<p>@goose7856 I disagree with your comment on trade schools. The tuition they charge is astronomical and the jobs a student is qualified for upon graduation are, often times, just a hair above minimum wage.</p>
<p>A college education or any education is always worth pursuing. The only mistake is that that it should be free like in a lot of developed nations.</p>
<p>CalPhy – what about community colleges? Our local CC will certify you as a paralegal (just one example) – and paralegals have a much better chance of getting a job than law school grads! The pay’s not too shabby, either. BigLaw level? No, of course not. But decent enough to support a family if your lifestyle demands are within reason.</p>
<p>DS #2 is considering going the CC route, then transferring to a four-year school. If he gets his paralehgal license (or whatever it’s called) and then goes on to law school…well, if all else fails, he can always fall back on paralegal work!</p>
<p>i find it strange that most economists dont believe in a student loan bubble…i mean it’s so obvious something is going to crash…i mean, there’s already a lot of insolvency out there</p>
<p>but i think in this day and age, there is a lot of attention given to financial aid whereas in the past, no one really cared as much…i dont think its gonna be as bad as i thought a few months ago</p>
<p>Weighing in here on the paralegal issue…</p>
<p>A friend of mine is a paralegal. Her boss is quitting his law practice and she has been looking for employment for eight months in the Mpls/St. Paul area…this includes using her “contacts.” Guess who is getting the paralegal jobs? People fresh out of law school who can’t find employment as lawyers! </p>
<p>Our entire economy is filled with people taking jobs in which they are underemployed. There are very few “certainties” when it comes to higher education (including CC or Tech schools) and finding a job afterwards. We are in entirely new, uncharted territory when it comes to education and employment; in the midst of a massive shift.</p>
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economists seem to be some of the dumbest people I’ve seen. Look at Greenspan, said you can’t see a bubble till after it bursts (this was after real estate bubble burst)… Then in next sentence will say that stock market is not in a bubble. What a dolt. I think these Ivory Tower economists just have no clue what life is like for the “little people”.</p>
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<p>Except that the lessor brands are not priced as lessor brands. Why settle for a Yugo when a Porche only costs a small percentage more? And after the “rebates” many families get, the premium name brand often costs less than the generic one.</p>
<p>What does the phrase “bubble burst” mean? What does the phrase “in a bubble” mean?</p>
<p>Gotta agree here… my S was accepted to two great in-state schools… UT Austin and A&M but with very little in scholarships from either. He was also accepted to some great schools such as Stanford, Cornell, and CalTech. Each of the out-of-state schools offered fantastic aid which included quite a bit in scholarships. We will have to pay less at CalTech ($9600/year) and Stanford ($15600/year) than each of the in-state schools.</p>
<p>If we didn’t have the financial help though, he would go to the cheapest school. We would not pay $50K for any college.</p>
<p>I know, however, that not everyone gets the financial help we do and am thankful that we do qualify for it.</p>
<p>We are absolutely experiencing a higher ed bubble. </p>
<p>I believe it is insane for college students to burden themselves and their families with six figure debt. Our economy is under great stress due to globalization combined with our collective national debt. I would strongly advise students not to take on debt and choose you college accordingly. The world is changing so quickly you will need to learn throughout your professional life. Don’t start out with an anvil of debt tied to your resume and check book.</p>
<p>Good luck to all.</p>
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<p>I think you are mistaken. Trade schools for professions such as an electrician, plumbing, or HVAC can make quadruple the minimum wage.</p>
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<p>This is the type of thought process that creates a bubble. </p>
<p>Society needs to realize that not all individuals are cut out for the college environment. I love the movement of equality, but lost in the shuffle is the acknowledgement that some individuals have greater abilities than others. There is nothing wrong with acknowledging that one person is more intelligent than another–if you refuse to recognize those inherent differences, then you are living in a false reality.</p>
<p>With that in mind, not all students should pursue a college education.</p>
<p>To even believe what academic economists publish is folly. It will take a long time for Economics to regain any respect much beyond supply/demand. Junk science comes to mind. Very interesting to watch the the academy award winning documentary “Inside Job” Anyone with a financial markets background will confirm this film gets it right. Watch all the way through and hear the interviews with famous Economists and Business school dean’s - you will really get an education on the manipulation of markets and public policies. Really a must see. And watch the directors takes too. Puts the Ivy’s in a new perspective. And just to really educate yourself, google the director/producer- made 400m+ selling an interface to Microsoft - became Microsoft office- No Michael Moore theater here- raw data. And Alan Greenspan? I was a trader since the 90’s and every time he even burped it was taken a gospel by everyone in finance. Duped is all I can say.</p>
