Financially hobbled for life- elite masters degree that don’t pay off

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are smart enough to get into an elite grad program, you should have the intelligence to recognize the financial impact over the long term.

one would think so, but being financially savvy is not the same as being academically smart.

I know someone who has multiple degrees from great schools, but this person's finances are a mess. This person can't manage money.

And no , the debt should not be forgiven. You are an adult; you made a decision. No else should pay for your bad decision.

NP and it's one thing to be closer to the margins where the question is whether one should borrow $100K to get a $75K job with potential growth but it should be completely obvious that borrowing $300K to get a degree that will likely yield a job paying $50K is a terrible idea. Also, does anyone thing they're likely going to make big dollars getting an MFA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to one of these programs at a different Ivy and have several family members who did the same. None of us are trust fund wealthy but our parents were well off enough to just pay our tuition without us taking out loans. Most of my peers were the same.

I agree that the people who took out loans for these programs only have themselves to blame. Perhaps there should be more scholarships or need based aid but not loan forgiveness!

Of course you do. Degrees are for the idle rich; not for thee!

If it's a useless vanity degree, then yes, that's accurate. Part of the problem is that people who are perpetual students are asking for advice from professors who have never worked outside higher ed. That is how someone I know ended up with a PHD in Organizational Leadership. Her actual work experience in leading organizations is zero.

+1 There are a lot of things that the idle rich can do that us normal people can't.

Caveat Emptor.

The student is the buyer who should be aware.

[b]I also blame parents for not teaching their children BEFORE they go to college about finances and the cost of living, how borrowing and compounded interest works. We've been drilling this into our kids since the were 12.

You’re able to do this because you’re financially savvy. What about the academically advanced student who is the first in the family to go to college?

You are barking up the wrong tree here.

I am an immigrant, chld to low income immigrants who don't speak English, first to go to college in my family. I went to a B/C rated state univ. because we couldn't afford a better univ., and I didn't want to take ot a loan.

I also chose a degree that I knew I could find a good paying job. What I really wanted was a degree in something that would not pay well, but the reality is that most of us can't afford to do whatever we want to do in terms of a job. One can minor in the field that doesn't pay well but one is really intereted in. One can do the things they love as a hobby. But, the reality of life is that you have to pay the bills, and living is expensive.

When I was in college, I worked, didn't party, had the rattiest clothes. I cringe when I think about the clothes I wore.

I started making six figures just before I hit 30. I am still frugal. With zero loans (not even a car loan), and living frugally, one can imagine how much I have saved (hint: seven figures).

When you grow up poor, you don't ever want to be in that situation ever again, so you make sure you do what you can to never get back to that situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are smart enough to get into an elite grad program, you should have the intelligence to recognize the financial impact over the long term.

one would think so, but being financially savvy is not the same as being academically smart.

I know someone who has multiple degrees from great schools, but this person's finances are a mess. This person can't manage money.

And no , the debt should not be forgiven. You are an adult; you made a decision. No else should pay for your bad decision.

I wonder how people who take that stand view bankruptcy in other contexts.

I don't like the bankruptices laws in this country, but I do think bankruptcies due to medical reasons is legitimate, and actually, it's one of the main reasons why people become bankrupt.

And this is another reason why we need medicare for all.

But, there are different bankruptcy status - one where you can restructure your loan, and the other where you can't but then they can take all your assets and garnish your future wages.

Student loan should not be forgiven completely. Even if you can never pay it back, they should be paying something.

What happens if the loan is forgiven, and then 20 years later, this person hits the lottery? Shouldn't they pay it back? If the loan is not forgiven, but just restructured, that loan could be paid off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are smart enough to get into an elite grad program, you should have the intelligence to recognize the financial impact over the long term.

one would think so, but being financially savvy is not the same as being academically smart.

I know someone who has multiple degrees from great schools, but this person's finances are a mess. This person can't manage money.

And no , the debt should not be forgiven. You are an adult; you made a decision. No else should pay for your bad decision.

I wonder how people who take that stand view bankruptcy in other contexts.

I don't like the bankruptices laws in this country, but I do think bankruptcies due to medical reasons is legitimate, and actually, it's one of the main reasons why people become bankrupt.

And this is another reason why we need medicare for all.

But, there are different bankruptcy status - one where you can restructure your loan, and the other where you can't but then they can take all your assets and garnish your future wages.

Student loan should not be forgiven completely. Even if you can never pay it back, they should be paying something.

What happens if the loan is forgiven, and then 20 years later, this person hits the lottery? Shouldn't they pay it back? If the loan is not forgiven, but just restructured, that loan could be paid off.

I was referring to companies shedding pensions or unfavorable union contracts.

[Anonymous]

oh, and companies that offload pensions often do go on to be very profitable, no talk about making them reassume their obligations though

[Anonymous]

I went to a state school and got a practical degree that I could afford. While I would love to have a fancy $300k MFA that is fully subsidized retroactively by taxpayers, I don't think it would be fair to those who made more prudent choices. It is not the responsibility of the taxpayers to bail out private individuals who were suckered into ridiculous degrees at private institutions. If the university was predatory or unclear about program costs or future employment options, then the courts should handle it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:oh, and companies that offload pensions often do go on to be very profitable, no talk about making them reassume their obligations though

Sorry you got suckered and stuck with huge loans. What these companies do is not right, either.

