<p>'Student debt has a dramatic impact on the ability to buy a house, and to buy the dishwashers and the lawnmowers and all the other purchases that stem from that, said Diane Swonk, chief economist of Mesirow Financial. It has a ripple effect throughout the economy.' ...</p>
<p>Unintended consequences.</p>
<p>American</a> Dream Eludes With Student Debt Burden: Mortgages - Bloomberg</p>
<p>I hate to come across as though I don’t care but these people got themselves into this mess and I really don’t feel that badly for them. How could anyone take out such high loans and then complain that they don’t have money to buy a house? </p>
<p>Of course you don’t… no common sense at all. Any one with half a brain should realize loans of 40 to 120 k are more then likely gong to severely limit you (obviously the higher you go the more limited you are). If you not able to realize that… Even at age 18… then maybe you’re not college material after all.</p>
<p>It’s like the people who make 30 grand a year who buy two hundred thousands dollar homes then want to be bailed out because they couldn’t afford it. I don’t care what the broker told you, do the math. Sure you make enough to cover the mortgage… But can you really live on the twelve dollars a month that are left in your pocket after you paid your mortgage?</p>
<p>I’m 30… Owe 24 more years on my 30 year mortgage… Put twenty percent down on the original price of the house… All while paying off a manageable 15k in student loans and recently while having a car loan a well. I obviously wouldn’t be in that house owning position if the loans I’ve been paying for the last eight years were doubled or quadrupled… And I was aware of that and picked my college accordingly.</p>
<p>Does this make me a mean person? Or just a realist?</p>
<p>Sent from my DROID BIONIC using CC</p>
<p>More detailed stats:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.fastweb.com/nfs/fastweb/static/PDFs/Graduating_without_debt.pdf[/url]”>http://www.fastweb.com/nfs/fastweb/static/PDFs/Graduating_without_debt.pdf</a></p>
<p>It seems that the American dream is alive and well but not for all graduates:</p>
<p>[Student</a> Loan Debt Statistics - American Student Assistance](<a href=“http://www.asa.org/policy/resources/stats/]Student”>http://www.asa.org/policy/resources/stats/)</p>
<p>Among all 2007-08 bachelor’s degree recipients:
• 66% graduated with some education debt, while 10% had borrowed $40,000 or more.
• 62% at public four-year institutions borrowed.
• 72% at private nonprofit four-year institutions borrowed.
• 96% at private for-profit institutions borrowed.</p>
<p>Associate’s degree and certificate recipients, 2007-08:
• 38% of associate’s degree recipients at public institutions borrowed.
• 98% of associate’s degree recipients at private for-profit institutions borrowed.
• 30% of certificate recipients at public institutions borrowed.
• 90% of certificate recipients at private for-profit institutions borrowed.</p>
<p>Among students who earned graduate degrees in 2007-08:
• 26% had no education debt at all.
• 14% had undergraduate debt but no graduate school debt.
• 7% had borrowed $80,000 or more for graduate school.
