More Than 40% of Student Borrowers Aren’t Making Payments • Hacker News Board

Re: More Than 40% of Student Borrowers Aren’t Making Payments

#291

Post by IndianAstronaut » Thu, Apr 07, 2016, 1:39 AM UTC

AJ007 wrote: post #42

sh1ps wrote: post #22

A big takeaway from this article (for me) is that people are surprised that 17 year old kids don't understand what they're doing when they take out that college loan. Shock and astonishment despite there being little to no preparation for this kind of financial understanding previously in their education. That surprise and shock shocks and surprises me. Honestly it kind of reminds me of the whole Yelp minimum wage th…

A big problem is that at age 17, all of the adults are saying go to college & take out these loans. Guidance councilors, teachers, parents. The most compliant high schoolers will just do what they are told without thinking about it further. I imagine this will start changing. When I was a kid, that group of adults had the benefit of cheap degrees. Today, now that group of adults is us and we did not go to school chea…

>Guidance councilors,

This is a profession which needs to be eliminated ASAP. Councilors are absolutely clueless and are misleading millions of youth. They have no experience on the job market and just regurgitate what they are told. They mislead students, have trouble spotting floundering students and are just dead weight in school bureaucracy.

Re: More Than 40% of Student Borrowers Aren’t Making Payments

#292

Post by mathattack » Thu, Apr 07, 2016, 1:41 AM UTC

My impression as someone who went to a large public state school for undergrad, and an expensive private for grad...

Most undergrads (more than 50% less than 80%) spend 4 years doing enough to get by, and do a lot of socializing. This is cheap at in state publics, expensive otherwise. The people who get in-demand majors are fine no matter what. Those with other majors who really apply themselves need grad school and more debt to break out.

An English major at Yale or an in state school is fine. The Yale student will manage no matter what. The in state person got off cheap. Everyone else he an expensive lesson in literature.

Despite that, life in most fields is much tougher without he degree.

The guidance counselors are partially wrong in suggesting loans for overpriced schools. They are also wrong for suggesting soft majors at mediocre schools.

Re: More Than 40% of Student Borrowers Aren’t Making Payments

#293

Post by dwaltrip » Thu, Apr 07, 2016, 1:42 AM UTC

whoopdedo wrote: post #122

sh1ps wrote: post #22

A big takeaway from this article (for me) is that people are surprised that 17 year old kids don't understand what they're doing when they take out that college loan. Shock and astonishment despite there being little to no preparation for this kind of financial understanding previously in their education. That surprise and shock shocks and surprises me. Honestly it kind of reminds me of the whole Yelp minimum wage th…

Is it necessary for the 17-year old to fully grasp what he's getting into and how to deal with it? The point of an education loan is that it will pay to mature the young person and provide him with the capital necessary to become educated about how to handle debt. And more specifically to obtain skills and experience that can be converted to a prosperous career which allows him to repay what he owes. If a college gra…

But if there are very few qualified engineers that exist, maybe we should slow down on the bridge building?

Re: More Than 40% of Student Borrowers Aren’t Making Payments

#294

Post by alanh » Thu, Apr 07, 2016, 1:43 AM UTC

serge2k wrote: post #250

alanh wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really wanted to go to MIT, but I couldn’t believe my eyes when they were bragging that average student debt after graduation was “only” the price of a brand-new minivan or sports coupe.

That sounds quite reasonable actually. A degree can be a good investment. The right degree from MIT will open a lot of doors .

Do you think everyone who has gained an education should then be burdened by an inescapable bondage to a particular high-paying career?

What if they decided they would rather be a teacher? A musician and band director? A serial backpacker? What if they are injured and can no longer take the 40, 50, 60 hours in a chair at the office it would require to maintain the level of salary?

Just because a college degree is often a great ROI doesn’t mean that it can justify the expense for all students, or even for all students with a "wise" career in mind at time of enrollment.

