https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 07 May 2026 09:02:57 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796950 Mon, 04 Aug 2014 09:25:16 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 1796950@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've recently learned that if the Feds paid for all state sponsored school, it would be cheaper than what they pay for the federal still deny loan program. I found that statistic mind-blowing.</p> <p>I would not be where I am today without the amazing federal student loan program. But I went to school in an era where I consolidated my loans at 2.5% and was able to pay my huge debt burden off last March without problem. Seems like the rates that can be charged now are exorbitant and may prohibit students from achieving their dreams while being very lucrative for banks.</p> <p>I'm very appreciative of Senator Elizabeth Warren taking this on! She seems to really get it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796853 Mon, 04 Aug 2014 08:58:35 +0000 lizzywiz 1796853@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: Yes! I think the vocational route got a bad rap in the 80's-90's but my family who works plumbing/printing/roofing are waaaay better off than I was with my BA. Which is hilarious because everyone was so proud I went to college! Also, our community college offers awesome, affordable programs in everything from construction to nursing but most middle class 18 year olds have been brainwashed to think community college = less. Partly due to the university advertising and general higher education propaganda machine. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796849 Mon, 04 Aug 2014 08:57:50 +0000 reverie 1796849@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: oh I know. The federal gov lends money to private Liam companies at 1-2% and then they lend it out higher. I don't get why they can't give the students that rate anymore. My lowest loan is 4.75% and that is a flex rate. Eeep </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796804 Mon, 04 Aug 2014 08:45:48 +0000 looch 1796804@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@lizzywiz: yep, I agree. I also think we need to focus more on providing education in trades and close a bunch of mediocre schools with high tuition. Probably would suck for the professors, but I think it's a necessary step. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796765 Mon, 04 Aug 2014 08:28:22 +0000 Adira 1796765@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@lizzywiz: Honestly, even at 18, I think it's crazy that people aren't thinking about getting a degree in something actually USEFUL. I actually WANTED to major in English because I really wanted to be an author, but my parents encouraged me to really think about my future and what the job market looked like and what I would really do with an English degree. Because of their encouragement, I ended up majoring in Computer Science instead and it was definitely the best decision I ever made! I'll probably never write a book, but I LOVE my job and what I do and I especially LOVE my paycheck!!! Plus finding a software job as a female was pretty easy since companies are always trying to be more diverse and inclusive and women in engineering is such a small percentage! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796759 Mon, 04 Aug 2014 08:27:08 +0000 Mrs. Jump Rope 1796759@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@lizzywiz: that's a really good point. I was accepted into college as a fine arts major. What do you even do with that degree? I switched to communications &amp; rhetorical studies, which is such a broad degree. At the time we didn't have specific programs within, so my degree has an emphasis on advertising (because I took ad classes for my major) but I don't have an actual advertising degree (which is what I wanted). A lot of us joke that our degrees were pre-unemployment! </p> <p>I was a junior when they opened the JMA program (journalism, multimedia arts and advertising) but it was too late for me to switch. </p> <p>I started getting my masters in JMA (multimedia), but it was $25k and four of the required classes were a joke. I started my senior year and was so frustrated. The masters degree was offered to anyone who wanted it and there weren't any prerequisites. I wasted an entire semester in a class teaching you the ins and outs of illustrator, when id been using the program for 5 years at that point. I didn't want a beginners introduction, I already knew what I was doing!, and they wouldn't let me test out.</p> <p>So I dropped the program and have never finished my masters! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796752 Mon, 04 Aug 2014 08:24:16 +0000 Mae 1796752@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jump Rope: I graduated in 2008 and did find a job (although my chosen specialization had disappeared due to lack of funding so I had to go another direction). My class was the last to have an okay-ish time finding jobs. But now 6 yrs out trying to find lateral positions is ridiculously hard. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796745 Mon, 04 Aug 2014 08:21:06 +0000 lizzywiz 1796745@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I liked his article and I feel like the fact that Universities either are or operate like private, for profit corporations is also a huge part of the problem. Additionally, they have not changed to meet the new economy needs. They offer tons of degrees that won't get you any job.