Replies to post #25816 on The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[n4807g]

What advice.....go to a community college. Commute if possible.

1970's...used H.E.L.P. loans. Spent every available dollar paying off those loans. Didn't do anything but work and pay those loans with summer jobs and after graduation for four years focused on paying off those loans,

What is your solution to this broken system?

kids need help with these decisions......This problem is primarily a failure of adults willing to be adults...

Yup...stop blindly promoting the idea that if you go to college you'll have financial security. Oh and I didn't feel it was my place to advise. The parents were all in on the decision. Part of the problem????

and

Move the financing of education from the public sector back to the private, but have funding go through the institution that enrolled the student. Put them on the hook for loan losses. If their degree is worth the cost they shouldn't have any problems, with taking the financial risk.

[spongepaul]

“Kids don't have that luxury and have very tough choices today”

Respectfully,
I have lots of kids. They do have options. Not all easy, but that’s life..All of them had after school jobs, summer jobs, and side hustles. They banked most of it, & I picked up the food, clothing, shelter as long as they were responsible with their savings.
Starting less than a year out from college, they all wrote scholarship applications wherever they could. (There are tons out there, especially if you have a school picked out).
Once in college, if they can keep up with their studies, a job isn’t a bad thing. If the class load is heavy, or if grades suffer, we re-evaluate.

After freshman year they start hustling for a paid internship or anything they can get for summer. Covid has been a surprise blessing, as “work from home” allows them to come home and live here w/ me for free. Attending a state school, none of mine has ever come away with more than $7k of debt in a school year.

When they get a degree and a job, there are more opportunities. My oldest got a Master’s Degree paid for by a Fortune 500 company. (After work)
I never attended college, but I certainly know how to squeeze $ from a rock and I’ve passed that on..