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OndinitaAKALibchit

This is why soon, we won't be able to compete with other countries. While other industralized nations offer their citizens free post-secondary education, we charge outrageous interest rates & fees for student loans. People spend the rest of their lives trying to pay back their student loans. Can't we at least offer interest free loans & not charge insane fees?

Phony & Pap---If you don't read the article in its entirety, don't comment...

http://finance.yahoo.com/college-education/article/108846/the-555000-student-loan-burden?mod=edu-continuing_education
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pap · Understudy Joined: 23 Nov 2009 Posts: 538

The first thought should be the starting salary of the fields your major will get you into and the demand for them. Some fields requiring a degree pay so low that I wonder why they require a degree, social worker comes to mind. With todays cost the idea of an education just to broaden your mind is passe. One can broaden ones mind at the local libraary for a lot less (you can gets books on line now as well).

Working your way through college can still be done but it may take several more years to get the degree. My father worked full time and got a degree in electrical engineering in seven years at night school.

Comuting to a local college will save thousands per year in drom and food cost. There are still ways to obtain a degree without breaking the bank. Once you have a degree its more important how you perform on the job that where your degree came from. Choosing a publicly funded college rather that a private one will also reduce the cost.

phonyfeminazi · Expert Joined: 30 Sep 2008 Posts: 7819

OndinitaAKALibchit · Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2010 10:53 pm Post subject:

Did either one of you read the article? The main subject of the article is a woman that is a DOCTOR and she still can't afford to pay back her loans bc of the interest charges & other fees added to her student loans! No wonder we have a shortage of doctors & doctors are so expensive. If we keep making it outrageously expensive to go to college, soon we are not going to have any professionals. On this post I wasn't even advocating for free post-secondary education. I just said that maybe we could give interest free loans. That means, let people borrow money to pay for college & have them repay it, just not charge them so much interest & all the other fess. How is that a controversial idea?

Pap--your ideas are pretty unrealistic. Whether you like it or not, most professions require a college degree, even many of the low-paying ones. College was not as expensive back when your dad went to school & nowadays, the jobs that one can get without a college degree don't pay enough for a person to support him/herself & pay for school, even when attending a community college or a public university.

Phony--Yes, we have gone over this... I have told you before that making education more affordable doesn't mean everyone will go to college. It just means that those that want to go will be able to. In Norway & Sweden they have free education & still not everyone goes to college.
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"If by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties ... if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal,' then I’m proud to say I’m a 'Liberal.'" ~ Senator John F. Kennedy 9/14/1960

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phonyfeminazi · Expert Joined: 30 Sep 2008 Posts: 7819

OndinitaAKALibchit · Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2010 11:15 pm Post subject:

Phony--"This ain't Sweden or Norway"....Really? That's the best argument you could come up with? That is not a valid argument. And who's talking about throwing money anywhere or even giving money away? I just said that maybe we could let people that want to attend college get interest free loans. You have even suggested that before and now you're against it? Rolling Eyes

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"If by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties ... if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal,' then I’m proud to say I’m a 'Liberal.'" ~ Senator John F. Kennedy 9/14/1960

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phonyfeminazi · Expert Joined: 30 Sep 2008 Posts: 7819

OndinitaAKALibchit · Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2010 12:02 am Post subject:

busdriver · Journeyman Joined: 16 Mar 2009 Posts: 3497

pap · Understudy Joined: 23 Nov 2009 Posts: 538

dick · Journeyman Joined: 28 Jan 2009 Posts: 3134

Pap, you just can't make a post without mentioning unions. They must've really F'd you in the A.

I do want to point out that student loans, like the one that I have through PHEAA, have extremely low interest rates. They are designed to pay reasonable salaries to attract quality employees at PHEAA, and account for inflation... although they have been in the news for being corrupt. What can I say they are a government run organization.

What screwed this woman was that she couldn't pay the student loan minimum, so her version of PHEAA passed off her loan to a collection agency who no doubt upped her interest to 20-30%. When she couldn't pay her minimum (even after the grace period that follows graduation), she should have refinanced. She was very neglectful of her situation. I sympathize with her, but she really didn't respect the situation.
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pap · Understudy Joined: 23 Nov 2009 Posts: 538