<p>Oh boy Goose- you are going to start a sh** storm with that post- take it down IMO. However, as far as tech schools/journeyman positions if you like the idea look at the German’s model. But, one needs to realize the Europeans/Aussi’s pretty much track you once you hit high school- one way to tech route, one to University and almost impossible to break out of the tech track unless your family can pay for private High School. Not sure you will get that to catch on in US. Students fate decided when they are 13 yrs old? Even though this is basically true now, we like to think anyone can achieve anything. Most parents in US don’t even know their kid is on the non-academic track in HS. Sad.</p>
<p>This goes to show that education is for learning, not for social standard.</p>
<p>I plan on going to college and getting a major in physics and/or engineering and posibly a minor in music.</p>
<p>But if I hafe to pay 50k a year forget it I’ll go else where to get my major.</p>
<p>I mean I’m homeschooled and teach myself calculus, so why would I go to a high priced school that would get my parents in debt, just so I can go to a high priced college to get me in debt.</p>
<p>College without learning is just good paper work.</p>
<p>cuz my grandfather droped out of school at 12 years old to help take care of his family in the depression.</p>
<p>and now he make 48$ an hour as a machanic, he even sometime helps engeeners repair bagpresses</p>
<p>it’s easy to do good when lifes good, but doing good when life isn’t (that’s true dedication).</p>
<p>somewhat related: a hpys/columbia/ivy league/oxbridge or other top top american/uk/foreign school etc degree for an international chinese student will almost certainly secure him or her a well paying (much much more on average than what top national chinese university graduates are paid) job for the rest of their life in china. so in some cases, name brand can mean a LOT and can literally be the difference between a 10k and 100k income with similarly competent people</p>
<p>but then again, international students in america going way up so it does contribute a lot to the bubble</p>
<p>as long there is strong demand , there 'll be a bubble. and when u fold in the extra demand from the int’l community - where they have mucho dolares and no FA on the outgo - this will add even more fuel to the fire. i did nt read the article. how did the guy get around this?</p>
<p>patc, you have just scared the ***** out of me, LOL.</p>
<p>Arrrggghhhh…</p>
<p>It isn’t only international students who can pay full fare at the 50k+ colleges, rodney. There are lots of parents in the US who can pay those prices. And are willing to do so if their kid is admitted to a high prestige school. I know plenty of them.</p>
<p>There is demand for high cost, high prestige education in the US, even in the current economic climate when lots of families are struggling to pay in-state public tuition.</p>
<p>I think it is the 2nd tier but expensive schools where you might see the bubble burst.</p>
<p>Honestly, college is too damn much. I don’t care how much prestige it has or how good the program is. Even if it’s a private college/university, it’s just too damn much.</p>
<p>Far as trade schools go, the problem with trade schools is that a lot of them are for-profit and can cost just as much as a in-state private. I’m talking about places like ITT, ECPI, The Art Institute, and The University of Phoenix. They are nationally accredited, milk students out with student loans (just like regular schools), and are not so well with job placement (just like regular schools).</p>
<p>So, if someone does want to pick up a trade instead, they would be so much better with going to their local community college. </p>
<p>But for-profit trade school vs. four year in-state public school. Yeah, that should be a no brainer.</p>
<p>Now, back to the topic.</p>
<p>Now, I will agree that there is no need to nuke out major loans for something like Women Studies or Sociology. I mean really, what’s the point?</p>
<p>But on the same token, not everybody is cut out for Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, or any other so-called hard subject.</p>
<p>We just can’t tell our young people just to skip college all together. It’s a different atmosphere now. So long gone are the days where with just a High School Diploma or GED you could get a decent paying job with a manufactoring company and work yourself up to middle-class while being there for at least twenty years.</p>
<p>I also believe, folks need to stop being brand name stuck too. I noticed here on CC there seems to be the brand-name school obsession. I just can’t see myself dishing out $50k+ for four years every year for a school. Even if it’s a well-respected Ivy League.</p>
<p>So, I don’t know how this fiasco is going to turn out within the next 10-20 years.</p>
<p>I’m still going to school though. Starting at my local community college and transferring to a in-state state school (Non-Flagship) that has an awesome and ABET accredited Engineering program. </p>
<p>At the end of it all, I will have dished out $50K myself. Note, it’s $50k once you combine all the four years. Not $50K each year.</p>
<p>But, with this economic situation going on in all directions, I truely do believe it’s going to create a class warfare that will be WAY WORSE than any racial warfare we had in the past.</p>