For Everyone Else there's always Iraq (college Costs)

[Nbadan]

April 10, 2007, 1:49AM
College study finds wealth of difference
Income levels for the families of freshmen are at their highest point in 35 years
By JAMES M. O'NEILL
Bloomberg News


U.S. college freshmen are wealthier than at any point in the past 35 years, and the income gap is widening between their families and the rest of the nation, a study indicates.

This academic year's entering class came from families with income 60 percent greater than the national median, as tuition increases shut out lower-income students, the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, said in a report Monday. The gap was 46 percent in 1971, according to the study of more than 8 million students over 40 years.

The findings, based on the biggest and longest-running survey of college students, may buttress criticism from members of Congress over the increasing cost of a college education. Tuition and fees have risen 35 percent so far this decade at public four-year institutions and 11 percent at their private counterparts, the researchers said, citing College Board figures.

"Students from wealthier families can endure greater fluctuations in 'sticker price' than poorer students," José Luis Santos, a UCLA professor and co-author of the report, said in a statement. "As a result, more students entering college come from homes that are increasingly wealthier than the national median income."

Chronicle (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/4700569.html)

All this as income gaps between the 'rich' and middle to middle-lower class have never been greater. Many working class young people do not feel that college is worth it. Everyone knows college graduates that often don't get jobs in the career of their choice and/or aren't making any more money than someone without a degree. Many kids figure that getting a good job is more often about connections, whether you have a degree or not because of how many degrees are floating around out there.

[Clandestino]

if you work hard enough and/or get good enough grades then you can go to school. if you're too fucking lazy to work or take loans for school then you don't deserve to go. we don't live in a socialist country.

[BIG IRISH]

The real reason for the high cost of loans:

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/03/national_probe_.html

Short list lenders under investigation include NelNet, Education Finance Partners, Educap, Sallie Mae, College Board and CIT. They all were informed of the investigation by the Attorney General in early January, a senior aide said Thursday. They have all been the subject of prior news reports and press releases regarding the attorney general's investigation.

Nearly 90 percent of financial aid applicants pick their lender from the short list offered by their school.

Unknown to these borrowers is the fact that the preferred lender loan rate may not be what earned a bank berth on a school's short list. Often what helped the lender earn a berth on the list was an attractive package of incentives to the sponsoring school, Cuomo said. Those incentives included hundreds of thousands in fees to schools and other forms of compensation, gifts and consideration and in some cases Caribbean junkets and golf outings to exclusive Pebble Beach......

Ain't America Great :rolleyes

[boutons_]

Clanny perpetrates another right-wing myth, as if helping poor students get to higher edcuation was socialism.

The Repugs have pushed banks and other financial outfits as skimming middle men into student loan business, where the bank pockets 100s of $Ms in interest that students have to work many years to pay off. The banks are making a killing off the student loan business. Then we have kickback scandals like Xpress Loan Servicing,and who knows how many similary scandals undiscovered by the FBI which has totally dropped white collar crime in order to go after political dissenters as "terrorists".

The govt should kick 3rd parties out of student loan business and help students with low-interest govt loans directly.

[BIG IRISH]

Updated article April 11, 2007http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/04/11/student.loan.probe.ap/index.html

ALBANY, New York (AP) -- The nation's largest student loan provider will stop offering perks to college employees as part of a settlement announced Wednesday in a widening probe of the student loan industry.

SLM Corp., commonly known as Sallie Mae, also agreed to pay $2 million into a fund to educate students and parents about the financial aid industry, and it will adopt a
code of conduct created by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo

The language closely resembled that of a statement from Citibank, which last week also agreed to a $2 million settlement with the Attorney General's office.

So far, six schools -- the University of Pennsylvania, New York University, Syracuse University, Fordham University, Long Island University and St. John's University -- have agreed to reimburse students a total of $3.27 million for inflated loan prices caused by revenue sharing agreements, Cuomo said.

[Clandestino]

Clanny perpetrates another right-wing myth, as if helping poor students get to higher edcuation was socialism.

The Repugs have pushed banks and other financial outfits as skimming middle men into student loan business, where the bank pockets 100s of $Ms in interest that students have to work many years to pay off. The banks are making a killing off the student loan business. Then we have kickback scandals like Xpress Loan Servicing,and who knows how many similary scandals undiscovered by the FBI which has totally dropped white collar crime in order to go after political dissenters as "terrorists".

The govt should kick 3rd parties out of student loan business and help students with low-interest govt loans directly.

yeah, help them get a loan or help them get a job. unless they have the grades or will study a field in high demand they don't need any handouts. and nothing is wrong with taking student loans. they need to work for something so it will mean something.

[101A]

The premise of the article is fundamentally flawed.

It compares the families of those entering college to ALL US families; not just those of students NOT entering college.

It then makes the (illogical) leap that BECAUSE those families are wealthier than at any time in our history (by median comparison apparently), that there is a disparity in Rich/Poor college attendance.

Although that is no doubt the case (the wealthier you family, the MORE likely it is you will go to, and complete, college), the TREND is that more, and more and more HS seniors are going to college, from all economic strata. Google it, the date is pervasive. As a matter of fact, college degrees are becoming more and more meaningless because so many people are getting them. (Also, based on the anecdotal evidence of my wife's students, the median INTELLIGENCE of college students certainly is NOT rising)!

The one fact that you can read into this article:

Families with college age kids are more wealthy than ever before. Good news.

[xrayzebra]

Anecdotal evidence. Of all my Children, all have degrees, and
all my Grandchildren, those old enough have gone to college and
obtained their degrees, all have good jobs. All have paid their own
way and have paid or paying their loans off. They were all assisted,
but by and large did it on their own. Makes me proud.

But they are not alone, many do and many can, if they so
desire.

Makes me proud of them and a country where you can go as
far as you want.

dan seems to always forget all the small businessmen here in
San Antonio that started with NOTHING but a desire and hard
work and made it and are still making it everyday. dan along
with others just needs to look around sometime and get off
the damn left wing blogs for a while.

You live in one hell of a great country with great people. We
want to build walls to keep out not keep them in. And as
far as I know you can cross over our borders out of the country
and will never be stopped by our government, unless you are
carrying large sums of money or violating the law.

[The_Worlds_finest]

If you went to college you know that in order for people to want to take a loan out you couldnt charge more then what the market can bare. Not everybody is going to be a CEO making millions and not everybody is going to be digging ditchs, did you learn about the bell curve in highschool?

[The_Worlds_finest]

i would like my money and time back for my undergrad degree. could have learned just as much or more by traveling and reading
eh you didnt read in school? :p:

[sabar]

i would like my money and time back for my undergrad degree. could have learned just as much or more by traveling and readingPretty much, if you know how to read a textbook and can afford them, you can get an undergraduate college education teaching yourself. With the advent of the Internet if you have any questions there are thousands of free answers.

You go into debt for paying thousands to have people read your textbooks to you :lol

[TDMVPDPOY]

college is where you get all the booty you can fuck and the business connections that will come in handy when you graduate......

but to a certain extent, some mofo has to give you the opportunity to show them what you got...