If you have kids now. save 500K for college.

[Texashiker]

I find this unlikely. This number clearly assumes that the current unsustainable rate of tuition inflation will continue, and that's just not going to happen for the simple reason that no one will be able to afford it.

It will be like the housing bubble.

Students will default, banks will cry, federal reserve will print billions out of thin air.

 

[Zaap]

I think more and more people are going to find alternatives to the higher-education debt scam. It'd be one thing if going so far into debt bought people a guarantee of a great job, and a head crammed full of useful real-world knowledge, skills, and the ability to reason, ask relevant questions (expecting real answers) and knowing how to learn in the first place.

But sadly, many times this isn't what's happening. You often just get people at best barely educated and at worst badly indoctrinated, with job prospects no better than most everyone else, and a mountain of debt to pay off.

I think more people will start looking into having their kids forgo the overpriced 'education' and learn a trade, or find other ways of building on and then demonstrating real world skills to prospective employers, or even to become business owners themselves.

 

[Engineer]

I think more and more people are going to find alternatives to the higher-education debt scam.

Young people, especially those not really cut out for college, really need to start looking (again) at the skilled trades. There is going to be a generational gap soon for those jobs as older people retire and there is so few in the younger generations to fill those spots. Hell, it's hard to get good ones now much less a few years from now.

 

[child of wonder]

lol

I'm saving very little for my children's college tuition. Maybe enough for 1 semester at a state college. How are they going to appreciate the value of a college education if I just hand them one free of charge?

 

[fskimospy]

It will be like the housing bubble.

Students will default, banks will cry, federal reserve will print billions out of thin air.

Nope. The federal government lends directly now, not banks. Furthermore, the old public loans were already guaranteed by the feds. Furthermore the additional collection powers of the feds make a precipitous loss of value for the loans extremely unlikely.

None of that is to say the current situation for student loans is good policy, as it's horrible. Any time you give what amounts to almost unlimited credit, people find a way to use up that credit, and we're putting it on the backs of teenagers. Terrible from a moral perspective and stupid from a policy perspective.

 

[Hugo Drax]

It will be like the housing bubble.

Students will default, banks will cry, federal reserve will print billions out of thin air.

Not as long as the government is willing to get an infinite amount of dollars printed, and the debt is treated as a non dischargeable debt unlike any other debt in existence.

 

[MustISO]

Spending $500,000 on a 4 yr school would be a huge waste of money unless the graduate is going to be making > $150,000 straight out of school. Even then I'd have to question the intelligence of someone willing to spend that much when you can get a similar education for much less. Fine if you're a billionaire but a lot kids graduating now with > $100,000 in debt are having a hard time finding a good job.

 

[Doppel]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100966386

Parents scraping together cash for this year's tuition bills may have it relatively easy. By the time today's newborns graduate from high school, the total cost to attend a four-year private college could tally nearly $500,000.



So start saving for your kids college. Wow 500K for a College degree. My prediction of 1 Million dollar college degrees in 25-30 years from now seems to be coming to fruition.

It's a truly ridiculous article and seems oblivious to the impossibility of what it's claiming. No way college ends up costing that.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

I won't be sending them to college for 500k. Let alone 50k.

There is a certain point in your life where you say things just aren't worth it. It's like highway robbery. Either through tuition, taxes, whatever, and you put your hands up and say "Enough is enough." I feel that way about school. You shouldn't have to be indebted to your school for 20 years after you finish. So you could get that stupid piece of paper "BA" and get that glorious job. That's ridiculous.

It's sort of like restaurants charging $2.99 for a cup of Soda (where their costs are $0.10 per cup)... Instead I'll just drink water! Eventually restaurants will figure out if they just lower the price to $1, and they'll make more money. (Unless people just have that much money to spend on a drink, and are willing to pay it. Idiots I say)

Schools will figure out this lesson as well. Do idiots really pay $500k for school? I could find better uses for my cash.

