I’ve always thought college tuition was out of control so when I sat down to watch this documentary I didn’t think I would be surprised by the statements made but I was wrong. Being that a college education is considered “good debt” I thought it would be a good idea to share this video with all of you. It’s only an hour long but very eye-opening if you have bought into the lie that it’s a good idea to go into debt for a college education. Who’s responsible for most of the problems with education inflation? The Government. There’s a surprise.
Enjoy.
{video since been taken down}
Well now don’t I feel less excited about starting my Masters Degree next month. Although I know that student loans are not the answer, the only way for me to continue in my career is to continue my education. This is due to, wait for it…No Child Left Behind. It’s a viscous cycle and one that I’m going to be stuck in for the next two years but I WILL work my tail off to pay back my student loans (which luckily are lower than the average) as quickly as possible.
While the commercial for NIA was too much for me, I do see many of their points. It made me think about what lessons I want to instill in my children. Maybe taking all their college prep classes in high school along with getting technical training at a VocEd school would be a good idea. They could then work right out of high school and save up for college. I do believe in higher education, more education is never a bad thing, imo. I do not feel like mine was worthless as I couldn’t be a teacher without it. However, I can see society moving to a more hands-on career base, much like in the early 20th century. You learned your career by doing it not studying pointless subjects before actually learning about your chosen career.
I think I just contradicted myself in that one paragraph. WOW, I really do need to do some thinking on this.
Thanks for the link Brad!
Jessica, sorry about that! LOL I didn’t mean to damper anyone’s ambitions, but I think the main point of the documentary was that the government drove prices up to the point that student loans were almost necessary in order to follow certain career paths. It used to be that doctors and lawyers were more likely to get student loans, but now it’s almost necessary because of the cost of school for any education. I agree, certain career paths leave some people with no choice.
While I think No Child Left Behind was a bad idea gone terribly wrong, I don’t think that’s the problem at all. It’s more about the government creating Sallie and Freddie in order to make it possible for “more people” to attend college. Doesn’t that sound familiar? That’s why the housing bubble burst. The government thought it would be nice to force banks to give loans to be people who had no business getting them in the name of making home ownership more affordable. You saw what that led to.
I am all for education too, but perhaps this documentary will start the debate that needs to happen regarding college tuition and the inflation that continues to make college unaffordable for most people. I would also hope that anyone going to college would consider the fact that the diploma they get is worth just as much regardless of which college or university they get it from. College prestige has gone out the window for a very long time so going to a community college or one that is more affordable usually won’t affect job opportunity.
For instance my wife went to a community college to get her degree in Nursing, and she makes just as much as someone who paid (or borrowed) big money to do so. She has the same income potential, growth potential, and has secured a great job as a surgical trauma burn intensive care nurse for much much less of a cost!!
The college system is a fraud and they are laughing all the way to the bank. They’re taking advantage of the fact that people “need” an education to have a good career. That’s certainly not as true as it used to be, but for some careers, such as the awesome one you are pursuing, a diploma is needed.
The problem with student loans isn’t that some people get them, it’s that a lot of people get them when they possibly didn’t even need to. There are programs, scholarships and grants, and even jobs that might lessen the strain and burden of how much is needed for student loans. You have to admit, students rack up student loan debt as well as credit card debt without considering the financial implications that faces them in the future, ESPECIALLY if they can’t land a job because the unemployment rate is 9%.
Ask most people what their last debt they paid off was and most will say their student loans. Then ask them if they are working in the career that their expensive diploma was received in. Something needs to be done about the cost of college and contrary to what the government thinks, they need to be removed from the equation so the price will fall just as any other product or service falls in the free market when there is competition. I don’t say get rid of student loans, I say let banks compete for the best loans to give, and get the government out of there! Then and only then, maybe college debt could be considered good debt again.
The government ruins everything they put their grimy little hands on every single time! That’s why I am a small government, liberty minded individual. 😀
BTW, good luck with finishing your education. I know you’ll make a fantastic teacher and I also know you will be insanely intense about paying those student loans off. 😀 Sorry if I ruined any excitement you may have had. I am glad it made you think though. 🙂
I would agree with that- my friend went to a tier 1 ‘famous’ university with brand recognition and a famous basketball team. You say the name and people go “wow.” She now is $100k in debt from a BA and got an additional $20k or so from her MA and 4 months out, no word on a job yet.
I for a time felt inferior for going to a community college and an affordable state school…I wanted to go to a “famous” school, but realize now that my buddies that went to a college with 3 times the tuition and a way better football team, etc. had just a hard of time getting into graduate school (many didn’t receive funding either) and finding a job as I did. I would say we faired the same in getting into grad school and finding part time work, except I started graduate school debt free (they with $25k in debt) and I had a small amount of savings to fund my move and pay for my first apartment.
I was lucky, and feel blessed… but then again, I had to tell myself time and time again as a 20 year old at a community college and “less cool” university that it was worth it and would pay off someday…little did 20 year old me know how true that would be.