Re: More Than 40% of Student Borrowers Aren’t Making Payments

#295

Post by 20years » Thu, Apr 07, 2016, 1:44 AM UTC

Lots are talking about the tech bubble but I feel this is a much bigger bubble.

Re: More Than 40% of Student Borrowers Aren’t Making Payments

#296

Post by mrestko » Thu, Apr 07, 2016, 1:46 AM UTC

jonlucc wrote: post #193

siegecraft wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you looked into the tax burden you'll face whenever the loans are completely forgiven? Just curious, it's something I was wondering about since I am in a similar position.

Most teachers should qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, meaning any federal loans (not private) should be forgiven after 120 payments without incurring the tax burden. As far as I understand, the 120 payments could well be "payments" of $0 if the annual income is low and the borrower is on an income-based repayment plan. By the way, if you file taxes separately, they typically only take t…

The amount forgiven is counted as income for that year and is taxed as such. I believe this is what the preceding commenter was asking about.

Re: More Than 40% of Student Borrowers Aren’t Making Payments

#297

Post by relaytheurgency » Thu, Apr 07, 2016, 1:49 AM UTC

I made a comment to this effect as a reply, but I don't understand why the government charges so much interest on these loans (and then only lets you deduct a small portion of it from your taxable income in some cases).

Let's assume you actually do end up bettering your life by taking out student loans and getting a degree. Although it seems almost memetic these days that you'll sink 100k into a school and wind up flipping burgers, in my situation it was actually the opposite. I was a cook for a catering business making very little money such that my federal tax burden was virtually nonexistent. After finishing school I make quite a bit more money, but I'm paying very high student loan payments (not complaining really, I was aware this would be the case) and the interest on my student loans is higher than on my mortgage! These are federal loans as well, not private.

By providing me a loan the government has essentially won! They've turned a tax burden into a source of revenue. My lifetime earning potential is much, much higher than when I did not have a degree and was working as a cook. Why are some of these interests rates as high as 6%? It seems insane!

Re: More Than 40% of Student Borrowers Aren’t Making Payments

#298

Post by thegasman » Thu, Apr 07, 2016, 1:50 AM UTC

so how do I make money from this?

Re: More Than 40% of Student Borrowers Aren’t Making Payments

#299

Post by ethanbond » Thu, Apr 07, 2016, 1:51 AM UTC

pmiller2 wrote: post #78

AJ007 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A big problem is that at age 17, all of the adults are saying go to college & take out these loans. Guidance councilors, teachers, parents. The most compliant high schoolers will just do what they are told without thinking about it further. I imagine this will start changing. When I was a kid, that group of adults had the benefit of cheap degrees. Today, now that group of adults is us and we did not go to school chea…

> A big problem is that at age 17, all of the adults are saying go to college & take out these loans. Guidance councilors, teachers, parents. The most compliant high schoolers will just do what they are told without thinking about it further. > I imagine this will start changing. When I was a kid, that group of adults had the benefit of cheap degrees. Today, now that group of adults is us and we did not go to school…

When people make this kind of assessment they seem to be implying that because a college education is less surefire than it used to be, that it's useless.

This is demonstrably false, and a college education is still the best bet a person can make on his or her future. In the same breath people say "all our manufacturing jobs went to China" and "why not go to a vocational school and pick up welding?"

Re: More Than 40% of Student Borrowers Aren’t Making Payments

#300

Post by warmblood » Thu, Apr 07, 2016, 1:54 AM UTC

coredog64 wrote: post #132

carsongross wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Education isn't the problem. Indoctrination is. Responsible, reasonably intelligent adults are encouraging children to take on this debt. If there is anyone to educate, it is the adults, not the children.

Discriminating against people with college degrees is the last bastion of acceptable racism. We would look askance at companies that put out ads that advised that people of color should not apply. But there's not nearly the same level of outrage when a college degree is required to be an administrative assistant.

I'm strongly with you but it's hardly the last bastion of acceptable racism. It's one of very many we still have. Adequate education in any form or at any age, he kind that is crucial for access to college, is flat out unavailable for many people in underserved communities.