Don't Send Your Kids to College • Hacker News Board

Re: Don't Send Your Kids to College

#11

Post by mechanical_fish » Fri, Jan 28, 2011, 2:08 PM UTC

sasvari wrote: post #5

every time I read about the high tuition fees at US universities and extraordinary costs of higher education in the US, I wonder why only a small number of students are going to study in old Europe: no tuition fees in a lot of countries; good universities all around; no necessity to master the local language perfectly as there are a lot of programs with English as the language of instruction; many locations with rela…

no tuition fees in a lot of countries

As a foreign national? As, say, a US citizen without a work visa? Does that really work?

The idea that a foreign country would subsidize one's college education is pretty alien to a US citizen. Just going to a state university in a different state costs extra money in the USA.

Or are you just asking: Why would people who are already lucky enough to have some kind of "old European" citizenship ever want to study in the USA instead? I'll let those folks answer that question, since I don't really know.

Re: Don't Send Your Kids to College

#12

Post by yock » Fri, Jan 28, 2011, 2:09 PM UTC

sambeau wrote: post #4

For many, college is a place to safely transition from childhood into adulthood surrounded by peers doing the same thing: making the same mistakes and sharing advice. It is also where many make the core of their life-long friends. The serious ones - the ones who come to births, marriages and funerals. It is also where many of us met our partners. Starting a business will not provide all this. I would suggest doing bo…

Not to over-simplify, but I don't think one's social circle is enough of a justification for the astronomical cost of higher education. One can just as easily get involved in their community doing public service, attending shows, even just frequenting local businesses can provide opportunities to meet new and interesting people.

$60,000 to build my social club? No thanks.

Re: Don't Send Your Kids to College

#13

Post by sasvari » Fri, Jan 28, 2011, 2:14 PM UTC

borski wrote: post #9

sasvari wrote: post #5

every time I read about the high tuition fees at US universities and extraordinary costs of higher education in the US, I wonder why only a small number of students are going to study in old Europe: no tuition fees in a lot of countries; good universities all around; no necessity to master the local language perfectly as there are a lot of programs with English as the language of instruction; many locations with rela…

Simple: financial aid. As US citizens, if we qualify, we can attain federal financial aid and scholarships, thus lowering our overall cost of attending college significantly; sometimes lowering it so much as to be free, or nearly free. The same is not true if we attend a foreign institution.

if this would be true for the majority of students, there wouldn't be the discussion about extraordinary costs of higher education. or do I get something wrong here?

of course I am not suggesting everybody to study abroad, I am just wondering why only few young (US-)americans are considering to study in Europe. especially with the prospect of not having to pay up a huge education credit while gaining a lot of experience as well for those without a proper financial background.

Re: Don't Send Your Kids to College

#14

Post by jgoewert » Fri, Jan 28, 2011, 2:15 PM UTC

The flaw in his logic that I see is that somehow the $104,000 that was supposed to pay for going to college will somehow magically appear the first year that the kid will not go to college so that they can start a business. This is instead of how it normally appears with select education loans. I highly doubt lenders are itching to lend $104,000 to multitudes of fresh 18 year olds that dream about owning their own business but don't want to "waste time" in college.

Re: Don't Send Your Kids to College

#15

Post by sasvari » Fri, Jan 28, 2011, 2:17 PM UTC

mechanical_fish wrote: post #11

sasvari wrote: post #5

every time I read about the high tuition fees at US universities and extraordinary costs of higher education in the US, I wonder why only a small number of students are going to study in old Europe: no tuition fees in a lot of countries; good universities all around; no necessity to master the local language perfectly as there are a lot of programs with English as the language of instruction; many locations with rela…

no tuition fees in a lot of countries As a foreign national? As, say, a US citizen without a work visa? Does that really work? The idea that a foreign country would subsidize one's college education is pretty alien to a US citizen. Just going to a state university in a different state costs extra money in the USA. Or are you just asking: Why would people who are already lucky enough to have some kind of "old European…

As a foreign national? As, say, a US citizen without a work visa? Does that really work?

yes, it does. I don't know about every european country, but at least (at state universities) in Germany and Finland there are no tuition fees for non-europeans as well.

