College Guest

[AurantiacoFan]

I was asked to speak to a group of college students this week. I arrived early to meet with some of the faculty and students in a small group session (some physically present while also others were dialed in virtual). One young woman asked me about student debt, and if I thought companies should agree to pay off student debt as part of their initial offer packages. I inquired of the group about levels of debt and their majors (trying to understand marketability). First, I was surprised at the amounts of debt they appear to be graduating with. Second, I was even more disappointed in the majors some were focusing on while accumulating such debt. For example, when I asked about degrees, the young lady that began the conversation said she was double majoring, with one of her majors being "bluegrass music and business". At first I thought she was joking, but she was not. I am not going to be popular, but I was aghast and turned to the administrator present and said "why do you allow this?". What upset me was that this administrator was part of a group discussion earlier where they were talking about the need for social paid education. My response was that if students are coming out with marketable degrees and needed skillsets, then companies would be willing to help in order to acquire and retain talent. I assume the question from the young lady was a "planted" question as it was too coincidental...but clearly they missed my earlier point about "marketable degrees and needed skillsets" versus paying for useless degrees to society.

 

[Firebirdparts]

It's quite a racket. The more useless schools have certainly had a bonanza. They can charge a lot of actual money for something worth fairly little money.

 

[utvolpj]

I don't have an issue with forgiving debt for certain jobs given a defined tenure in public service. For example, a social worker or someone in DCS won't have employers beating down their doors but they do provide a needed public service.

 

[Wireless1]

I don't have an issue with forgiving debt for certain jobs given a defined tenure in public service. For example, a social worker or someone in DCS won't have employers beating down there doors but they do provide a needed public service.

Wouldn’t it be better for them to offer full ride scholarships in specific majors so that the “supply” meets current and future demand rather than blank checks for future use? How many on here worked their way through college including summer jobs. Many of these loans are not just tuition and books but full living expenses, the only jobs seem to be internships

 

[utvolpj]

Wouldn’t it be better for them to offer full ride scholarships in specific majors so that the “supply” meets current and future demand rather than blank checks for future use? How many on here worked their way through college including summer jobs. Many of these loans are not just tuition and books but full living expenses, the only jobs seem to be internships

So you'll know the demand for a job in 4-5yrs? Will that grad absolutely go into that field once they see all the job openings? I don't know but I think rewarding the actual work gives you a greater chance of recouping the investment

 

[txbo]

If you have actual skills in a needed field, there are many companies that will pay for student debt. My daughter graduated with a BS in nursing last year. Two of her offers included packages that would pay down student debt.

Many compaies will also pay for employees to continue their education. Additionally, there's the GI bill for anybody that serves in the military.

There are plenty of opportunities for education without going deep into debt.

 

[VolunteerHillbilly]

Public Student Loan Forgiveness lots of people are eligible under this program.

 

[VolNExile]

Public Student Loan Forgiveness lots of people are eligible under this program.

Which may or may not actually pay out.

 

[walkenvol]

Which may or may not actually pay out.

If I understand this program correctly, the graduate has to pay on the loan for 10 years while working for the gov or nonprofit. This would have to be mainly for advanced degrees and medical doctors I’d think. Can’t imagine a student borrowing more to get an undergraduate degree than would be repaid in 10 years.

 

[VolNExile]

If I understand this program correctly, the graduate has to pay on the loan for 10 years while working for the gov or nonprofit. This would have to be mainly for advanced degrees and medical doctors I’d think. Can’t imagine a student borrowing more to get an undergraduate degree than would be repaid in 10 years.

Right. The problem is that the government funding for the loans might not be there at the end. Also, if the non-profit goes for profit, the borrower is screwed.

This happened here in Asheville when non-profit Mission Hospital and accompanying health system was bought by HCA. My daughter (with $150k in med school loans) was skeptical of the loan program and was aggressively paying down, aka “living like a resident.” But many other Mission employees - nurses, pharmacists, psychologists, PT/OT/ST, other docs - were caught short. They either had to find a new job at another non-profit or revert to paying full price for their loans, which had accrued interest. Imagine being nine years into your job and being faced with this.

As it turned out, so many people who stayed on wound up hating HCA do much that they left anyway.

 

[walkenvol]

Have a son in his 3rd year of med school and was wondering what interest rates are at on these loans? Seems like he could be on the hook for more than $150K. What’s the typical length of these loans? Hope he gets paid a generous salary when he finishes because med school is pricey and along with the lost earnings for the time they’re in med school they’ve got a ton invested in the Dr degree

 

[VolNExile]

Have a son in his 3rd year of med school and was wondering what interest rates are at on these loans? Seems like he could be on the hook for more than $150K. What’s the typical length of these loans? Hope he gets paid a generous salary when he finishes because med school is pricey and along with the lost earnings for the time they’re in med school they’ve got a ton invested in the Dr degree

I don’t know, but now that I think of it, I think her loans totaled $250k, not $150. We used to joke about her having a mortgage on an invisible house.

You might want to suggest that he read this. Great financial advice for physicians, who tend to be preyed upon by financial advisors more interested in their own financial well-being than that of their clients.

The White Coat Investor Book

He also has a great blog. It’s mostly for current physicians, of course, but he also addresses med school and residency.

Home | White Coat Investor

Good luck to your son!

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

College is a scam. Unfortunately 2 entire generations had it drilled in to their heads that if they didn't go to college they would never get a good job and never have money. This leads to people going to school not really knowing what they want to do but they have to go because their parents said they have to. This leads to them just pretty much picking a major at random, never getting a really good job, and still in debt 100k plus.

 

[Firebirdparts]

In a business with all naive customers, you’re bound to make some extra bucks if you tell the right story.