<br /> Personally, I think it is criminal to encourage an 18 year old to get an undergrad degree in, say, English or Race Studies, unless they fully understand that most will need to pursue additional education to parley that degree into a job that they can live on. But the department advisers don't care about that; they just want to fill seats in their program. I say this from experience. My BA is worthless.<br /> On the other hand....full on adults who return to school in their 20's or later? They are old enough to take responsibility for making smart financial decisions. I agree the price of college is inflated and that the loans are deceptive, but adults have to be informed consumers.<br /> I completed my M.S. in my late 20's and I was the ONLY person in my program who worked. I worked full time and it sucked and it took me an extra year, but that is what I had to do if I wanted to avoid huge student loans (I still took some). And I know that doesn't work for everyone- some programs actually ban working in their student contracts.<br /> But the other 15ish people in my program didn't even consider working and most thought nothing of getting all the loans they could to pay for school and living expenses. 25 years old/older is too old to not think that stuff through, regardless of how unfair the system is. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796744 Mon, 04 Aug 2014 08:20:57 +0000 Adira 1796744@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jump Rope: I just went to a state university. In-state, so definitely cheaper than going out of state, but still, costs have definitely gone up! I'm NOT looking forward to the costs when Xander and baby #2 go to school!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796735 Mon, 04 Aug 2014 08:19:24 +0000 Mrs. Jump Rope 1796735@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Adira: I checked tuition too an it's gone up as well! I didn't go to an Ivy League school. Uh, not even close. Just a private Catholic University that I wouldn't have gone to if I wasn't enrolled in the tuition futures program! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796715 Mon, 04 Aug 2014 08:14:42 +0000 Adira 1796715@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jump Rope: This is nuts to me. I think my whole 4 years of school cost about $70k! And that includes room and board and my meal plan!!</p> <p>ETA: Just looked it up and it would now cost $26,436.00/year for my school. Inflation blows. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796702 Mon, 04 Aug 2014 08:12:06 +0000 Mrs. Jump Rope 1796702@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Adira: I don't have any loans and I know I'm lucky for it. I was a part of a college program that ended in 1984. I keep calling to see if they're doing it again (they're not) because I'd jump on it in a heartbeat for our kids.</p> <p>I did have to pay for room and board, though. I lived in a maybe 10x10 dorm with one other girl. R&amp;B was close to $10,000 for the year. A meal plan was another $8,000. A parking pass, if you had a car, was $900. So that's a minimum of $18,000 for a bed and food. We had to pay for laundry.</p> <p>I would love to see a breakdown of how this money was used. Were my food, water, and utilities really this much? Let's say food was free... We have a 1300sqft house and our mortgage + utilities for a family of three aren't $14,000/year. </p> <p>I have friends who had to take out loans for school (40k/year) plus room/board/food (so, another $20k), and tuition increased every year. </p> <p>INSANE. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796690 Mon, 04 Aug 2014 08:09:01 +0000 yellowbird 1796690@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@OpinionsLikeKittens: @Mae: my federal loans (over 100k) are all at 6.55%. I get .25% off by paying with auto debit. All my debt is prom professional school. </p> <p>It really is ridiculous that all my other debt is at a lower interest than my student loans and I have no opportunity to refinance. I can't refinance with a private lender because then you lose all benefits of a federal loan such as loan repayment opportunities. </p> <p>I knew exactly how much debt I would have out of professional school. I can't pay the standard repayment on my salary, but that's why I work in a place I can get loan repayment assistance. I don't think programs like the one I am in will be around too long though because they are losing funding as well. It really is sad </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796686 Mon, 04 Aug 2014 08:05:48 +0000 Adira 1796686@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: @Mrs. Jump Rope: All of my friends that graduated in 2006 didn't seem to have any issues finding jobs... though maybe because of our major? We were all engineers (and one teacher). A couple went on to get their Master's or Ph.Ds, but all of them found jobs pretty quickly after graduation too. I'm guessing the major has a lot to do with it though.</p> <p>ETA: And location - location probably is key too. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796681 Mon, 04 Aug 2014 08:04:25 +0000 Adira 1796681@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jump Rope: My husband also has a 2% fixed rate loan (started school 2002). Not sure how he managed it. Mine is in the mid 4s, percentage-wise, and we went to school at the same time.</p> <p>@Mae: Yeah, I think right after I graduated (2006) was when job opportunities went down the drain. I got out of school right at the right time! