anyone watch the ABCNews report about 20somethings and debt?

[pisces2473]

I wasn't surprised at what they covered. But I was disappointed.

[yankeeyosh]

I wasn't surprised at what they covered. But I was disappointed.

Aaaagh...I forgot about it. What did they say?

[pisces2473]

I read the article online this morning, and it was the same thing tonight, verbatim. You can see it on abcnews.com.

[yankeeyosh]

I read the article online this morning, and it was the same thing tonight, verbatim. You can see it on abcnews.com.

Well, for doctors and lawyers, that is nothing new...unfortunately, that's the price to pay.

What worries me is the rampant undergraduate debt. You're talking $70, $80, $90K in debt just for a bachelor's degree in a job market that is little more than a crapshoot. These numbers, while still low, are getting perilously high, and will likely become more and more of a bane in the next few years.

[pisces2473]

Well, for doctors and lawyers, that is nothing new...unfortunately, that's the price to pay.

What worries me is the rampant undergraduate debt. You're talking $70, $80, $90K in debt just for a bachelor's degree in a job market that is little more than a crapshoot. These numbers, while still low, are getting perilously high, and will likely become more and more of a bane in the next few years.
Exactly. I think they needed to discuss the fact that 22 year olds are graduating with tons of debt from student loans, then can't find jobs that will both pay them off and allow them to, oh I don't know, eat and rent an apartment. And I don't think ALL kids are abusing credit cards, either.

[BlueEyedFunOne]

I have no problems with young people having student loan debt - they were (hopefully) trying to better themselves by getting an education, attending specialized schooling, etc.

I have absolutely no sympathy for 23 year olds with $30,000 in credit card debt because they can't stay out of the mall.

[pisces2473]

I have no problems with young people having student loan debt - they were (hopefully) trying to better themselves by getting an education, attending specialized schooling, etc.

I have absolutely no sympathy for 23 year olds with $30,000 in credit card debt because they can't stay out of the mall.
Oh me neither.

What sucks is that NOW, after being out of college for 5 years, I'm starting to charge more than ever. I even got a better paying job. It's just the unplanned expenses keep popping up and my money only goes so far.

[wordsmith]

Exactly. I think they needed to discuss the fact that 22 year olds are graduating with tons of debt from student loans, then can't find jobs that will both pay them off and allow them to, oh I don't know, eat and rent an apartment. And I don't think ALL kids are abusing credit cards, either.

I agree. There are people (not just kids, either) who abuse credit to fund lavish lifestyles and get into debt that way.

But there are also people who use credit to live off of/finance emergencies like car repairs an non-covered medical/dental costs that can't be reasonably paid out of pocket (not a great plan, more a last resort, but I can see where people find themselves without an alternative to that, with wages what they are and huge chunks going to student loan debt).


Obviously credit debt is crippling many young people. But it's just as likely to be debt people accrued to live off of as debt they accrued by buying high end electronics and racking up rock star bar tabs. Poor use of credit through desperation is probably a lot more likely than poor use of credit through hedonism.

Somebody who can't pay off several thousand in Visa charges that financed mainly shopping trips, I don't really feel for, either. I do feel for somebody who is working a $25k a year job, and had to put a couple thousand into auto repairs here on a credit card and another couple thousand in lab tests and treatment for medical issues not covered by insurance and racked up the same debt. The debt's the same, whether it's a last resort or careless spending.

[shimma]

Obviously credit debt is crippling many young people. But it's just as likely to be debt people accrued to live off of as debt they accrued by buying high end electronics and racking up rock star bar tabs. Poor use of credit through desperation is probably a lot more likely than poor use of credit through hedonism.

Somebody who can't pay off several thousand in Visa charges that financed mainly shopping trips, I don't really feel for, either. I do feel for somebody who is working a $25k a year job, and had to put a couple thousand into auto repairs here on a credit card and another couple thousand in lab tests and treatment for medical issues not covered by insurance and racked up the same debt. The debt's the same, whether it's a last resort or careless spending.

Agree 100%. even making a good salary, stuff like auto repairs (and yes, where I live/work, you NEED a car to get to work) and medical expenses can be crippling some months.

