<p>I think that this article should be required reading for all high school kids who are considering universities that will land then deep in debt upon graduation. This article shows what debt looks like and it is not pretty. </p>
<p>She threw away a $25 an hour job because it was boring to work in an office and now has a $13 an hour job that barely pay expenses (which include new car payments.) I don’t feel sorry for her at all.</p>
<p>wow, scary article…and I think there’s lots and lots of these kids out there, completely clueless!</p>
<p>Thank you for sharing. Here’s another article about college and debt from the same newspaper.</p>
<p><a href=“Balancing Debt Against the Perfect College Choice - The New York Times”>Balancing Debt Against the Perfect College Choice - The New York Times;
<p>I think the parents raised a very entitled and fiscally irresponsible kid.</p>
<p>vs. the kid in the other article (post 4) who seems very sensible and responsible!</p>
<p>I think it’s bewildering how the banks and the schools get blasted for the student loan situation (in this instance and others) but the parents seem to get a pass. Where were they when the daughter was signing her life away? They are both college grad lawyers. Did they raise her to be financially responsible? Doesn’t sound like it.</p>
<p>There are . And we created those monsters.</p>
<p>ldwendy
Thanks for sharing that article.
I found it interesting that the article highlighted the practice of the college to tell the kids to tell their parents to take out more loans. I’m not very informed on the college loan practices as have not gone that route for our children. I do however find the subject very interesting. </p>
<p>Frankly, I am stunned that any parent would be ok with allowing their child to get into such large debt. Why not look at alternative options with their child. There are many ways to attend college. Attending BrandName U at $50,000 a year is not the only option.</p>
<p>Amazing story! I feel sorry for the spoiled brat and her irresponsible and apparently incompetent parents.</p>
<p>Financial literacy should be among other HS graduation requirements. A student should be able to test out of this requirement if he/she has learned the content at home or on their own.</p>
<p>Dear bookreader,</p>
<p>I am actually appalled that small LACs like Juniata and Franklin and Marshall think nothing of telling upper middle class families “you could always take out a loan” or “expect to take out a loan” if you send your child to their schools. It’s too easy to fall into student loan debt.</p>
<p>I was able to finish grad school with the help of a one year scholarship and graduated debt free. I watched my husband take 10 years to pay of his college loans and even though the rate was very low, I didn’t think having loans was a good thing at all.</p>
<p>FWIW: Our son did take some loans to bridge the out-of-pocket cost difference between two excellent schools that accepted him. I think he had ~$25,000 in debt.</p>
<p>I was OK with that: because of his interests, he was headed for a relatively high paying career. BUT, kids do change their majors and… then there was the recession.</p>
<p>Happy ending for him, though. He stuck with the tough major, graduated last May, landed a job and has already repaid his loans!</p>
<p>ETA: He continues to “live like a student” as long as he is in debt and until he goes to grad school.</p>
<p>Perhaps she should have looked for a special education teaching position and do her graduate degree while teaching.</p>
<p>Yes, student loan can be a good option, if your intended career is a lucrative one. The D of a friend borrowed over $200K loan for going to NYU Business. Worked on the Wall Street as an intern for 4 years and landed a job this year at the Goldman, with a very lucrative pay package. That is a texbook example of how the loan should have been used.</p>
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<p>From the article, it did not sound as though she had qualifications to teach. I think it said her majors were political science and Spanish, but if she was not certified (lives in California, degree from Wellesley), she would not be able to get a public school job, which pay better than private schools usually. With all the troubles in California, it probably isn’t all that easy to get any teaching job even if you are qualified.</p>
<p>To me, the biggest problem with the kids thinking about borrowing is that they think they are going to be rolling in the dough once they graduate. They have no idea what things cost. This is particularly true for kids who have grown up in upper middle class homes. My own children have no idea how much money we make or what things cost. Perhaps I need to make some changes…</p>
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<p>The schools aren’t holding you up at gunpoint, forcing you to take out loans. They’re telling you loans are an option because they don’t guarantee to meet demonstrated need. Juniata even has a Personal Cost Estimator on their website where you can enter your GPA and SAT/ACT scores to determine merit scholarships and a 12-question mini-FAFSA to give a ballpark estimate of need-based financial aid. If there’s no way you can come up with the rest of the money, don’t apply there because you can’t afford it.</p>
<p>“Yes, student loan can be a good option, if your intended career is a lucrative one. The D of a friend borrowed over $200K loan for going to NYU Business. Worked on the Wall Street as an intern for 4 years and landed a job this year at the Goldman, with a very lucrative pay package. That is a texbook example of how the loan should have been used.”</p>
<p>Unreal, you don’t see the risk with this approach? What if there wasn’t a lucrative pay package at the end? Those jobs are tough to get. If you don’ t get the job you’re pretty much done for with 200K of debt… even jumping off the GW Bridge doesn’t help because the co-signers would then get the loan.</p>
<p>^^^I understand you point, but: not suggesting anyone jump off anything, but our son’s college loans did not require a co-signer.</p>
<p>What am I missing?</p>