So the cost of providing that cup of soda goes up to provide that soda goes up to $2.80. How many do you need to sell to make a profit? The costs of regulatory compliance and physical plant upkeep alone are staggering. If you think not then
why aren't colleges opening at a record pace?

 

[OverVolt]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100966386

Parents scraping together cash for this year's tuition bills may have it relatively easy. By the time today's newborns graduate from high school, the total cost to attend a four-year private college could tally nearly $500,000.



So start saving for your kids college. Wow 500K for a College degree. My prediction of 1 Million dollar college degrees in 25-30 years from now seems to be coming to fruition.

You mean like $200 oil in 2007 and houses that always go up in price. Nothing rises forever. College tuition absolutely positively cannot keep its 400% over inflation price increases for that long.

 

[OverVolt]

I agree, nothing says smart people like self imposed Darwin awards. That's ok though, us brown people are breeding you all out.

Haha I like it. No one probably realizes how clever those two sentences are.

 

[OverVolt]

So the cost of providing that cup of soda goes up to provide that soda goes up to $2.80. How many do you need to sell to make a profit? The costs of regulatory compliance and physical plant upkeep alone are staggering. If you think not then
why aren't colleges opening at a record pace?

Well if there was a program that guaranteed patrons with easy credit to make sure they could afford a soda at all times whenever they entered a restaurant even if they were illegal immigrants and paying it back was deferred for 6 months a soda would be $20 and they'd be paying unskilled soda-pourers $100k/yr to keep up with demand.

Its almost like a metaphor.

 

[PingSpike]

Our system is ridiculous and it will be bailed out, but I actually don't think the ponzi scheme can continue much longer even with all the entrenched players. At least, I don't think it can keep growing at this pace. Many of the kids can't really pay things off now and there's a lot of blow back that will have ingrained itself into the public conscious well before the next generation goes to college. But lets assume all stops are pulled out and the government decides to guard the castle on this scam. At 500K it will make sense for students to go live in cheaper foreign countries for 4 years to study to escape the costs. Hell, it probably makes sense to do that now. I know a friend of my went to McGill in Quebec and through the grape vine it sounded like the tuition was half what our state school charges residents. People already fly out of the country for surgeries and studying abroad is already a thing. If the system doesn't change, it will just become the way and other countries way well setup whole industries around the idea. We're in the dark period now though, that's for sure.

 

[PricklyPete]

Guess I'll be moving to Canada in 15 years.

 

[fskimospy]

Our system is ridiculous and it will be bailed out, but I actually don't think the ponzi scheme can continue much longer even with all the entrenched players. At least, I don't think it can keep growing at this pace. Many of the kids can't really pay things off now and there's a lot of blow back that will have ingrained itself into the public conscious well before the next generation goes to college. But lets assume all stops are pulled out and the government decides to guard the castle on this scam. At 500K it will make sense for students to go live in cheaper foreign countries for 4 years to study to escape the costs. Hell, it probably makes sense to do that now. I know a friend of my went to McGill in Quebec and through the grape vine it sounded like the tuition was half what our state school charges residents. People already fly out of the country for surgeries and studying abroad is already a thing. If the system doesn't change, it will just become the way and other countries way well setup whole industries around the idea. We're in the dark period now though, that's for sure.

What do you mean bailed out? The government already owns or guarantees all public loans.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Tuition rising will only last as long as the government is willing to sit by and say "Add that to the debt".

Shockingly, watch tuition rates plummet the moment government stops giving ridiculous loans to ridiculous people

 

[Vdubchaos]

College tuition has never been and never will be parents responsibility.

It's an option to help their kids assuming the kids are worth a shit......most aren't.

The entire "parents responsibility" is a American society playing tricks on you......

Sure, as a parent you want what's best for your kids and get them the education. Unfortunately American's are struggling with BASICS and very few are saving money for College. Also not every kid SHOULD go to college!

College has become the new high school diploma. Every one and their mother has it......so it's no longer anything special.

 

[dank69]

College tuition has never been and never will be parents responsibility.

