Tuition

[MrScorpio]

[niyad]

1. love it

[etherealtruth]

2. That sure sums it up

Though, I am not sure "they" actually wish us good luck

[the_sly_pig]

3. Well, at least our taxes are low.....

now let me get back to my religious text and stop irritating me with all this talk about so called higher education and thinking.

[rurallib]

7. actually I don't think they are

we give our gummint money to they wealthy and buy this HUGE ( i mean HUGE) military while other countries waste theirs on education and health care and their damn welfare states.
I think we pay more than Canada and many other countries and don't get crap for it

Here's a story I just quickly googled:
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/04/the-myth-of-low-tax-america-why-americans-arent-getting-their-moneys-worth/274945/

[mwooldri]

4. Tis a little more complex than the graphic.

If one is talking merely about tuition, then it's accurate. If you're talking about living expenses then the description for the UK government and the Scottish government are the same... Scottish students in Scotland can get student loans for books, living expenses, etc. They also take them out on the same terms as their rUK counterparts. And yes payment is based on income, so if you make £0 you pay £0.

It does also neglect the fact that needs based grants are available too - even in America (Pell Grant).

Plus with student loan reform, it is possible to get a 4 year degree, taking out only federal loans and pay back based on income.

But yep, American students have it hard financing a higher education.

[phil89]

5. Have wars to pay for.

Nothing patriotic about education funding.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

6. Yeah, and you can save from the day they're born

And still be short.

We bought pre-paid tuition plans for both of our daughters...if they had attended an in-state college, tuition would have been paid 100%, for out of state the plan pays the average of the in-state universities, broken down by quarter or semester hour. That still leaves lots to pay for tuition, books, room & board, etc.

We'll get good paybacks on the plans, paid ~$6500.00 for the plan in 1996, it will pay out ~$28,000, paid out ~$10,000 for younger daughter in 1998, it will pay back about $33,000, but if we hadn't put aside a bit of additional money every month once we paid of the plans (bought on 5 year payment plans), my ex-wife and I would be in a world of hurt now. We're still having to pay out of pocket to supplement the plans and the savings, but had we not saved, literally, from the day they were born, we would have to take out loans to get them through.

And they aren't going to exclusive, private universities - they're state schools, just not in the state we live in.

[SheilaT]

13. How excellent that you actually thought that far ahead.

I know that those plans have been around a while, and it's nice to hear from someone who made use of them.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

22. We had both joined the military

so that we could finish college. It was important to us that our girls be able to go without having to do that. If they wanted to join, fine, but we didn't ever want them to feel that it was either join the military or go into debt.

It wasn't always easy, especially when we were paying on both contracts at the same time. Our girls always had what they needed, but my ex and I ate a lot of tuna noodle casserole and peanut butter during that period LOL.

[New Orleans Strong]

8. Thing is...

Teachers are not job creators'. Oh WAIT!!!!!

[daleanime]

9. And that right there is the problem with the US

[Orsino]

10. Scotland invests in people while the US invests in rich people. n/t

[1monster]

11. I've just started paying for my son's college classes. He's taking two courses

a semester, because I can't really afford more. This semester, he is taking one 2 hour class and one 3 hour class. Together they cost me $540, plus two books and a computer CD which cost me $277. (This is a state college)

The irony is that the 3 hour class is once a week supposedly from 6:00 to 8:45. Thus far, the latest that class has been in session is 7:30 and most times it gets out at 7:15.

Forty years ago, when I started college, I took 18 hours both semesters and that cost me $1500 and $1500 for the school year's room and board. And that was a private college. That was $41 per credit hour (out of state rate). My son's is $108 per credit hour (in state resident rate). I don't remember classes EVER getting out early.

It will take him quite a while to finish, but I'm not going to let him mortgage his future with student loans.

[SheilaT]

15. Back in the day tuition

was x number of dollars per semester hour, until you hit 12 semester hours, and then you could take as many hours as you wanted for no additional money. When I first started college, closer to fifty years ago (gasp!) 18 hours a semester was the norm. I'd hate to tell you how incredibly cheap it was at the in-state university I attended, but it was after all, fifty years ago. Anyway, taking at least 16 and more like 18 credit hours each semester also meant that those who actually stayed in school ( I didn't, alas I dropped out after a semester) could graduate in 4 years.

As long as your son steadily takes 2 or 3 classes a semester, he WILL get through, and I'm guessing you can afford this cost. I certainly hope so.

[1monster]

18. I hope so too, but my husband was diagnosed with Parkinson's earlier this year...

I'm not sure how long I will be able to pay for my son's classes, but by keeping it to two or three classes per semester, I think I can do it.

[SheilaT]

19. For what my advice is worth,

do not go into debt yourself. Your son can be working, living at home, and easily afford the amount of money you named for his part time school.

[1monster]

20. I don't plan on it.

My son, will probably, eventually, take over the cost of his classes. Right now, he has some things to overcome and I'm happy just to have him do well in school.

[SheilaT]

21. Good. It sounds like you have things

well in hand.

[ErikJ]

12. Fruits of American youth political apathy nt

[F4lconF16]

14. Seriously?

Blame the problems of our university system on students? How about the Republicans and a culture of ignorance? How about their votes against anything that could possibly benefit the middle class? How about the Democrats that have worked to privatize our systems, appointing people like Arne Duncan as secretary of education? How about the ceos of education corporations who have turned college educations into a racket?

Don't give me this bs. Yeah, youth needs to vote more. We need to be more civic minded. But to blame this on the youth population who have only been voting for at most 12 years? Give me a break. This has been a gradual dismantling of the whole system into a profit machine over decades.

[ErikJ]

17. We'll be lucky to get 25% of youth to vote this Nov.

Too into selfies, instagram and texting to care. BTW, i8 yr old vote passed in 1972. 40+ years ago.

[RufusTFirefly]

16. Why Public Higher Education Should Be Free

Why Public Higher Education Should Be Free
How to Decrease Cost and Increase Quality at American Universities



Haven't yet read the book, but I've heard the author, Robert Samuels, interviewed, and he makes a pretty compelling case for how the net cost to the government in providing free public education would be equal to what it's spending right now on administrative costs associated with paying tuition and providing financial aid. About the only thing that might suffer would be bloated intercollegiate athletic programs, so I guess that's a deal-breaker.

Here's the blurb (and a link) from the interview

The Case For Free Tuition

With college tuitions rising, student debt soaring, corporate agendas dictating research, and academic job security under attack, what do we do about the multiple crises in higher ed? Robert Samuels proposes that we make public higher education free. He says it's not only desirable but financially feasible.