What worries me is the rampant undergraduate debt. You're talking $70, $80, $90K in debt just for a bachelor's degree in a job market that is little more than a crapshoot. These numbers, while still low, are getting perilously high, and will likely become more and more of a bane in the next few years.

uhh... glad you think that's "low"...

[Winter Storm]

What worries me is the rampant undergraduate debt. You're talking $70, $80, $90K in debt just for a bachelor's degree in a job market that is little more than a crapshoot. These numbers, while still low, are getting perilously high, and will likely become more and more of a bane in the next few years.
I would NEVER take out that amount in loans unless I knew I had a big fat check coming my way.

I still feel that people havemore choice in how much they are willing to shell out for schooling and if they end up biting off more than they can chew, they have themselves to point at finger at. My 5 years in college only cost me $25k because I cut costs anyway I could and went to a school with a lower tuition. There are alternative, people just don't always take them.

[pisces2473]

I would NEVER take out that amount in loans unless I knew I had a big fat check coming my way.

I still feel that people havemore choice in how much they are willing to shell out for schooling and if they end up biting off more than they can chew, they have themselves to point at finger at. My 5 years in college only cost me $25k because I cut costs anyway I could and went to a school with a lower tuition. There are alternative, people just don't always take them.
Exactly. Everyone thinks they need to go to a high prestige school to get a good education. Not always so.

[WorkInProgress]

I still feel that people havemore choice in how much they are willing to shell out for schooling and if they end up biting off more than they can chew, they have themselves to point at finger at. My 5 years in college only cost me $25k because I cut costs anyway I could and went to a school with a lower tuition. There are alternative, people just don't always take them.

I still totally agree.

[wordsmith]

I would NEVER take out that amount in loans unless I knew I had a big fat check coming my way.

I still feel that people havemore choice in how much they are willing to shell out for schooling and if they end up biting off more than they can chew, they have themselves to point at finger at. My 5 years in college only cost me $25k because I cut costs anyway I could and went to a school with a lower tuition. There are alternative, people just don't always take them.

On the flipside, I went to a high tuition private school and spent the same amount. So it's not as if you MUST pay through the nose to go to the school of your choosing, either, there are ways around too-high ed costs depending on your situation. And I didn't attend for the "prestige" of attending a costly school, I went because it was what I wanted...a small school with tiny classes and programs that appealed to me in a place I wanted to live, plus the opportunity for multiple study abroad terms.

[pisces2473]

On the flipside, I went to a high tuition private school and spent the same amount. So it's not as if you MUST pay through the nose to go to the school of your choosing, either, there are ways around too-high ed costs depending on your situation. And I didn't attend for the "prestige" of attending a costly school, I went because it was what I wanted...a small school with tiny classes and programs that appealed to me in a place I wanted to live, plus the opportunity for multiple study abroad terms.
Would you still have gone if you hadn't had 3 out of 4 years paid for? Just curious. Or would you have gone to a bigger, cheaper school?

[wordsmith]

No way would I have gone. The deciding factor was 100% the best financial aid package. it came down to a $21 difference between my first choice and the distant second, in the end. I still wouldn't have gone to a bigger school, though. Cheaper, but not bigger.

[WorkInProgress]

My college choice would have changed due to costs, if I'd not had what my parents saved. I would definitely have gone to my second, third or fourth choice schools, based on $. (The conversation went something like this: So x amount is what we have for this. Anything more than that and you're on your own.)

[sparky88]

My college choice would have changed due to costs, if I'd not had what my parents saved. I would definitely have gone to my second, third or fourth choice schools, based on $. (The conversation went something like this: So x amount is what we have for this. Anything more than that and you're on your own.)

Same here. However, my parents said that if I did not go to a private school then they would not contribute a dime. So, I went to a private school with their financial assistance. I co-signed all of my loans....and then my parents ran into financial difficulties and I needed to take on most of their portion of the loans myself (which is fine, but not what I had planned on doing). Now my payments are twice as high as I had planned for...so that's one reason why I'm struggling with my loans. My parents would help if they could, but it's not happening in this lifetime!

