This article is scary . . . and while I am not a finance expert, it sounds like the government gives huge amounts of money away freely to people who may not understand the repercussions of taking on more debt than they can afford, and the colleges, public and private alike (but especially private) seem eager to keep their costs high and get their hands on as much of this money as possible. What motivation does any school have to keep tuition costs under control when they know parents can and will borrow the full amount, whether or not it makes financial sense for them?
We have had a long and difficult journey with our son, the oldest of three. As a musician he set his sights highâBerklee College of Music, Belmont University, University of North Texas music program. He got enough merit aid at UNT to make it possible, but got nervous on his audition and ended up on the waiting list, too far down to hope for a spot in his program. Next he set his sights on Belmont for their music program, but the 10k scholarship they offered only scratched the surface of an estimated first-year total cost of $48,000. Same with Berkleeâ10k in scholarships but nearly $70k per year to attend, not to mention air travel and the logistics of going a thousand miles from home. The "aidâ packages from both Berklee and Belmont CONGRATULATED us on the offers of Plus loans to cover the full amount not covered by scholarship or Stafford loans. Iâm with some of the other commenters here; the opportunity to go head over heels into debt slavery is nothing to celebrate. An âawardâ should be just thatâa gift, not servitude. The way they package loans is deceptiveâyou assume if an amount is offered, some professional has reviewed your FAFSA and determined that you can pay back that amountâbut I knew based on our finances (and two younger children entering college in a few years) that it would be financially crippling to take out that much money and that we would never retire or be able to do anything but service that debt.
We have always told our kids âin state or equivalent.â We let him try at the âdream schoolsâ for music but the offers just werenât enough. It is hard because as parents we do want their dreams to come true, but we also recognize that borrowing $50 or $70k per year for a school whose graduates make on average around $30k per year does not make sense. Sure, he might make it big, and they love to tout their famous alumni, but they fail to mention the many thousands of others who donât end up famous or in arts careers. Weâve told him that itâs not the school that makes you, itâs YOU that makes you. We had to make the decision for him to enroll at a quality in-state institution with the best music program in our state/region. Between what weâve saved and its reasonable cost, plus him working summers or on campus, we hope to get him through without debt. While we have twinges of doubt and regret about not sending him to one of his more glamorous choices, this is the best decision for our family and an opportunity to teach all 3 of our kids about living within our means and buying what we can afford. Our hope is that when he graduates in a few years, if he decides he wants to run off and try to make it as a musician, he can do so without the cloud of debt hanging over his headâor ours.
Loans are a necessity for many families, even for state schools, and each family must do what works for themâbut the nature of these loans needs to be more transparent when they are offered so people know exactly what they are getting into. As long as people go in with eyes open and borrow only what they can reasonably repay, I see no problem. But those who borrow hundreds of thousands for a big name school when more affordable options existâand then complainâthat I just donât get or sympathize with. There is nothing wrong with obtaining a degree by more affordable means, and in most cases, employers will be looking for skills, not institutional pedigrees. Everyone has to live within their means, and that includes how much they borrow for cars, houses, and college.
Incidentally, I teach at a community college. They are an excellent start to school and an unfairly maligned way to make college costs more reasonable and avoid crushing debt. They may not be as exciting as living away at a big name school, but they get the job done with small class sizes and cheaper tuition. We have famous alumni, too!