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796676 Mon, 04 Aug 2014 08:02:59 +0000 Mrs. Jump Rope 1796676@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: I'm in the same bracket as you-- 2002-2006. I know three people in my circle that have jobs in their field. Two of them moved south! I don't know anyone locally who uses their degree. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796667 Mon, 04 Aug 2014 07:54:38 +0000 Mae 1796667@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jump Rope: yea those of us who went to school from 2002-2008 have the privilege if high interest rates AND no job opportunities-- yay :/ </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796640 Mon, 04 Aug 2014 07:36:19 +0000 Mrs. Jump Rope 1796640@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: they were at one point. My husband has a fixed interested rate of 1.9% on his loan. He started college in 2001 but I'm not sure when he took out a loan.</p> <p>My brother &amp; sister have 5+% on their loans, and they started school in 2006 and 2009. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796627 Mon, 04 Aug 2014 07:28:28 +0000 Cole 1796627@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: I like the benchmark your referred to, I think it would be really helpful for people to look at it that way. The issue I had and I know many peers had was we had no clue what we wanted to do when we graduated, we thought college was going to magically make a path obvious and easy. I feel like career guidance is sorely lacking in our schools both at the college and high school level. I feel like with my peer group in high school a lot of people just knew they didn't want to work in a factory or other "blue collar" job so we went to college and that was the extent of our thought process. I don't regret it but I could have made a wiser choice with a bit more help. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796613 Mon, 04 Aug 2014 07:20:07 +0000 Mae 1796613@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@OpinionsLikeKittens: ummm federal loans are NOT at 1-2%!! I had 80k in federal loans, all between 6.7 and 8.9%! SUCKS. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796561 Mon, 04 Aug 2014 06:35:44 +0000 looch 1796561@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I wrote this in another thread, I think the issue is really the fact that we have so many mediocre colleges and universities in this country that charge tutition as if they were in the Ivy League.</p> <p>I used to think that a good benchmark for the total cost of your tuition was to compare it to what you could earn in that profession in a year, given some experience. Basically, if your education cost $100k, could you expect to earn that at some point in your career? If yes, great, if not, maybe look at a school that was less expensive. I don't think that is a reasonable measure any longer and frankly, I don't know what is an acceptable replacement. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796505 Sun, 03 Aug 2014 23:44:30 +0000 sunny 1796505@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>PS. Sorry for the novel :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796502 Sun, 03 Aug 2014 23:39:38 +0000 sunny 1796502@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I can't say too much about student loans because I was fortunate enough to not need to take out any, but I can give some context into comparing US and Canadian schools and the costs. I attended a top private university in the US for a year before going back to Canada and completing my education there at a public university. </p> <p>My first year tuition in the US was $22k but I got a scholarship for half the amount, so I was responsible for $11k for the year plus living expenses of around $10k. My tuition in Canada started at $6000 and increased to $8000 by the time I graduated. I knew that many of my classmates at my US school received scholarships or grants in addition to taking on loans. Most of my classmates at my Canadian school received no grant funding and some had small government loans, but many worked through the summers to earn enough to pay for school.</p> <p>The biggest differences I saw between the schools was in the funding for research and funding for facilities and school activities. The American campus was beautiful, well-kept and the facilities were top notch. There were tons of fun campus activities, the athletic fields &amp; facilities were top notch. Professors had budget to hire undergraduate research assistants. </p> <p>My Canadian school was barebones. The computer labs had great computers but the buildings themselves were old, ugly and falling apart. There were almost no campus activities and professors had very tiny budgets and there were almost no undergraduate opportunities for research. To sum up the athletic facilities, the motto of the track team was "no track, no problem". </p> <p>When you go to university, you are paying for professors as well as all the amenities that go along with the "college experience". All of it costs money and it usually comes out of undergraduate tuition fees. It's not to say all of this isn't worthwhile, because I do think some of it is, particularly the opportunity to do undergraduate research and to fund world class faculty. However, it all comes at a price. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796494 Sun, 03 Aug 2014 23:21:11 +0000 peaches1038 1796494@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@yoursilverlining: very well said! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796485 Sun, 03 Aug 2014 23:11:16 +0000 yoursilverlining 1796485@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Jones makes some good points - especially about the defunding of higher education. When you have public universities which are no longer funded in the majority with public funds, the only way to make up that difference (while remaining a viable and full-service university) is by making up the difference in tuition. It isn't the fault of either federal or private lenders; a huge issue at the heart of the cost of higher education (and therefore, student loans) is the funding of public education in this country. Also, administrative costs in higher education - the private-sector salaries of many administrators are certainly not given to the rest of the public-sector faculty and employees.</p> <p>Student loan reform is definitely needed. If we, as a country, really value a higher educated workforce; it doesn't make sense to make the cost of higher education and the resulting loans prohibitively expensive for the majority of people. And since we don't have the large numbers of manufacturing jobs and unionized employee support we've had in the past; having a higher educated workforce makes sense for all of us. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796484 Sun, 03 Aug 2014 23:08:56 +0000 Katrocap 1796484@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@peaches1038: @opinionslikekittens: Like you ladies, I have a six figure student loan debt. And I'm not even in the healthcare field, I'm a public school teacher! :happy: Obviously 18 is an adult and I have to accept responsibility but I was naive and didn't realize that I would be paying these loans off for DECADES. I'm lucky to have a good job with a good salary, but a huge portion of my income goes to paying off my humanities degrees.</p> <p>I'm curious to hear what Canadian bees think of this. It's been my understanding that higher education is much more affordable in the Great White North. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796475 Sun, 03 Aug 2014 22:56:27 +0000 peaches1038 1796475@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@OpinionsLikeKittens: Honestly, no I really didn't realize how much money it would really be. I think I just say that because that is often the argument against student loan reform and I wanted to address it. But you are absolutely right, every single person I know/knew had student loans, so I figured it would all work out. Buuuut, hindisght is 20/20 right? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796472 Sun, 03 Aug 2014 22:52:51 +0000 reverie 1796472@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@peaches1038: did you REALLY know what you were getting into at the time? I also had 6 figure debt on my own for my professional medical field degree. They let me sign my life away at 18 and I had no idea. It seemed like everyone got student loans and that was that. I never really truly processed what the implications are. I have been paying my higher loan for 7 years now and it is alarming how little it goes down since every payment is STILL majority interest! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796470 Sun, 03 Aug 2014 22:50:08 +0000 reverie 1796470@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I really don't get the whole private loan business. Basically the government gives them loans at 1 or 2% interest and then they give it to students at 6+? Why not just directly lend me money at 1 or 2%? </p> <p>This topic frustrates me to no end. I hope I am able to pay mine off fast enough that I can offset some of my children's future costs and break this cycle. It is nasty. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/student-loan-reform#post-1796469 Sun, 03 Aug 2014 22:49:24 +0000 peaches1038 1796469@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Applesandbananas: I definitely agree with a lot of what Mr. Jones is saying. There are a lot of blatant disparities between 'student' debt and all other debt. The biggest of which is the inability to refinance. </p> <p>My husband and I both have professional degrees, I have a doctorate and he has a masters. I was lucky enough to have a large scholarship and my parent's help with my undergraduate tuition, but I was required to take out substantial loans to earn my doctorate. My husband had to use loans for all of his education. Together, we have over $300,000 in debt. This is the same story for the vast majority of our social group as well. </p> <p>Yes, we knew what we were doing when we took out the loans, but it was the only way that we could go to school. Yes, I have a good job in a healthcare field, but I do not make near enough money to pay the $2000 monthly standard payment, which is only for my portion of our combined loan debt. My husband is a adjunct professor and makes about 1/4 of what I do. Thankfully, there are repayment plans based on income, but we are still struggling to pay them back, as well as contribute to our retirement and plan for the future, including upcoming childcare costs and eventually affording a home. </p> <p>My gradplus loans are at 8.6% interest and they are federal loans, NOT private. My husband's federal loans are between 6.8% and 8.6%. These high interest rates are drowning us. We cannot make payments fast enough to get ahead of the interest. Forgiving student loans or at least allowing refinancing would allow us a little breathing room and let us put money back into the economy by purchasing a home. </p> <p>I can definitely see why people who are not in this situation would be against student loan debt forgiveness, but I really think that we are doing our generation and those after us a great disservice by saddling young adults with such large financial burdens. </p>