[pisces2473]

Why were your parents so hell-bent on private college? For the fancy sticker?

[WorkInProgress]

Why were your parents so hell-bent on private college? For the fancy sticker?

I don't understand this either.

[wordsmith]

Yeah, my parents didn't care where I went as long as the aid was there to pay for anything I couldn't cover. They were supportive of me in seeking out a small private school, because they knew it was the school I wanted. If I'd sought out a large state school, they'd have been supportive just the same.

[pisces2473]

Yeah, my parents didn't care where I went as long as the aid was there to pay for anything I couldn't cover. They were supportive of me in seeking out a small private school, because they knew it was the school I wanted. If I'd sought out a large state school, they'd have been supportive just the same.
Yup, mine didn't care where I went either. I could have gone to the local CC for all they cared.

[WorkInProgress]

Yup, mine didn't care where I went either. I could have gone to the local CC for all they cared.

Oh mine would have cared, but they would have been supportive.

[wordsmith]

Mine would have been concerned that I was missing out on a more challenging curriculum and a more appealing environment, but they'd have supported me if I'd done it to save money, etc.

[shimma]

I still feel that people havemore choice in how much they are willing to shell out for schooling and if they end up biting off more than they can chew, they have themselves to point at finger at. My 5 years in college only cost me $25k because I cut costs anyway I could and went to a school with a lower tuition. There are alternative, people just don't always take them.

I must gloat... I did it for less than 125K... my school in the US was only 30K a year, I was there for 3 yrs and my 10K/yr school in Central America for one.

[Winter Storm]

I must gloat... I did it for less than 125K... my school in the US was only 30K a year, I was there for 3 yrs and my 10K/yr school in Central America for one.

That's gloat-worthy? I'd be freaking mortified to pay that much for school. I'm assuming you have no student loans to pay?

:?:

[sparky88]

Why were your parents so hell-bent on private college? For the fancy sticker?

Not for the fancy sticker (at all), but for religious reasons. They felt that I would have trouble getting a good education at a state college and preferred things like separate male/female dorms...a dry campus...visiting hours...mandatory chapel...small teacher-student ratio,...stuff like that.

They wouldn't have had any problem sending either of my brothers to a state school. Trust me, this burned my ass...but at the time I just went with it.

[wordsmith]

I went to a religiously affiliated school that wasn't dry, had no visitation hours, coed dorms and floors, and no mandatory chapel (I had to go to most chapel things, though, because I was a member of the chapel choir).

It did have one required religion class...but you had a zillion to choose from, not all of them western religions.

[paiger81]

I was accepted to the 2 BIG schools in Texas and the leading Catholic University(my dad wanted me to go to this one). I still remember doing the UIW tour with my dad & him telling me that he thought it was the great fit for me and he would do whatever he had to, to pay for it! After making that statement, I refused to go to that college. I wasn't about to make my parents go bankrupt!

I ended up choosing to attend a smaller branch of A&M, that was rarely known when I started. I'm only 17,000 in debt to them and in the time I attended to graduation, its reputation grew. So I ended up with a "cheap" education from a college that is now widely recognized in my state.

[pisces2473]

Not for the fancy sticker (at all), but for religious reasons. They felt that I would have trouble getting a good education at a state college and preferred things like separate male/female dorms...a dry campus...visiting hours...mandatory chapel...small teacher-student ratio,...stuff like that.

They wouldn't have had any problem sending either of my brothers to a state school. Trust me, this burned my ass...but at the time I just went with it.
Maybe you should have reworded that to "religious college"?? Cuz not all private schools are religious.

I went to a religious school...and let me tell you...it was NOT all religious, all of the time...no way. Huge drinking problems, parietals were constantly busted, etc.

[wordsmith]

Even colleges that are historically religiously affiliated are often now distanced from that. My sister's alma mater was chartered as a Methodist school, and it's not in any way religiously affliated anymore. Their church on campus was gutted and refitted with a stage and theatrical lighting and it's where they hold plays and fine arts concerts.

