Recently I heard Hillary Clinton denigrate “predatory college lenders” in a political TV commercial.
As I reflected on the accuracy and intent of that comment, it caused me to reflect on the TRUE REASON for these so-called “predatory lenders.”
My wife and I attended a wedding in Boston last summer where the bride and groom had a COMBINED TOTAL of $208,000 in college debt! Then, last evening at our favorite restaurant, our waitress casually mentioned that she was finishing up her senior year in college (with a degree in Early Childhood Education), and she has $78,000 in college debt!
In the last 30 years colleges have raised their prices 294%, while the average starting salary of a college graduate (INFLATION—ADJUSTED!) is still $42,000 per year!!!
Why are colleges continuing to raise their prices, on average 7% per year??? Because students and families are willing to borrow the monies to pay those prices----with a FALSE perception that it will all be WORTH IT.
This is one of the biggest lies foisted on the American family today, and is propagated daily by academia.
Friday, February 8, 2008
College Financial Aid - the 1,000 Pound Gorilla
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3 comments:
I can't believe prices have increased nearly %300 in 30 years. That's insane!
Please tell me what can be done about this insanity? Are we just to remain victims to these increases. I currently have one son in college and another will start in fall 2008. I am afraid that the gap between the "haves" and the "have nots" is widening daily bewteen our current economic situation and the cost of education which is quickly becoming prohibitive to even the upper middle classes.
I've been thinking about this a lot lately, too. It's frustrating because I don't know if there's anything we can actually DO to stop it. I did read about a company in the NY Times that helps people save money called College Assistance Plus, which is worth a shot. But I wish there was something we could do to stop the insanity.
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