For-profit private sector colleges

Miscellaneous General
1

It turns out that they get most of their money from the same place other colleges do.

From the government. And it can go up to 90% of their revenues.

I was browsing a couple of articles on the matter, and it’s a serious problem - lots of government loans are given to students who study in such places, never get a job, and end up defaulting.

Perhaps it was just hyperbole, but some say it could be another subprime mortgage crisis.

They should never have given these loans - cost of education is a complicated thing to assess, since there’s no such thing as an average cost of a joint product. Even if a kid bears a lower cost in monetary prices, he still bears a higher cost in loss of quality - a frequent situation in a subsidised venture.

2

Yes, and it is totally the fault of the government.

3

Yep, I think I will stay at my $9.05 an hour job at Disneyland for awhile. Believe it or not, I have a higher net wealth than most people simply because my Debt is ZERO.

I feel sorry for a lot of people going to the universities, getting their “mortgage without a house” degree, and then getting into the same work that I am, or worse, not settling for anything that is beneath their percieved worth.

4

That’s probably not a horrible idea, Telpeurion. Unfortunately, I’m being put through the meat-grinder of public universities

5

No, it’s a fault of greedy people who ruin children’s futures with boosted expectations and very little to offer in actuality.

The problem is only aggravated by government.

6

Don’t be ridiculous. It’s not like anybody forces people at gunpoint to get into debt. It’s their own fault - hopefully they will learn from it.

7

I’m curious. Does anyone have some kind of figure on how many college graduates end up working low-skilled jobs permanently? Also, are there clear trends as to what kind of degree will most likely get you there?

I’m asking because I’ll start a B.A. in business administration this fall, and I’d hate to spend all that money to become the most qualified employee in the sewer cleaning crew.

8
9

The lenders won’t learn from it, boniek.

As far as federal student loans in the rich world go, they can give as much of them away from taxpayer’s money, and let defaults climb.

It is a wonderful thing that the young person learns from it. And it would benefit him or her for the rest of his or her life.

But aside from the kids, it seems that this kind of waste at taxpayer’s expense is sustaining a lot of third-rate colleges on one hand, and leading to something else as well!

It turns out that in the US, the Department of Education is now trying to find a solution to its own crisis by putting controls and limits on tuition fees and loans by fixing them at some percentage of the student’s future income. More crackbrained ideas that will lead to crack-brained results.

10

Thanks for the suggestion. Anyway, so you’re saying it’s not the government’s fault that the government gives out these loans?

11

There are a few exceptions out there, though. Hillsdale College in Michigan is one of them. They have their own privately funded financial aid setup and everything, because they didn’t like all the regulations that came with the government money, if I recall correctly. Lew Rockwell even worked there for a while many years ago. Last I knew, however, they’re a little more neo-conservative than libertarian.

12

I am not sure how much of my university’s fees of grants are from government sources, but I know my university breaks their income down by:

Tuition and Fees 80%; Gifts, Grants and Contracts 10%; Auxiliary Enterprises 10%

And of the grants, from a total budget of :

Total University Budget $155,806,000; Unrestricted University Budget $143,806,000

They receive $34,814,077 in grants/contracts; from:

National Science Foundation: InStep Program $3,409,910; Office of Naval Research: Advanced Nontoxic Anti-Fouling Coatings Research $1,844,322; National Institutes for Health: Biochemical Pathways $1,250,451; NASA KSC: Space Life Sciences $1,207,676; Department of Homeland Security: Detection of Heavily Shielded Nuclear Contraband $1,029,553; Office of Naval Research: Phased Antenna-coupled Detector Arrays for THz and IR Imaging $999,974; Department of Health and Human Services: Scott Center for Autism Treatment $2,370,481; Army Research Laboratory: Biologically Inspired Security Infrastructure for Tactical Environments $ 1,835,000; Florida Department of Education: Activity Based Total Accountability Institute $752,000; State of Florida: Florida Sub-orbital Commercial Research & Training Center $ 500,000.

I don’t know if this helps or hinders, but this gives some hard numbers from a private, technological university, although it was originally established for continuing education of NASA employees.

13

I did not say that. It’s obvious what detrimental effect’s these loans have. What I was trying to say is - you don’t have to get one - no one forces you to.

14

But they can convince you that it’s worth the risk and it’ll all be good in the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl_24uSPedM

15

You don’t have to pay back student loans.

16

If you can pay them off then refusing to can screw up your credit score.

17

students loans are evil…

they have driven up the cost of education dramatically

they have driven down the value of an education dramatically

here is the kicker - because a degree is so “cheap” - you better have one if you want to get your foot in the door.. unless of course you will be an evil entreprneur

18

Great. And I didn’t say that “anybody forces people at gunpoint to get into debt.”

People would get the government loans if the government didn’t provide them.

19

I’m sorry for misunderstanding of your post then.

20

I’m probably the only person I know who refuses to get a student loan. Pay for everything myself. Rather go through college slow and steady than through debt.