It's an option to help their kids assuming the kids are worth a shit......most aren't.

The entire "parents responsibility" is a American society playing tricks on you......

Sure, as a parent you want what's best for your kids and get them the education. Unfortunately American's are struggling with BASICS and very few are saving money for College. Also not every kid SHOULD go to college!

College has become the new high school diploma. Every one and their mother has it......so it's no longer anything special.

While I agree that many kids aren't cut out for college, having worked to pay for my own education has taught me that I'd rather have my kids be able to focus completely on their education instead of dividing time between work and education. I don't mind paying for it when it comes to that.

 

[Vdubchaos]

While I agree that many kids aren't cut out for college, having worked to pay for my own education has taught me that I'd rather have my kids be able to focus completely on their education instead of dividing time between work and education. I don't mind paying for it when it comes to that.

It also taught you to not rely on anyone but YOURSELF. That lesson alone is probably more valuable than anything they will teach you in College hehe

A lesson that MOST kids don't EVER learn now days as their mommy/daddy is sponsoring everything from their college to cars/phones/housing etc.....and their kids don't even bother to put in any effort/don't give a shit and party their lives away.....

You should've been working and going to school, that's what most kids around the world do anyways.

It's hard for even the best of human beings to appreciate what's given to them. You had an incentive to do good as you knew you had to pay for your education and needed a career.

Some of these kids have 0 incentive as they think their parents will sponsor their entire life.....and piss it away.

Be thankful for the path you took!!!!

 

[halik]

I saw this on the magazine stand the other day. Was tempted to pick it up. I am in a position where my friends are finally having children by it looks like my chances are it simply wont happen. And honestly, I dont have that drive to have children either. And the difference in lifestyle may be a factor. They are scrambling to pay bills, find baby sitters just to see a movie together, or make it near impossible to go on trips. Anyways my eyes were also opened when going to a focus group last week about finances. And how people with children cant save anything while the few of us in my age group without kids live very comfortable lives and can sock away a lot of money for retirement.

Likewise here. I'm approaching 30 and still have no desire to reproduce, certainly now given the lifestyle tradeoff.

 

[nageov3t]

who are these masses of kids whose parents are paying for their college?

I don't know many, which is why so many people are drowning in college loan debt.

 

[IGBT]

get used to the idea they will never move out. You've given birth to a grinding axe waiting for you to die.

 

[dank69]

It also taught you to not rely on anyone but YOURSELF. That lesson alone is probably more valuable than anything they will teach you in College hehe

A lesson that MOST kids don't EVER learn now days as their mommy/daddy is sponsoring everything from their college to cars/phones/housing etc.....and their kids don't even bother to put in any effort/don't give a shit and party their lives away.....

You should've been working and going to school, that's what most kids around the world do anyways.

It's hard for even the best of human beings to appreciate what's given to them. You had an incentive to do good as you knew you had to pay for your education and needed a career.

Some of these kids have 0 incentive as they think their parents will sponsor their entire life.....and piss it away.

Be thankful for the path you took!!!!

I'm pretty sure I can teach that lesson to my kids without degrading the quality of their education.

 

[werepossum]

I agree, nothing says smart people like self imposed Darwin awards. That's ok though, us brown people are breeding you all out.

LOL +1 I agree completely.

Breeding - just another job Americans won't do!

I think that a lot of the tuition rise is sort of a bubble - tuitions rising at rates significantly above inflation isn't something that can be sustained forever.

It can be sustained for an awfully long time as long as your kid's tuition is something someone else pays.

Young people, especially those not really cut out for college, really need to start looking (again) at the skilled trades. There is going to be a generational gap soon for those jobs as older people retire and there is so few in the younger generations to fill those spots. Hell, it's hard to get good ones now much less a few years from now.

Agreed, but we really need to get our manufacturing losses restored. Right now our skilled trades are far too heavily in construction.

 

[Golgatha]

It will be like the housing bubble.

Students will default, banks will cry, federal reserve will print billions out of thin air.

Good luck trying to default on a student loan.