Post-Secondary Education is a Business
I'm exactly two weeks from moving into my dorm room at my spit in the fields, and I continue to receive envelopes proclaiming to hold the greatest option for financing my college education. 'Choose our company, and you shall be an eternally happy educated yuppie up to your eyes in debt!' Well, they don't neccessarily say that exactly, but that's what they imply. But, I don't want to be another yuppie, fawning over my boss in hopes of a mediocre raise in a mediocre job during a mediocre existance.
I want to make a difference. I don't want to be another business suit walking downtown, ignoring everyone I pass. I want my work to help people. Right now, I'm really debating on whether or not I want to teach or do IT work. Maybe even program. I haven't made up my mind. But it's a long process. I've been changing my mind since I was reading the encyclopedia at three. Every job I came across was different and interesting and I wanted to do it.
Anyways, back to colleges. The loan companies are horrible. The interest rates I keep getting in the mail for these private loans are horrendous. Ten or more percent. And they allow you to borrow up to $40k. Let's paint a little picture. If I'm going to a higher-end school and I receive no federal, state, or institutional aid (which is saying basically that you're rich and you shouldn't have to take out a loan, in my experience of shopping around), and, without books and misc expenses the cost of attendance is $37k. I would consider the costs outside of tuition and room/board to be approxmiately $3k (I'm making this easy on myself). One would wonder if I had any savings. The answer for this illustration is no. So, I'm borrowing $40k from this private lender, and I talk to them a bit and get the interest rate to...9.7%. The letter I got says 10.5%, so yay me! But if you figure that I'm borrowing $40k for four years, deferring any payments until six months after graduation, and my loan is for ten years, I'm paying over $3,880 in interest per loan per year. Just for the four years of school, I'd pay, if I'm doing my math correctly (and I'm probably not), over $38k in interest alone. But, again, I'm probably doing my math WAY wrong.
That's ridiculous, no? And the bank gets amost all of it. Who wouldn't want to be in the business of making students go in over their heads in debt? It's a no-brainer. And the schools are getting the greatest deal. I know that the school I'm attending isn't the greatest deal in the universe, but I'm paying for the atmosphere and the quality. It's about $30k per year. I'm borrowing $22k to go, thanks to a need-based institutional grant. So. This school is making twenty-two thousand dollars off me per year. I know that they use this money to keep the school nice and quality to keep bringing in such money, but I still feel this is a little excessive. But, since I chose the school and I love it, I'm not trying to complain. It's just an opinion.
With the school making so much money off their current students and having almost $50 million in endowment, I think they could lower the price a bit and give a bit more financial aid. I'm scraping up the money to go, and my parents have relatively nice jobs. At least, my dad does. My mom works at Walmart. Not going into that. But if I have to scrape and save and go into major debt, think about those whose parents both work at Walmart, or something comparable. I know they would get more aid, but they would probably have just as much debt, if not more, because they would have to get a loan just to purchase the items needed to attend in the first place. I have easily spent more than double what I wanted to on dorm and school supplies. I'm sure that I'm not the best bargain shopper ever, but I try to find good deals. And there are so many things one needs to buy to live in a dorm. Even more for an apartment.
Basically, what I'm getting at, is everyone but the student and family profits from someone going to college. I don't think that's how it should be. I mean, yes, education is a business, but they should focus more on providing an excellent education rather than building a mansion for each president of each institution involved.
I really have to work on this rambling thing. It's not flattering.
I want to make a difference. I don't want to be another business suit walking downtown, ignoring everyone I pass. I want my work to help people. Right now, I'm really debating on whether or not I want to teach or do IT work. Maybe even program. I haven't made up my mind. But it's a long process. I've been changing my mind since I was reading the encyclopedia at three. Every job I came across was different and interesting and I wanted to do it.
Anyways, back to colleges. The loan companies are horrible. The interest rates I keep getting in the mail for these private loans are horrendous. Ten or more percent. And they allow you to borrow up to $40k. Let's paint a little picture. If I'm going to a higher-end school and I receive no federal, state, or institutional aid (which is saying basically that you're rich and you shouldn't have to take out a loan, in my experience of shopping around), and, without books and misc expenses the cost of attendance is $37k. I would consider the costs outside of tuition and room/board to be approxmiately $3k (I'm making this easy on myself). One would wonder if I had any savings. The answer for this illustration is no. So, I'm borrowing $40k from this private lender, and I talk to them a bit and get the interest rate to...9.7%. The letter I got says 10.5%, so yay me! But if you figure that I'm borrowing $40k for four years, deferring any payments until six months after graduation, and my loan is for ten years, I'm paying over $3,880 in interest per loan per year. Just for the four years of school, I'd pay, if I'm doing my math correctly (and I'm probably not), over $38k in interest alone. But, again, I'm probably doing my math WAY wrong.
That's ridiculous, no? And the bank gets amost all of it. Who wouldn't want to be in the business of making students go in over their heads in debt? It's a no-brainer. And the schools are getting the greatest deal. I know that the school I'm attending isn't the greatest deal in the universe, but I'm paying for the atmosphere and the quality. It's about $30k per year. I'm borrowing $22k to go, thanks to a need-based institutional grant. So. This school is making twenty-two thousand dollars off me per year. I know that they use this money to keep the school nice and quality to keep bringing in such money, but I still feel this is a little excessive. But, since I chose the school and I love it, I'm not trying to complain. It's just an opinion.
With the school making so much money off their current students and having almost $50 million in endowment, I think they could lower the price a bit and give a bit more financial aid. I'm scraping up the money to go, and my parents have relatively nice jobs. At least, my dad does. My mom works at Walmart. Not going into that. But if I have to scrape and save and go into major debt, think about those whose parents both work at Walmart, or something comparable. I know they would get more aid, but they would probably have just as much debt, if not more, because they would have to get a loan just to purchase the items needed to attend in the first place. I have easily spent more than double what I wanted to on dorm and school supplies. I'm sure that I'm not the best bargain shopper ever, but I try to find good deals. And there are so many things one needs to buy to live in a dorm. Even more for an apartment.
Basically, what I'm getting at, is everyone but the student and family profits from someone going to college. I don't think that's how it should be. I mean, yes, education is a business, but they should focus more on providing an excellent education rather than building a mansion for each president of each institution involved.
I really have to work on this rambling thing. It's not flattering.
posted by A at
5:05 PM
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