This Court Case Could Unshackle Americans From Student Debt

[SheilaT]

38. It shouldn't be private lenders at all.

The money should come from the government, very low interest rates, but make the lending and the amount lent a bit more realistic. Borrowing 80k to get any degree that doesn't have lots of jobs in that field is utterly stupid.

The problem is, a 19 year old kid isn't very likely to check out the job prospects for his favorite major, and many parents don't either. There's nothing wrong with getting a certificate from a local junior college for something that has plenty of paid employment. Yeah, spending four years studying anthropology or art history or 17th century French poets might be very intellectually satisfying, but kids need to understand quite clearly that at the end of those years they need to be supporting themselves. Too many parents just go along with what the kids want to do, then let them move back home, rather than making it clear from the start that after college they're on their own.

And of course, the lenders happily lend them as much money as they want.

My younger son majored in psychology, and with my encouragement minored in marketing. I figured that was a pretty employable combination. After he graduated, cum laude I must brag, he returned to what he did during summers: pizza delivery. Six months after college he relocated to Portland, OR, where he still lives, still does pizza delivery. He doesn't ask either of his parents for money, because he knows we'd tell him to get a better job. More importantly, he really likes delivering pizza. He only works four days a week, supports himself, has friends, plays ultimate Frisbee, and so on. Yeah, it would be nice if I could brag about what a fabulous white collar job, but he's happy, and that's important.

He did leave college with no debt, thanks to the generosity of grandparents. But were they not helping, he'd have gone first two years to the local (excellent) junior college, then finished up at a state university. He did have a partial scholarship to the school he went to (University of Tulsa) but he was not the kind of kid that was going to get a full ride anywhere.