Getting real about college finances. What ISU faces. What ISU students face.

[garyd63]

Report on NPR sent me to this source. It’s a depressing but realistic eye-opener.


How America Pays for College 2012: A national study by Sallie Mae and Ipsos

[an excerpt]

--The percentage of families who eliminated college choices because of cost rose to the highest level (69%) in the five years since the study began. Virtually all families exercised cost-savings measures, including living at home (51%), adding a roommate (55%), and reducing spending by parents (50%) and students (66%).

Go here for full report

 

[sycamorebacker]

Report on NPR sent me to this source. It’s a depressing but realistic eye-opener.


How America Pays for College 2012: A national study by Sallie Mae and Ipsos




Go here for full report

My parents SAVED so they could pay for most of my schooling. We baby-boomers are terrible, terrible at saving. Look at all of the 3000 sq ft houses and the Escalades and Infinitis. If people lived within their means and saved money, they could help their kids go to college.

 

[Sackalot]

The problem is the cost of college, not saving. Though saving should be improved for sure. There is absolutely no reason in the world that the cost of a college education should be so high...no reason at all. In fact, currently, I would argue that the cost of college education outweighs the perceived outcomes of that college education in most situations. Let me clarify that by giving an example. A student can attend a college and study social services administration (with the plan to work in a state office such as child protective services, welfare, etc.), in most cases for a person to be promoted they must obtain a master's degree...here is the problem. You have to have a master's degree to get a job that pays $38,000 a year. Yet the student has paid $50K + to get that masters degree...it would take over a decade to realize the benefit of that degree and if that student used loans, it would take 20 or more years due to interest.

The problem is the cost of the education and the belief by students that they have to have ridiculous amenities that cost millions which drive the cost up. Trust me it isn't because the majority of professors get paid an unbelievable amount of money. From my perspective as a former staff member at two schools, the costs are utterly ridiculous and in most cases the students at a institution of higher education are getting the equivalent of what was a HS education 20 years ago anyway!

 

[garyd63]

You are right on the mark with this, Sackalot, "The problem is the cost of the education and the belief by students that they have to have ridiculous amenities that cost millions which drive the cost up. Trust me it isn't because the majority of professors get paid an unbelievable amount of money."

With all of those amenities come more administrative, staff and support positions, all non-educational costs.

Your example (social service administration) and the meager salary return for such sensitive and highly professional positions tells us again that our free market system is not pricing labor intelligently, let alone fairly. Sharp people, as well as the not so sharp, in these socially valuable positions leave the field to sell everything from pills to pots. The teaching profession faces the same kind of attrition. And yet too often we hear from some quarters that these low paid, vital servants in our society and communities are overpaid moochers driving our taxes up. Little wonder that these workers look for support and protection by forming unions. And now even those buffers against total exploitation are being denied to them.

 

[Sackalot]

Though I agree with you for once Gary. I would also agree that expectations are out of whack in the marketplace too. But in a different way, there is absolutely no reason in the world that a person would be required to have a master's degree to work in a social services job...no reason at all. It is important work, and it is demanding, but there is simply nothing that a master's degree provides to the worker that makes them a better worker or more able to work with people. Atleast nothing that a week of training wouldn't do. A bachelors is more than enough.

There is also no reason in the world whatsoever, that a person would need a higher level education to work in most administrative positions at a college (I am not talking about teaching, I am talking about housing, greek life, student activities, rec sports, etc). I will give you this simple example, it is required to have a master's degree in student affairs for a person to work within student affairs? I happen to have one of those degrees, and not a day goes by that I don't wonder why in the world I have this degree. At best I was able to make $32,000 per year working in student affairs, not until I moved over to working within an educational foundation was I able to make enough money to at least be in a situation where I could pay back the student loans I had to take out just to get that degree...so I had to leave the field so I could pay back the student loans? And that is happening all the time...