College working yourself, over like 5 years, but any of these aspirational colleges have been beyond the reach of "work your way through" for decades.

One kid attended a college ranked in the 80s that was only $35K to us (graduated 3 years ago) after merit. Same kid could have attended our state U at that point for ~$20-22K per year.

My current senior in college had several offers for schools in the 40-65 range that were only $40-45K/year after merit. Had they been actually searching, could have found several in the T100 for under 40K. Top 2 instate schools would have cost only $20-25K.

Given that min wage is over $15/hr in our state (and over $20 in our region), my kids can earn $10-15K/year with summers, breaks and a 10-12 hour PT job during the school year. Add in the ~$5K in fed loans and they both could have almost paid for the instate schools themselves. That's without searching for any merit. Had they tried, they could have found decent places for much less

[Anonymous]

Never going to happen. It's only natural to want to provide the best you can for your kids. The net result of capping student loans, which has some merits, will make the rich better MC or the UMC with parents who failed to save.