Hi Shannyn, and thanks for sharing your thoughts. I couldn’t imagine just how overwhelmed I would feel if I graduated from college with 100K in debt with unemployment at 9%. It was overwhelming enough for my wife and I to deal with the 26K we were enslaved to. The community college here is actually a very good one and it only cost my wife and I a little over 10K in student loans back when she was studying to be a nurse. She has been seen as “not a real nurse” because she got her degree at a 2 year school, but like I said, the very people who have trouble with it went to school for 4 years and paid probably 3/4 times what she did and are likely still in debt. What’s the difference in job opportunity? Absolutely none! My wife is an RN just as they are and makes the same amount of money and she obviously still has the opportunity to go back and get her BS in nursing.
I’m sure not every community college offers a degree in nursing but ours did because we live in a hospital town (UVA) so the demand for nurses is extremely high. We definitely don’t believe in the “famous” college prestige of the past and will never make a decision on college based on it for us or our children. We plan to shop around for the most affordable options for our kids and are willing to pay for whatever we find without student loans. 😀
While I am not a big fan of conspiracy theories and typically have an optimistic viewpoint of the world (even when things are bad, I believe people have the power to overcome), many of the points made in this video have been on my heart and mind for a year.
A year and a half ago I got ready to go to grad school because I thought it would make me competitive in the workplace and as a ardent supporter of education, I thought it would make me smarter and a better person. I got to grad school here in Chicago and learned, very quickly that I was learning more from the EXPERIENCE of going to grad school (and moving to a new city, meeting other students, exploring the issues of being a college student) than I was from the program or classes I took. Within the first 3 months of my program, I was devastated. I was talking to my fellow students, all of whom were over $20k in debt (I was also paying a high price but was fortunate to have gotten my undergrad paid through scholarships/grants, etc) and my two roomies were each $80-$120k in debt…neither of which have degree related jobs now.
I go back to graduate school on Monday. I only have 4 classes to go before getting my MA in sociology and I’m reluctantly going. I wanted to drop out last year, but was on the fence since at that point my spring classes were paid and there were 4 classes left to go- it seemed silly to stop with half an MA, then again it made me crazy (and stressed) to think I would need about $11k more to finish my degree.
This video addressed so much of what I’ve been asking my friends and classmates, but usually when I talk to them about debt, it’s already too late. Of course they’re stressed about the job market and the fact that tuition went up again this year across the board (few people I’ve spoken two got any form of funding from the school for their MA) and are worried about their ability to pay off debt after graduation but they tell me “it’s worth it.” Honestly though, what else could they say about it? You’re in debt with no real chance of forgiveness for it, you can’t change and at what point is it a good idea to just give up and cut your losses?
I have written a fair share of rants on my blog about the fact that college provides you with little or no skill to be competitive in the job market. I’ve recommended websites, books and podcasts to help my readers become savvy beyond their cardboard cutout degrees and think beyond their sense of entitlement from getting a diploma.
I’m dreading Monday afternoon. I wish I knew what to do, but mostly, I wish I could go back two years and tell the old me that going to grad school was going to be a waste of money, though the experience (mainly the anxiety I experienced when I realized grad school was a disappointment) pushed me to ask questions, teach myself valuable skills and think outside the box is valuable.
I posted this video and some questions on my blog, I hope people will share their stories.
Yeah I’m also skeptical of most conspiracy theories, but I think this isn’t so much a conspiracy theory as much as its name implies. I think the conspiracy theory portion of the doc is mainly aimed at how the college costs are going up while everything else has gone up and down. Why is it that college tuition is going up so dramatically year after year? And why does the textbook issue regarding book costs seem to appear more and more like a scandal. I have even experienced the issue mentioned in this documentary about how they are creating books that can only be used at my particular community college leaving me unable to sell the book back after the semester is over. It’s a crock.
I’m just hopeful that something will be done about this but I’m afraid what will happen is the same thing that happens any other time — the government will see an opportunity to come in and “save the day” but instead will make it worse than it is already. Create a problem — “fix” a problem is what the government seems to be good at doing.
Thanks again for your awesome comments! This is what makes a blog so powerful, when the discussion is so powerful that it makes people think about what they do before just doing it and being hit with the consequences later down the road. You added so much to the discussion! 😀
I always questioned why our education system is so different than other countries- mainly why the heck is ours so expensive?!!? I feel like education has turned more into a huge profit turning corporation. They hide under the guise of “education”. They teach us to go to school and get a job working for someone and the best you can be is middle management. They don’t let you know that there are plenty of skills you can learn on your own where you wont have to be limited to working under someone. I feel like a fool for being about 20k in debt because of school.
While I still view education as an important aspect of society, I totally agree with the fact that it could and should be much less expensive. Anything else, over time goes down in value and becomes more affordable, while education seems to be about the only thing that goes up consistently. The government has thwarted any possibility of the free market doing what it does best which is creating a competitive environment where prices tend to lower rather than increase. Get the government out of the way and we just might end up with an education system in this country that is not only affordable for most people, but will not be undervalued by the amount of student loans that had to be taken out in order to get it! 😀