• 5% had borrowed between $60,000 and $79,999.</p>
<p>Fender…mean person,probably not. Realist…absolutely not( you’re unwilling to look at the reality of the situation). It’s unfortunate as these students were manipulated by Wall Street to think the false economy was real. I’m glad you were smart enough and informed enough to know better.</p>
<p>Nice links BCE.</p>
<p>“96% at private for-profit institutions borrowed.”</p>
<p>I think this group is putting too many students with low information into too much debt.</p>
<p>"The issue is being exacerbated by an explosion in the $150 billion private market for student debt with interest rates for some existing loans surpassing 12 percent. "</p>
<p>It is unbelievable that student loan rates can get this high. Some of my friends are looking into mortgages under 3% these days and 12% seems rather exorbitant.</p>
<p>I expect to have 45000 debt or so… I’m not dumb and most likely more intelligent than most, but we only had one parent and he retired… Since my friend killed himself, my grades went low so merit was impossible. I didn’t have any other choice.</p>
<p>Palier - What are you planning to study?</p>
<p>I think you are a realist for your personal situation, but not everybody can get enough funding for college from other ways to get by on such low student loan amounts. I did a lot of number crunching before sending my D to Barnard and there were no schools where we have less than $15K in loans per year. None. If she had gone to community college and commuted, it still would have been that much because of the costs of an additional car, gas and auto insurance. When people suggest community college as an option, they aren’t thinking about those costs.</p>
<p>I never got pursued by anyone or any of the colleges, so I’m just trying to go to some opp place of quality, though as a loner I suppose I’m used to that. I’ve gone through community college with a dual associates and now I’m going to try and study business with a focus on accounting at Michigan State. I just hope they finally accept my transfer since they’ve really hated my grades at times when I was emotionally impacted by my friend. I’ve only applied there because it really is my only option.</p>
<p>And to think… I was the one everyone thought was a genius when I graduated back in 07 oh the crap I’ve been through.</p>
<p>If I wasn’t able to take out loans for more than I can immediately afford, I would have no support and no chance to get my life back on track. You guys insult the people stupid enough to have high debt from your rosy seats, but you don’t understand.</p>
<p>^most, but not all, of course, campuses are reachable by public transportation. That doesn’t add anything like 10K to a student’s costs. Many of my students commute by bus and train. It’s not fun, but it’s a doable reality.</p>
<p>On a larger note, I think BCeagles’ stats show that this is not the across-the-board phenomenon it’s being pitched as in the media. A small minority have the really high loans; and of that minority, the for-profits are driving the picture. Start cracking down on them, and the statistics will change.</p>
<p>Barnardmom–I’m surprised your D needs to take out such large loans at Barnard. I thought they were among the few, actual meets-full-needs schools (I know their brother U was, and S wasn’t offered any loans of that size!)</p>
<p>I suspect you have to take a loan when the school says your efc is 30k and the parents really do not have 30k to spare.</p>
<p>Palier - you do need to tone down your rhetoric. People here are not judging you personally but looking at an overall trend. You need to be able to argue your point without insulting everyone.</p>
<p>Barnard, my community college offers online classes. I think that’s becoming more popular amongst them.</p>
<p>it’s probably just the way I was raised. We had to get jobs at 14, had to buy our own cars and pay our own insurance and gas if we wanted to drive. None of this was an added expense for college because we already were doing it. Had to work through college to continue to pay said gas and insurance. </p>
<p>I do think there is an issue with the private for profit schools. It seems like a lot of the people in these schools are older and have decided to go back to school based on what they’ve seen on TV and such. A friend of mine is currently financing his associates at a school like this. I just hope he finds a job because he’s easily going to owe thirty k after only two years. That being said, a family member went to a school like this when I was in college and is doing great.</p>
<p>Sent from my DROID BIONIC using CC</p>
<p>Well there have been no legitimate insults by definition and I’ve not spoken rhetorically. But when people insult a group that have a lot of debt without knowing the circumstances, it isn’t respectful. It’s not the same as credit card debts from people who spent beyond their means intentionally for pleasure or gain.</p>
<p>"You guys insult the people stupid enough to have high debt from your rosy seats, but you don’t understand. "</p>
<p>You are assuming an insult and considering everyone else to be in a rosy seat with no comprehension skills. All we are doing here is discussing a topic. You are entitled to contribute your view point or contradict a specific view point without using the words you are using.</p>
<p>Sometimes you have to be blunt. But an insult holds emotional reasoning and intent behind it. I speak objectively.</p>
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<p>I grew up in a single-parent minority household. Single-parent worked two jobs to put food on the table and there were many times when there wasn’t food on the table. My mother considered giving us up to Social Services because she had a hard time coping. I went to college for a year working 16 or 18 hours a week during the year and had jobs since 14. I got hired in a full-time job after a year in college and then finished my degree in my 30s. I’m not a genius and I got lousy grades in high-school and college (except for math and science) but perhaps some common sense and luck can go far.</p>
<p>"Sometimes you have to be blunt. But an insult holds emotional reasoning and intent behind it. I speak objectively. "</p>
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