[pisces2473]

Even colleges that are historically religiously affiliated are often now distanced from that. My sister's alma mater was chartered as a Methodist school, and it's not in any way religiously affliated anymore. Their church on campus was gutted and refitted with a stage and theatrical lighting and it's where they hold plays and fine arts concerts.
Yeah...all of the Ivies were religious affliated in the beginning...and now they aren't.

My school is the only school in the nation to have a Domincan (as in the religious order, not the island) administration, so there are a ton of rules...just not very well enforced. The religious presense on campus is huge--Friars in their cowls, daily masses (not required), and the like.

[EmberMae]

Even colleges that are historically religiously affiliated are often now distanced from that. My sister's alma mater was chartered as a Methodist school, and it's not in any way religiously affliated anymore. Their church on campus was gutted and refitted with a stage and theatrical lighting and it's where they hold plays and fine arts concerts.
Yeah I went to a Catholic school. We had co-ed dorms, a gay student alliance, wet campus (if you were over 21 of course) and the school nurse gave out birth control. But....the campus church was still Catholic. you just didn't have to go. and some events had christian prayers beforehand. that's pretty much it.

[pisces2473]

Yeah I went to a Catholic school. We had co-ed dorms, a gay student alliance, wet campus (if you were over 21 of course) and the school nurse gave out birth control. But....the campus church was still Catholic. you just didn't have to go. and some events had christian prayers beforehand. that's pretty much it.
What affiliation was it? Had to be Jesuit...they are liberal.

[EmberMae]

What affiliation was it? Had to be Jesuit...they are liberal.
Uh, Congregation of the Holy Cross. I don't know much about it.

[pisces2473]

Uh, Congregation of the Holy Cross. I don't know much about it.
Usually anything with "Holy Cross" is Jesuit...but there are some schools that call themselves Catholic without having much presense on the campus too. They are all different.

[sparky88]

Maybe you should have reworded that to "religious college"?? Cuz not all private schools are religious.

I went to a religious school...and let me tell you...it was NOT all religious, all of the time...no way. Huge drinking problems, parietals were constantly busted, etc.

religious-private-college.

Yea, at my college it seemed like people were either super rebellious, or complete angels. The whole thing was irritating and I'm glad I'm done with it now.

[wordsmith]

Yeah I went to a Catholic school. We had co-ed dorms, a gay student alliance, wet campus (if you were over 21 of course) and the school nurse gave out birth control. But....the campus church was still Catholic. you just didn't have to go. and some events had christian prayers beforehand. that's pretty much it.

Oh, yup, we also had a GLBT student center and pretty much the only things the campus health center DID give out were BC and penicillin.

Our chapel isn't Lutheran anymore, it's nondenominational.

[beeblebrox]

So back to the debt question and the segment, it sounds like nothing new because it's now been occurring for some time. My rents paid for undergrad at a Catholic Jesuit University. Yes, they are really liberal.

For graduate school, I went to another Catholic Jesuit University and I paid for it with student loans about $17,000 and my parents helped me with rent.

I've known some people even in graduate school who racked up huge credit card debt who drank expensive wine, etc. and purchased stuff extravagantly. Even now, I don't spend a lot and save $500 a month.

[yankeeyosh]

uhh... glad you think that's "low"...

Whoops...I didn't mean the debt is low. I meant the number of students that have that kind of debt is low. But even $40K in debt can be crippling if all you can get is a job that pays $30K or so, which can severely limit your options if you want to choose a noble yet low-paying field. Even though the "official" governmental statistics don't show this, I would not be surprised if a quarter of all graduates have that debt, if you consider private loans and parents that foist their own loans (like PLUS) onto their children.

[LaFille]

Yeah...all of the Ivies were religious affliated in the beginning...and now they aren't.

My school is the only school in the nation to have a Domincan (as in the religious order, not the island) administration, so there are a ton of rules...just not very well enforced. The religious presense on campus is huge--Friars in their cowls, daily masses (not required), and the like.
:eek: i know where you went! very well!

[pisces2473]

:eek: i know where you went! very well!
Bwahahahaha, I just saw this, fellow Friar! :D