Paid off the student loan

[LivingAlmostLarge]

If people only focused on money we'd have a lot of people avoiding careers they like. Just to point out things like social workers, teachers, counselors, marketing/business aren't exactly rolling in the dough. But if there aren't people interested or willing then what?

Plus on this board our numbers skew high for income. But realize that many people live very well on median numbers. If you live in a place that is also median cost of living then it's not hard to live on.

I see college as something you can afford or not. Parents should have a frank talk about loans and what is affordable. Then make a decision based on that. Whether you go into engineering or music shouldn't matter. It should be what you parents and you decide is affordable.

[Singuy]

If people only focused on money we'd have a lot of people avoiding careers they like. Just to point out things like social workers, teachers, counselors, marketing/business aren't exactly rolling in the dough. But if there aren't people interested or willing then what?

Plus on this board our numbers skew high for income. But realize that many people live very well on median numbers. If you live in a place that is also median cost of living then it's not hard to live on.

I see college as something you can afford or not. Parents should have a frank talk about loans and what is affordable. Then make a decision based on that. Whether you go into engineering or music shouldn't matter. It should be what you parents and you decide is affordable.

Not saying you should chase a paycheck, but you should do your best to avoid being in the 40% group of grads who ends up making under 25k/year. social workers, teachers, counselors, and marketing/business all makes more. Unfortunately, too many college grads end up making close to min wage...then I ask you what's the point spending between 50-100k so you can end up the same place than someone not going to college.

40%, that's a crazy high number! I definitely have second thought if anyone tells me there's a 40% chance of failure at anything.

[Singuy]

The state of a college is this.

Lets say 100 students are going to college.

58/100 will get a degree after 6 years
66/100 will get a scholarship of some kind
33/100 will still their scholarship after year 1
11/100 will graduate fully utilizing their scholarship

Out of the 58 that graduates, 23 of them will make less than 25k/year, while 35 will make more than 25k/year.

College now cost 10k/year instate, or 35k/year out of state/private. College attendance is at an all time high so more students are forced out of state. Just looking at the numbers, the chance of a student coming out fully utilizing their scholarship AND make more than 25k/year is 6 out of 100. You can find these numbers on the net, and sources are within multiple threads in this forum for all the stats above.

You look at these numbers and you tell me it's responsible for kids in their late teens to just randomly go to college undecided without doing any research or having any sort of discipline?
I have been preaching at going to college is a dangerous proposition financially today. It may not be 25 years ago, but today it's dangerous. Sure, go get a degree in music theory...but unless your parents are giving you a full ride in college and out, I highly wouldn't recommend it.

[disneysteve]

Only 60% of grads make more than 25k/year, while 40% makes less than 25k/year after graduation. The engineers and computer scientists are carrying the liberal arts with that deceptive 43k/year number.

http://time.com/100748/new-college-g...reality-check/

Just to update this, the link you gave is from 2014. Here is the data from this year. As the economy has continued to recover from the last recession, the numbers have improved somewhat.

http://time.com/money/4777074/college-grad-pay-2017-average-salary/

[moneybags]

College now cost 10k/year instate, or 35k/year out of state/private. College attendance is at an all time high so more students are forced out of state. Just looking at the numbers, the chance of a student coming out fully utilizing their scholarship AND make more than 25k/year is 6 out of 100. You can find these numbers on the net, and sources are within multiple threads in this forum for all the stats above.

You look at these numbers and you tell me it's responsible for kids in their late teens to just randomly go to college undecided without doing any research or having any sort of discipline?
I have been preaching at going to college is a dangerous proposition financially today. It may not be 25 years ago, but today it's dangerous. Sure, go get a degree in music theory...but unless your parents are giving you a full ride in college and out, I highly wouldn't recommend it.

You college costs are low (unless you are excluding room& board). State schools vary in cost. The best state school in my state costs $31,000/year for tuition/room & board. There are less expensive options. Private schools are more in the $40,000-$60,000+ for tuition/room & board.

[disneysteve]

You college costs are low (unless you are excluding room& board). State schools vary in cost. The best state school in my state costs $31,000/year for tuition/room & board. There are less expensive options. Private schools are more in the $40,000-$60,000+ for tuition/room & board.