It’ll be too late when “tomorrow’s leaders” find out that nobody is available to be “tomorrow’s followers”.

 

[joevol33]

College is a scam. Unfortunately 2 entire generations had it drilled in to their heads that if they didn't go to college they would never get a good job and never have money. This leads to people going to school not really knowing what they want to do but they have to go because their parents said they have to. This leads to them just pretty much picking a major at random, never getting a really good job, and still in debt 100k plus.

I try to encourage my kids to go into the medical field, or go learn a trade.i went to a trade school, and made pretty good for what I did. I'm in a different business now, textile factory, but took a job there I had to school for. My best friend has been a teacher for 20 years, and doesn't make what I do. Our electricians make great money, and there's a lot of skill jobs around here. Skilled jobs like electrical, mechanical, plumbing, etc, can pay really good, but it's hard to find people to do it.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

I try to encourage my kids to go into the medical field, or go learn a trade.i went to a trade school, and made pretty good for what I did. I'm in a different business now, textile factory, but took a job there I had to school for. My best friend has been a teacher for 20 years, and doesn't make what I do. Our electricians make great money, and there's a lot of skill jobs around here. Skilled jobs like electrical, mechanical, plumbing, etc, can pay really good, but it's hard to find people to do it.

Yep. I went the traditional college route. If I had to do it over again without a doubt I would learn a trade.

 

[95 Vol Alum]

College is a scam. Unfortunately 2 entire generations had it drilled in to their heads that if they didn't go to college they would never get a good job and never have money. This leads to people going to school not really knowing what they want to do but they have to go because their parents said they have to. This leads to them just pretty much picking a major at random, never getting a really good job, and still in debt 100k plus.

*Portions of college are a scam (and that's being a bit harsh because if you aren't smart enough to know bluegrass music as a major won't pay, then it really is on you and not them)

Now, overpriced, I'll get on board that criticism.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

*Portions of college are a scam (and that's being a bit harsh because if you aren't smart enough to know bluegrass music as a major won't pay, then it really is on you and not them)

Now, overpriced, I'll get on board that criticism.

Yep

 

[VolunteerHillbilly]

My plan going into college was law school, so I studied what interested me without giving much thought to whether or not I could make money off my studies. It was intellectually fulfilling and I developed some good habits for time management, project completion, research, and analysis. I don’t think everyone needs college but I do worry what happens to a society that runs low on critical thinkers. You can’t fix a problem that you can’t identify. I would hope that the person majoriing in bluegrass is learning as much from the process of studying that subject as she is from subject itself.

 

[Tin Man]

Fifty years ago, state governments were funding more of their land grant universities from general revenues. Going to college was a relatively less expensive proposition because of this.

 

[Carl Pickens]

I try to encourage my kids to go into the medical field, or go learn a trade.i went to a trade school, and made pretty good for what I did. I'm in a different business now, textile factory, but took a job there I had to school for. My best friend has been a teacher for 20 years, and doesn't make what I do. Our electricians make great money, and there's a lot of skill jobs around here. Skilled jobs like electrical, mechanical, plumbing, etc, can pay really good, but it's hard to find people to do it.

Very difficult.... my contractor customers have been telling me this for years...if there was ever a good time to go to trade school it’s right now.

 

[GVF]

If you have actual skills in a needed field, there are many companies that will pay for student debt. My daughter graduated with a BS in nursing last year. Two of her offers included packages that would pay down student debt.

Many compaies will also pay for employees to continue their education. Additionally, there's the GI bill for anybody that serves in the military.

There are plenty of opportunities for education without going deep into debt.

Tennessee Promise is another opportunity. Two years tuition free at a JC/CC in state of your choosing. Meet the entry requirements and the other things you are obligated to in the process of your two years. Community Service, etc. Transfer deals in place with many of the universities in the state, or you can police what you focus in to make sure you're not wasting classes. My son is doing Ag Business at Vol State, and even though the Ag pathway is in conjunction with APSU, virtually all of his two years of classes at VS are identical to the first two years at TTU and will transfer over anyway. something I've already checked into. So, in the end there will only be 2 years expenses at TTU, and if the wife is working back at tech by then, he gets 50% off. So, he could potentially complete a bachelors with the equivalent of one year of expense.

 

[Smokey X]

Tennessee Promise is another opportunity. Two years tuition free at a JC/CC in state of your choosing. Meet the entry requirements and the other things you are obligated to in the process of your two years. Community Service, etc. Transfer deals in place with many of the universities in the state, or you can police what you focus in to make sure you're not wasting classes. My son is doing Ag Business at Vol State, and even though the Ag pathway is in conjunction with APSU, virtually all of his two years of classes at VS are identical to the first two years at TTU and will transfer over anyway. something I've already checked into. So, in the end there will only be 2 years expenses at TTU, and if the wife is working back at tech by then, he gets 50% off. So, he could potentially complete a bachelors with the equivalent of one year of expense.

you are correct. This is truly a sweetheart deal. My daughter in law is graduating tomorrow from UTK with a ME degree after taking advantage of the Tennessee Promise at Pellissippi State. She interned or took other jobs thru the summers and when combined with the scholarships she got from UTK, she will have zero student loan debt upon graduation.

 

[mr.checkerboards]

Im fine with companies paying down debts for useful things like nursing, engineering, teaching etc.... But dumb degrees like bluegrass majors and fine arts, no go get a degree with credible skills then we can talk.

 

[txbo]

I would hope that the person majoriing in bluegrass is learning as much from the process of studying that subject as she is from subject itself.

I disagree. There's no comparison to studying bluegrass and the amount of time and energy applied to getting a STEM degree.