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Why I Defaulted on My Student Loans

nytimes.com

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Re: Why I Defaulted on My Student Loans

#11

Post by d23 »

nullrouted wrote: post #2

Why do people like this absolve themselves of all responsibility. You made the choice to take out all those loans and attend a liberal arts college, good for you and now it is time for you to pay up. While you got to party in College on someone else's dime, I worked 80 hours per week and built my career. I'm sorry your choice didn't pan out the way you thought it would but I'm really getting tired of the idea that pe…

The truth is these kids aren't really adults, and no one along the way is incentivized to stop them and say "hey, you may be making a really terrible decision here." Instead, everyone encourages them. English major? Great! No major? Even better! You have time to decide! $100k in debt? A degree is worth it!

Thankfully I had programming skills to fall back on, but when you're 18 years old and you're surrounded by people giving you awful advice that could ruin your life, you may not be able to recognize it.

Re: Why I Defaulted on My Student Loans

#12

Post by MCRed »

d23 wrote: post #11
nullrouted wrote: post #2

Why do people like this absolve themselves of all responsibility. You made the choice to take out all those loans and attend a liberal arts college, good for you and now it is time for you to pay up. While you got to party in College on someone else's dime, I worked 80 hours per week and built my career. I'm sorry your choice didn't pan out the way you thought it would but I'm really getting tired of the idea that pe…

The truth is these kids aren't really adults, and no one along the way is incentivized to stop them and say "hey, you may be making a really terrible decision here." Instead, everyone encourages them. English major? Great! No major? Even better! You have time to decide! $100k in debt? A degree is worth it! Thankfully I had programming skills to fall back on, but when you're 18 years old and you're surrounded by peopl…

Absolutely true. But everyone still is responsible for their actions... even if they got bad advice. That to me is the definition of being an adult.

Re: Why I Defaulted on My Student Loans

#13

Post by MCRed »

CyberDildonics wrote: post #6

It's interesting that what we consider to be barbaric and primitive was a poor lower class of people who were uneducated while their lives were indentured. Now we have educated people who's lives are indentured.

Do you think the writer of this article actually got educated? I would argue they have not been educated, nor have they matured.

And that right there is an indictment of the college system.

Re: Why I Defaulted on My Student Loans

#14

Post by TheMagicHorsey »

These entitled assholes and their liberal arts degrees. Why does this guy think that the State has to pay him to enjoy 4 years of reading whatever works of literature he found amusing. If he doesn't get any skills that make him employable ... then we the citizens of America have to subsidize his 4-year party?

Maybe this sir should have thought about what he was learning in school. And if he was too young to think about that at the time he went to school, maybe we shouldn't be giving him the power to make those spending decisions at that age--or maybe we should be withholding loans from students pursuing such worthless degree programs.

This idea that the world must mold itself to the interests of liberal arts students or the hysterical theories of liberal arts professors--oh reading the classics will expand your mind!--is a bunch of bullshit.

Of course the liberal arts faculty want you to keep buying into the failed state that is their department. That's the only way they keep chugging along. But employers have long ago figured out that they want to hire smart kids. And smart kids were smart before they entered these programs.

Re: Why I Defaulted on My Student Loans

#15

Post by jnet »

TheMagicHorsey wrote: post #14

These entitled assholes and their liberal arts degrees. Why does this guy think that the State has to pay him to enjoy 4 years of reading whatever works of literature he found amusing. If he doesn't get any skills that make him employable ... then we the citizens of America have to subsidize his 4-year party? Maybe this sir should have thought about what he was learning in school. And if he was too young to think abo…

"Of course the liberal arts faculty want you to keep buying into the failed state that is their department"

I think you hit the nail on the head here. I distinctly remember almost every intro class I took the professor would try to sell me on the fact that it would be the greatest degree ever. Unfortunately, while some areas of study may be interesting, they are not always a good ROI and I think that is what alot of college kids don't understand.

Re: Why I Defaulted on My Student Loans

#16

Post by tsotha »

jnet wrote: post #15
TheMagicHorsey wrote: post #14

These entitled assholes and their liberal arts degrees. Why does this guy think that the State has to pay him to enjoy 4 years of reading whatever works of literature he found amusing. If he doesn't get any skills that make him employable ... then we the citizens of America have to subsidize his 4-year party? Maybe this sir should have thought about what he was learning in school. And if he was too young to think abo…

"Of course the liberal arts faculty want you to keep buying into the failed state that is their department" I think you hit the nail on the head here. I distinctly remember almost every intro class I took the professor would try to sell me on the fact that it would be the greatest degree ever. Unfortunately, while some areas of study may be interesting, they are not always a good ROI and I think that is what alot of…

To be fair to the professors, they wouldn't be teaching intro to whatever if they weren't genuinely enthusiastic about the subject.

Also, while the ROI on some majors is terribly negative over a large population, that choice has likely worked out very well for the professors teaching the class. A tenured position at a major university is the closest you're ever going to get in life to a sure thing.

Re: Why I Defaulted on My Student Loans

#18

Post by Frondo »

nullrouted wrote: post #2

Why do people like this absolve themselves of all responsibility. You made the choice to take out all those loans and attend a liberal arts college, good for you and now it is time for you to pay up. While you got to party in College on someone else's dime, I worked 80 hours per week and built my career. I'm sorry your choice didn't pan out the way you thought it would but I'm really getting tired of the idea that pe…

What? Why shouldn't people be able to walk away from any debt, and accept the consequences for that (like not being able to take out another student loan, bad credit for 7 years, harassing phone calls, etc)?

Re: Why I Defaulted on My Student Loans

#19

Post by shakyor »

nullrouted wrote: post #2

Why do people like this absolve themselves of all responsibility. You made the choice to take out all those loans and attend a liberal arts college, good for you and now it is time for you to pay up. While you got to party in College on someone else's dime, I worked 80 hours per week and built my career. I'm sorry your choice didn't pan out the way you thought it would but I'm really getting tired of the idea that pe…

Well, to give a german perspective, over here it is considered unfair. To such an extend that tuition is basically free. The thing is we do not think one should indept himself to be able to achieve a degree, nor should he be forced to work to such an extend. I mean i admire you man, but looking carefully around you, you have got to admit that not everyone would be able to do this, would they?

People over here got enraged when the goverment tried to introduce tuition fees of 1000 Euros a year.

I actually think an economy profits if you make it easy for people to achieve an high education, and if you do not monitor them in the nature of the chosen field. And a society where you can do that and still have a normal and fullfilled life and being able to socially contribute to our society, that is the society i want to life in man. And while computer scientist are among the highest earner in germany, i gladly contribute my tax money to a society like this.

I do however realize that cultures a different and another point of view is just as valid as mine. Just wanted to maybe offer another perspective :)

Re: Why I Defaulted on My Student Loans

#20

Post by shakyor »

TheMagicHorsey wrote: post #14

These entitled assholes and their liberal arts degrees. Why does this guy think that the State has to pay him to enjoy 4 years of reading whatever works of literature he found amusing. If he doesn't get any skills that make him employable ... then we the citizens of America have to subsidize his 4-year party? Maybe this sir should have thought about what he was learning in school. And if he was too young to think abo…

Well, i would not like to live in a society you describe. Even though my skillset is contributing to society, i actually think with the state of modern societies it is more than affordable to invest in freedom of individual of personel development.

In the end, each society has to decide for themself in what they want to invest.

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