Re: Don't Send Your Kids to College

#16

Post by jwn » Fri, Jan 28, 2011, 2:19 PM UTC

kia wrote: post #6

I wonder if the guy who wrote this went to college himself...

I don't see how to permalink to comments on his page, but he does reply with the following:

"I ultimately paid for every penny of college through loans I was lucky enough to pay back. I also worked about 40 hours a week in jobs to pay my living expenses and took 6 courses a semester plus summer so I could skip a year and avoid an extra year's tuition."

Re: Don't Send Your Kids to College

#17

Post by macdonald » Fri, Jan 28, 2011, 2:21 PM UTC

mechanical_fish wrote: post #11

sasvari wrote: post #5

every time I read about the high tuition fees at US universities and extraordinary costs of higher education in the US, I wonder why only a small number of students are going to study in old Europe: no tuition fees in a lot of countries; good universities all around; no necessity to master the local language perfectly as there are a lot of programs with English as the language of instruction; many locations with rela…

no tuition fees in a lot of countries As a foreign national? As, say, a US citizen without a work visa? Does that really work? The idea that a foreign country would subsidize one's college education is pretty alien to a US citizen. Just going to a state university in a different state costs extra money in the USA. Or are you just asking: Why would people who are already lucky enough to have some kind of "old European…

Non-EU students pay fees in Scotland, but these are often still cheaper than full fees for top US universities. I think in Scotland the fee is between £10,000-15,000 per year, whereas EU students don't pay anything (in an odd quirk English students still pay fees, but no more than £4,000).

Related article about this: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/01/education/01scotland.html?...

Re: Don't Send Your Kids to College

#18

Post by robryan » Fri, Jan 28, 2011, 2:24 PM UTC

So much college discussion is based off the money you could make extra with a degree vs the amount of head start you can get joining the workforce at 18.

Past providing for my basic needs these minor differences matter very little to me, I was perfectly happy studying and getting by with low income just as I am now doing a startup on low income. Sure I could end up in a job a few years down the track and be x amount of dollars behind the theoretical person who started at 18 and worked their way up but it doesn't worry me one bit.

Re: Don't Send Your Kids to College

#19

Post by pbhjpbhj » Fri, Jan 28, 2011, 2:30 PM UTC

sambeau wrote: post #4

For many, college is a place to safely transition from childhood into adulthood surrounded by peers doing the same thing: making the same mistakes and sharing advice. It is also where many make the core of their life-long friends. The serious ones - the ones who come to births, marriages and funerals. It is also where many of us met our partners. Starting a business will not provide all this. I would suggest doing bo…

>college is a place to safely transition from childhood into adulthood surrounded by peers doing the same thing

I think the transition happens after college unless one is entirely paying ones own way through college with work.

Re: Don't Send Your Kids to College

#20

Post by wigren » Fri, Jan 28, 2011, 2:31 PM UTC

yock wrote: post #12

sambeau wrote: post #4

For many, college is a place to safely transition from childhood into adulthood surrounded by peers doing the same thing: making the same mistakes and sharing advice. It is also where many make the core of their life-long friends. The serious ones - the ones who come to births, marriages and funerals. It is also where many of us met our partners. Starting a business will not provide all this. I would suggest doing bo…

Not to over-simplify, but I don't think one's social circle is enough of a justification for the astronomical cost of higher education. One can just as easily get involved in their community doing public service, attending shows, even just frequenting local businesses can provide opportunities to meet new and interesting people. $60,000 to build my social club? No thanks.

"One can just as easily get involved in their community doing public service, attending shows..."

This route gets harder when all of your smart friends are gone to college.