I thought the same thing. My daughter's school is about 52K. We don't pay anywhere near that of course because of her scholarships but that's list price. I doubt that there are more than a handful of students actually paying that price though, if any.

[Singuy]

Yes those numbers are tuition only.

[Singuy]

I thought the same thing. My daughter's school is about 52K. We don't pay anywhere near that of course because of her scholarships but that's list price. I doubt that there are more than a handful of students actually paying that price though, if any.

Steve you keep saying that but only 2/3 of the students get a scholarship while half of these students lose them after year 1. So it's a lot more than a handful paying sticker price.

[Gailete]

We're very proud of what she has accomplished and how far she has come. A few years ago, I wasn't sure she would make it through 4 years of college. now she's less than 8 months from graduation. Maybe it doesn't meet your definition of success but it sure meets ours.

I know whereof that you speak. When my autistic son managed to support himself to pay for and earn an AA degree and as an A student he was most likely one of the top in the class. Because of D. Ramsey's advise, he was paying off his loan as fast as possible until my parents sent him the rest. I think more than anything to encourage this young man who has never had an easy path in life. When he called to tell me about the gift, his one concern? Could they really afford it? As much as he needed to get those loans finished, he would have handed the money back if he thought it was leaving them in a financial hole. He has been in his apartment now for awhie but to get rid of the horrenous gas cost with driving to work, he will be moving into a lovely apartment at the end of the month. Seeing the photos of it makes me feel like he is taking a big adult step into a nice, yet affordable place. I am so proud of him and how he has handled his funds, schooling, work etc. When you have a child with difficulties that others don't have to overcome you can be so proud, yet at the same time makes you wonder why some can't/won't deal with life.

[moneybags]

I thought the same thing. My daughter's school is about 52K. We don't pay anywhere near that of course because of her scholarships but that's list price. I doubt that there are more than a handful of students actually paying that price though, if any.

I tried to find an overall average for financial aid & scholarships granted, but I couldn't. I decided to look up a few schools:

#1, private, top 20 university, 54% of students receive financial aid or scholarships.

#2, private, less prestigious, 98% of students receive financial aid or scholarships.

#3, University of Illinois, 50% of freshmen receive financial aid or scholarships.

[disneysteve]

Steve you keep saying that but only 2/3 of the students get a scholarship while half of these students lose them after year 1. So it's a lot more than a handful paying sticker price.

Don't confuse averages and medians with specific numbers from individual institutions. Just as you noted earlier that the median college graduate income is skewed upward by people in high-earning careers, I'm sure the figures for how many get scholarships or lose their scholarships are skewed downward by schools with limited financial aid availability or poor academic programs.

From my daughter's school:
99% of students receive (name of school)-funded scholarships and gift aid
$34,500 – average financial aid package at (name of school)

So the national average might be that 2/3 of students get a scholarship but at her school, virtually everyone does. I can't find data on how many keep those scholarships for 4 years but I would suspect it is also well above that national average.

Obviously my daughter's experience doesn't align with those averages either. Not only did she get close to the highest scholarship they offer and keep it for all 4 years, she's also been awarded an additional 3K scholarship each of the last 2 years that we didn't even know existed until it showed up on her account. Plus the school has their Advantage Grant that essentially covers the year to year increase in tuition so that you're always paying the previous year's price.

[Singuy]

Don't confuse averages and medians with specific numbers from individual institutions. Just as you noted earlier that the median college graduate income is skewed upward by people in high-earning careers, I'm sure the figures for how many get scholarships or lose their scholarships are skewed downward by schools with limited financial aid availability or poor academic programs.

From my daughter's school:
99% of students receive (name of school)-funded scholarships and gift aid
$34,500 – average financial aid package at (name of school)

So the national average might be that 2/3 of students get a scholarship but at her school, virtually everyone does. I can't find data on how many keep those scholarships for 4 years but I would suspect it is also well above that national average.

Obviously my daughter's experience doesn't align with those averages either. Not only did she get close to the highest scholarship they offer and keep it for all 4 years, she's also been awarded an additional 3K scholarship each of the last 2 years that we didn't even know existed until it showed up on her account. Plus the school has their Advantage Grant that essentially covers the year to year increase in tuition so that you're always paying the previous year's price.

So you keep using skewed data which is almost like anecdotal evidence to argue your point against general statistics which applies to the general public?