291–300 of 563 posts
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"Reasonable" is relative. Tuition at U.S. "public" universities is still around $10k per year, even if you're in-state: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/24/tuition-at-public-universiti...
that's indeed not reasonable. who can spend 10k in a year???
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Half of all college students don't finish their 4-year degree in 5 years, and it's not due to cost. Even countries like France, Netherlands, etc which have lower costs for college, place you in a track when you're in your freshman year of high school. This track determines if you're going to college, a trade, or somewhere in between, and it's hard to switch from lower to higher tracks. College should not be a goal fo…
You're describing a caste system, except instead of having your life determined by your lineage it's determined by some standardized tests given when you are 14 years old. It might work for some societies but that flies so directly against the "American Dream" that it will never work here.
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Your point about entrance exams is, in general, not true. University applications in Europe are very similar to those in the USA.
What is the European version of SAT/ACT scores and AP tests?
All programs have requirements, to take a STEM program you need to have calculus, physics and similar from high school. If you don't have it there's generally a system to study for a year to pass those courses, allowing you to change track.
The entrance is then essentially. (Checked my program)
1. 66% based on high school grades
2. 34% on a SAT/ACT like test.
The test is different though, no essays or other subjective stuff. It essentially has two parts both multiple choice, one testing language and one testing logic. Score is assigned by bell curve of all takers. Generally not as good predictor of student suitability as grades but allows people who just barely passed high school due to lack of motivation, issues at home and similar to still have a chance getting into their dream career if they are smart enough.
You can generally with really high motivation study for the test and raise your score a bit, not hugely though, and having that motivation is another predictor for success studying so works itself out.
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My understanding is that the US system is dual: On the one hand there are private universities that charge freely, but on the other hand there are also public universities that charge reasonable fees (at least for state residents). It's not unreasonable to charge tuition fees that are significant enough to make sure student will choose seriously and study diligently. I say that because it is certainly not always the…
"Reasonable" is relative. Tuition at U.S. "public" universities is still around $10k per year, even if you're in-state: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/24/tuition-at-public-universiti...
It is therefore not a question of affordability but a question of priority for most families. If they cannot set aside that much money it is, bluntly, because they chose to spend their money differently.
Edit: Apparently the average price paid for a new car in the US is $37k [2]... So basically the same as the average price of a 4 year degree in-state. People make their choice.
[1] https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-average-income-in-usa-fam...
[2] https://www.boston.com/cars/car-news/2019/06/09/average-new-...
How to fix student loans... The .gov backs student loans. And, they are non-dischargeable. So, it is zero risk for the lender to give loan to the 2.7 GPA moron getting a worthless basket weaving degree from the local private lib arts school for $100k. So, they give as many loans as possible, since they can't lose (taxpayer on the hook). Colleges are incentivized to drive up costs of tuition b/c tons of free money. It…
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Most colleges/universities are nonprofits and they still charge tens of thousands per semester. I will also point out that the European model is not free, universal college degrees for all - access is restricted behind rigorous entrance exams. Such a system would be politically untenable in the US wherein a growing movement wants to do away with all entry tests. What would actually happen in practice is that we would…
> I will also point out that the European model is not free, universal college degrees for all - access is restricted behind rigorous entrance exams WHAT ?? Not. at. all. I'm french and university is almost FREE (never more than 1000 euros a year and mostly around 300) for anyone with the A-level, at any age. Yeah of course there are exams like for any diploma in the entire world but there are not "super rigorous" es…
Seriously - if you want to be a vet in the EU it is CRAZY competitive. You simply have no chance to get in unless you have top Abitur scores.
Everyone saying you just need a high school degree to get into a vet school or anything else is dreaming. Many of the high schools themselves are tiered schools.
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> Even the amortization schedule is weighted to benefit the banks. Can you explain this or say what the alternative amortization schedule might be? In a normal mortgage, the initial payments are more interest because you're paying interest on more principal.
You got it already! Imagine if most of that first payment went to the buyer's equity instead of interest.
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Most colleges/universities are nonprofits and they still charge tens of thousands per semester. I will also point out that the European model is not free, universal college degrees for all - access is restricted behind rigorous entrance exams. Such a system would be politically untenable in the US wherein a growing movement wants to do away with all entry tests. What would actually happen in practice is that we would…
> I will also point out that the European model is not free, universal college degrees for all - access is restricted behind rigorous entrance exams WHAT ?? Not. at. all. I'm french and university is almost FREE (never more than 1000 euros a year and mostly around 300) for anyone with the A-level, at any age. Yeah of course there are exams like for any diploma in the entire world but there are not "super rigorous" es…
What I find funny in these discussions on HN is how most people seem to be completely oblivious to the obvious solution, proven to work in many developed countries around the world: have the state directly fund universities and don't charge tuition to students (or charge them a small amount). Why is the assumption "universities are private endeavours that should make a profit" something that goes unchallenged on HN?
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Look up basically any list of top universities in the world. The United States is wildly over-represented. Undergraduate degree as a social signal is a different problem to solve.
"wildly overrated"