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U of Chicago projected to be the first U.S. university to cost $100k per year

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Re: U of Chicago projected to be the first U.S. university to cost $100k per year

#351

Post by e40 »

Glyptodon wrote: post #334
WhompingWindows wrote: post #77

UChicago 2011 graduate here. When I attended, I paid about $20k/year in tuition, given that I had various merit scholarships, worked for the university, and that my siblings also attended school. My parents were in for a RUDE awakening in my fourth year, however, when my brother graduated his undergraduate program...UChicago found out via a survey, that I was now the sole college attendee, and without warning they ja…

I got in to University of Chicago, but the finances were rough. They expected my parents to pay around 30% of their (combined) income in tuition after scholarships and loans. Presumably this would have dropped when my brother entered college a year after me, but given that I got into other schools that cost less than half as much it wasn't really a question. My parents didn't really know what to tell me because on on…

just that the way things worked made them feel like they were being punished for trying to be financially responsible

100% feel you, as I my son just started UCSD. He was looking at a bunch of private colleges and I did the financial aid (for early decision) and it was really shitty. I felt that because I had so much equity in my house and no debt, I was screwed. And, when the numbers came back, it was true. Very little help.

I have a work friend who has a very close friend. They're both Dr's pulling down > $500k/yr, but with huge debt. Their kid got into Princeton and they paid $15k/yr. I was more than double that for some equivalent schools, but I make far, far less than $500k/yr.

Very glad he decided on UCSD.

Re: U of Chicago projected to be the first U.S. university to cost $100k per year

#352

Post by arcticbull »

hansthehorse wrote: post #346
mam2 wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

My wife grew up in Montreal and paid a laughably small amount at McGill.

Yes I paid $2500/semester (CAD) for my engineering degree in Canada. Living in the Bay Area has made me appreciate my people all the more.

Re: U of Chicago projected to be the first U.S. university to cost $100k per year

#353

Post by dredmorbius »

vonmoltke wrote: post #256
dredmorbius wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are both US-government, and nongoverment private bank, student loans, in the US.

Which are not guaranteed by the government. When speaking of government-backed student loans, which this discussion is, there are no banks.

OK. That's confusing, and some brief DDGing finds a bit of a mess.

Got any recommended references?

Re: U of Chicago projected to be the first U.S. university to cost $100k per year

#354

Post by ChrisLomont »

chrischattin wrote: post #17

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…

>Make student loans dischargeable in bankruptcy

And watch default rates rise, and interest rates on these unsecured loans skyrocket, so that very few can go to college, and even more people get screwed by them due to higher rates.

Or people will simply not get loans, since they'd become too risky, and less people will get college skills, likely hurting the entire economy over time.

Educating people is a good national goal. Balancing the various pieces is much harder than simplistic changes to the current system.

Re: U of Chicago projected to be the first U.S. university to cost $100k per year

#355

Post by [deleted] »

apta wrote: post #258
chimi wrote: post #68

Throughout history, every time loans are invented to pay for something, the price skyrockets. House, Cars, Education... except credit cards. What credit cards did is flatten the salary curve, filling the gap between where salaries should be if they increased as much or more than inflation and the cost of living, with debt. Debt is a powerful tool when used correctly, but most people are unskilled in tool use, financi…

> Throughout history, every time loans are invented to pay for something, the price skyrockets. Which is why interest-bearing loans are prohibited in the three major religions. Puts things into perspective.

[deleted]

Re: U of Chicago projected to be the first U.S. university to cost $100k per year

#356

Post by solotronics »

glerk wrote: post #267
apta wrote: post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Throughout history, every time loans are invented to pay for something, the price skyrockets. Which is why interest-bearing loans are prohibited in the three major religions. Puts things into perspective.

Which major religion other than Islam forbids it?

Usury was prohibited in Christianity until not that long ago.

"At the time, usury was interest of any kind, and the canon forbade the clergy to lend money at interest rates even as low as 1 percent per year. Later ecumenical councils applied this regulation to the laity." - https://www.jstor.org/stable/3161033?seq=1#page_scan_tab_con...

Re: U of Chicago projected to be the first U.S. university to cost $100k per year

#357

Post by jorblumesea »

mam2 wrote: post #272
kansface wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> You have no idea of how much you get screwed in the US

This is true of many issues the US faces that Europe has solved. Healthcare, education, income inequality, housing, transportation, gun violence...

Just go down down the list and it's easy to find "unsolvable American problems" that have solutions, and that we Americans are totally ignorant about or refuse to acknowledge, saying it "won't work for us".

Re: U of Chicago projected to be the first U.S. university to cost $100k per year

#358

Post by jmpman »

julienb_sea wrote: post #164
jmpman wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or, track the loan payback percentage for each degree, let’s say 5 years after graduation. Publish those results, and stop making loans for programs where the repayment is less than X%. Then, basket weaving degrees won’t get loans, the cost for basket weaving programs will go down, as only those with parent’s stupid money will pay for basket weaving degrees. Students will be directed by market forces to degrees that…

More likely, the basket weaving program would entirely go away. Wealthy parents generally aren't idiots and don't encourage their children to waste away in pointless degrees. Well, the ultra-wealthy might not care, but there aren't too many of those. In any event, congrats, you just made a whole set of degrees inaccessible to anyone except the wealthy. The progressives are really going to love you for that.

I’d consider that a good thing. How many basket weavers are really needed in the world? My biggest concern is that politicians will make basket weaving degrees free, forcing me to pay (through taxation) for these over supplied degrees, and then being forced to support unpaid basket weavers on UBI.

Re: U of Chicago projected to be the first U.S. university to cost $100k per year

#359

Post by quaquaqua1 »

leotaku wrote: post #242
quaquaqua1 wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh my god this. It's cancer. I had to learn all thse obscure facts about things I care about just to have a baseline credibility with those types of people. It's a hazing ritual similar to data structures and algorithms, but one is certainly more useful than the other.

> It's a hazing ritual similar to data structures and algorithms What do you mean by that? Genuinely curious.

Many of the problems that the median software developer is working on can be acceptably solved with o(n^2) ideas which are the types of implementations that the median developer can reasonably think of "on the spot" with little prior training. Or the job is HTML CSS and basic js.

However many interviews demand many rounds of demonstrating o(logn) ideas quickly, which I would argue takes x months of preparation, not x weeks or x days.

I think its still very important to learn these structures, but the way they are applied in brain teaser format is not effective at finding the best all around candidate in terms of salary, general skills, sociability, iterative ability, etc.

And that's just taking the process at face value. Some interviewers will take this exercise to its extreme as a reason to deny you and make themselves feel good by giving you genuinely obscure and difficult problems that even Linus Torvalds and Guido admit they can't solve today in a reasonable time frame.

Re: U of Chicago projected to be the first U.S. university to cost $100k per year

#360

Post by briandear »

stefano wrote: post #154

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?

> have the state directly fund universities and don't charge tuition to students (or charge them a small amount)

See how well this works out in France. Overcrowding, declining facilities, students that have no business in college continuing to go since they have nothing at stake. The top tier schools are still pretty good, but normal schools are a crowded mess.

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