<p>I saw this article in the morning paper and thought it would be of interest to those of you looking at school financial packages with your seniors or for planning ahead with younger college bound kids. I apologize if it has been referenced before. </p>
<p>Student</a> loans not always wise - The Washington Post</p>
<p>The actual IHEP report can be downloaded in a PDF format (it is free) from this link:</p>
<p>Delinquency:</a> The Untold Story of Student Loan Borrowing (IHEP)</p>
<p>Thanks for the link to the IHEP report. I saw Singletary’s article over the weekend. I’m a huge fan of hers!</p>
<p>But what an odd format for this document! More than one third of many of the pages has been left blank at the top. Is this for my cranky notes as I read it, or is it because they don’t care how much paper will be used up to print it? Any ideas on altering it to a format that won’t waste so much paper would be appreciated. And I will have to print it out. I’m not sitting here looking at the computer screen long enough to read it. My eyes will wear out completely!</p>
<p>It is almost as if the degrees people are getting have no value in the employment marketplace and offer no return on investment!</p>
<p>The elite schools make the point that they are not “training schools”. Lesser institutions piggyback on this to sell less valuable degrees to less capable people.</p>
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<p>In more areas than in education loans…</p>
<p>The economic downturn in 2008 really crushed the job market for many college graduates. I am hoping that the employment picture picks up more quickly so that it won’t be such a struggle for these kids to deal with their student loans.</p>
<p>"It is almost as if the degrees people are getting have no value in the employment marketplace and offer no return on investment!</p>
<p>The elite schools make the point that they are not “training schools”. Lesser institutions piggyback on this to sell less valuable degrees to less capable people." - Big G</p>
<p>Harsh. Blunt. Most likely accurate.</p>
<p>What a college degree will bring varies hugely. I have old friends with degrees in classics - one in Latin and one in Greek. Guess what - there’s not a big market out there for either of them, so salaries are low. I have a relative going for a theater degree - that’s not likely to bring in a lot money either.
College is not intended to be an investment vehicle.</p>
<p>Ah but that is EXACTLY how it is sold to middle and lower class parents.</p>
<p>And there are many who look down their nose at working class parents who struggle to send their kids to engineering or business school because it is merely ‘vocational’…</p>