What's the saying.. two wrongs don't make a right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I listened to a woman on NPR talk about how she ended up with so much school debt (somehow not realizing that her parents were not assisting and she had no merit aid for grad). She was really arguing that her debt should be forgiven and there was no way she cold manage it. She HAD to do it to pursue her chosen career (teaching on the college level). I did not have sympathy.

f

Did she sound like this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are smart enough to get into an elite grad program, you should have the intelligence to recognize the financial impact over the long term.

one would think so, but being financially savvy is not the same as being academically smart.

I know someone who has multiple degrees from great schools, but this person's finances are a mess. This person can't manage money.

And no , the debt should not be forgiven. You are an adult; you made a decision. No else should pay for your bad decision.

exactly. being book smart is not the same as having 'sense.'

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to one of these programs at a different Ivy and have several family members who did the same. None of us are trust fund wealthy but our parents were well off enough to just pay our tuition without us taking out loans. Most of my peers were the same.

I agree that the people who took out loans for these programs only have themselves to blame.[b] Perhaps there should be more scholarships or need based aid but not loan forgiveness!

Of course you do. Degrees are for the idle rich; not for thee!

If it's a useless vanity degree, then yes, that's accurate. Part of the problem is that people who are perpetual students are asking for advice from professors who have never worked outside higher ed. That is how someone I know ended up with a PHD in Organizational Leadership. Her actual work experience in leading organizations is zero.

+1 There are a lot of things that the idle rich can do that us normal people can't.

Caveat Emptor.

The student is the buyer who should be aware.

I also blame parents for not teaching their children BEFORE they go to college about finances and the cost of living, how borrowing and compounded interest works. We've been drilling this into our kids since the were 12.

I'm so tired of

The brain is not fully formed until 25.

Honestly, an 18 year old will never understand money the same way a 30 year old does.

This is coming from someone who graduated with ONLY $2,000 in debt. I paid it off with in 2 months of graduating.

$2,000 feels a lot different as a 25 year old than when I was 18.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are smart enough to get into an elite grad program, you should have the intelligence to recognize the financial impact over the long term.

one would think so, but being financially savvy is not the same as being academically smart.

I know someone who has multiple degrees from great schools, but this person's finances are a mess. This person can't manage money.

And no , the debt should not be forgiven. You are an adult; you made a decision. No else should pay for your bad decision.

I wonder how people who take that stand view bankruptcy in other contexts.

I don't like the bankruptices laws in this country, but I do think bankruptcies due to medical reasons is legitimate, and actually, it's one of the main reasons why people become bankrupt.

And this is another reason why we need medicare for all.

But, there are different bankruptcy status - one where you can restructure your loan, and the other where you can't but then they can take all your assets and garnish your future wages.

Student loan should not be forgiven completely. Even if you can never pay it back, they should be paying something.

What happens if the loan is forgiven, and then 20 years later, this person hits the lottery? Shouldn't they pay it back? If the loan is not forgiven, but just restructured, that loan could be paid off.

I truly don't understand sentiments like yours.

People like you know that a substantial of people will never be able to pay it off. Is the solution for them to be debt slaves for the rest of their lives? Are they supposed to die with it?

Please let me know your thoughts on this! I really would like to know.

[Anonymous]

I think student debt should be interest free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are smart enough to get into an elite grad program, you should have the intelligence to recognize the financial impact over the long term.

one would think so, but being financially savvy is not the same as being academically smart.

I know someone who has multiple degrees from great schools, but this person's finances are a mess. This person can't manage money.

And no , the debt should not be forgiven. You are an adult; you made a decision. No else should pay for your bad decision.

I wonder how people who take that stand view bankruptcy in other contexts.

I don't like the bankruptices laws in this country, but I do think bankruptcies due to medical reasons is legitimate, and actually, it's one of the main reasons why people become bankrupt.

And this is another reason why we need medicare for all.

But, there are different bankruptcy status - one where you can restructure your loan, and the other where you can't but then they can take all your assets and garnish your future wages.

Student loan should not be forgiven completely. Even if you can never pay it back, they should be paying something.

What happens if the loan is forgiven, and then 20 years later, this person hits the lottery? Shouldn't they pay it back? If the loan is not forgiven, but just restructured, that loan could be paid off.

I truly don't understand sentiments like yours.

People like you know that a substantial of people will never be able to pay it off. Is the solution for them to be debt slaves for the rest of their lives? Are they supposed to die with it?

Please let me know your thoughts on this! I really would like to know.

Columbia university should not be allowed to have federally backed student loan amounts that no bank would back because they are preposterous. The fed govt and Columbia university are the bad actors here. I went to an Ivy grad. Our financial loan officer would essentially cap our student loan amounts. If a school can’t afford to offer sufficient grant money for these students they should not admit them.

[Anonymous]

Totally agree with pp who said Columbia is a bad actor here. It is crazy that they are allowed to do this. Where is Elizabeth Warren.

[Anonymous]

Forgiven debt is considered taxable income by the IRS. If these people were suddenly forgiven their student loan debt, they couldn't even afford to pay the taxes for it and they would immediately acquire more debt again, which would just continue accruing. Loan forgiveness is not a panacea, nor will it prevent this from happening in the future.