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Guest hardyz1

Student loans are for suckers

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Guest hardyz1

From Fark today: Studnet Loans Are For Suckers

 

I especially found this quote interesting:

 

College tuition is free or nominal in most industrialized, and many Third World, countries. The United States' insistence that students assume huge debts to pay for their college education is unusual enough that the Chinese government included it in its 2001 report of American human rights violations.

 

That is intriguing, although it is China talking about human rights violations. :lol:

 

I am in college now, and when I'm done I'll owe about $6,000 in loans. As long as I can get a decent job, I'm not worried.

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Guest kkktookmybabyaway

Jesse Ventura said it best: "If you're smart enough to get into college, you're smart enough to figure a way to pay it off."

 

I have no sympathy for people that go to a university, piss away their educational opportunities and then whine about their debt...

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Guest Tyler McClelland

Why should we have to when citizens of foriegn countries get free schooling on the same level as ours?

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Guest Ace309

No cite for this, but aren't most foreign higher education programs highly regulated (ie, much stricter with regard to admissions and standards) and funded with much higher taxes?

 

Sounds to me like it comes out in the wash.

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Guest Tyler McClelland

Probably.

 

With regards to admission, I'll use my history teacher, formerly a German citizen, as a source when I say that only the top students do get into college. However, still using him as a source, the schools have much higher standards and give a more quality education in the long run.

 

In regard to the taxes, we could likely afford to charge DICK for colleges if we had a little more fiscal responsibility. Of course, that's a moot point since every president to date, Republican, Democrat, Whig, whatever... has engaged in pork barrelling and needless overspending.

 

That isn't gonna change anytime soon.

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Guest kkktookmybabyaway

I was always told that the best and brightest work at Academia -- you would think that they would have a few people there that could balance the books.

 

BTW: I LOVE how universities are now (not like they haven't in the past) whining about not getting enough state funds, and that if they don't get what they want they will be "forced" to raise tuition -- it's not like they never did before.

 

Still even more little piglets needing to be slaughtered...

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Guest MaxPower27

I'm going to a community college and getting Pell Grants. I :wub: Free Money.

 

I applied for student loans, just to help me with some of the costs, and to get a new car.

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Guest Ace309

Just ftr, I'm paying out-of-pocket for my undergrad education. After my scholarship money comes out, I end up paying around $1200 per semester.

 

I'm definitely going the loan route for law or grad school.

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Guest kkktookmybabyaway

I went to a community college for two years, transferred with all my credits intact, and finished with another school that I will eternally hate. Saved $16,000 going that route...

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Guest loris_baby

Hey, I actually WORK for a student loan servicing company, as well as having one myself, so I'm VERY familiar with the way they work. And let me tell you, when I have kids, I hope I hit the littery or they plan on working their way through school, cause there is no WAY I'M co-signing a loan for them. Too many ways to screw it up, and the gov't DOESN'T mess around when it comes to student loans...

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Guest kkktookmybabyaway

Speaking of which, I need to send in this month's payment -- which SLSC do you work for loris -- my loan's been sold so many times I've given up keeping track...

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Guest loris_baby

I work for Suntech. Who services your loans right now? And yeah, I know what you mean about htem being sold a lot. Happens fairly often that a big block of loans will just get transferred or sold.

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Guest kkktookmybabyaway

I think Bank One -- either that or they were the last place before getting sold again. I can't remember.

 

As long as I don't have to change the name on the check, I'm happy...

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Guest hardyz1

Thankfully I'm poor, so I get Pell and state grants, and I don't have to pay anything out of pocket except for books.

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Guest Ace309

Yeah, I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that one of the schools I apply to is going to offer me a funded TA position or something.

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When I went to college in 1998, I went to Rensseleaer Polytechnic Institute in Upstate NY. The tuition: $32,000 a year.

 

I had a full ride for the first year, but then my grades slipped and I had to take out some loans. I left school in 2000 because I was very unhappy with the thoughts of transferring to another school in the city.

 

This is where things get messed up. I couldn't find a job for 4 months and when I did, I didn't save my money. Constantly going out with my girlfriend and spending money like water definitely hurt. 9/11 came and took my job away and then a few months later, I was expected to start paying back my loans.

 

At this point, I was unemployed and just couldn't do it. All of 2002, I couldn't pay and I've accumulated too much interest and late fees. Thankfully, I now have a job.

 

I was able to defer my loans based on the fact that I was unemployed and I'm going to consolidate all of them, so in total, I owe about 18,000.

 

Sad part is, I actually owe RPI itself $3,000 and they are holding my transcript hostage, so I haven't gone back to school yet.

 

So yeah....student loans blow.

 

Dames

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Guest evenflowDDT

I got this e-mail recently, regarding Pell Grants and tuition increases..

 

Dear Student:

 

As you may know, the UC Regents have increased mandatory fees for all students by $135 (full-time status).  This notification is to advise you that your Cal Grant has been increased by $135 to offset the fee increase.  Both the fee and grant increases will be reflected on your March bill.

 

Note:  Not all students are eligible for increased grant funding.  Eligible

students will be notified by email (or letter if no email address is provided).

 

Sincerely,

 

Financial Aid Office Staff

 

I haven't been e-mailed back yet :(

 

Student loans man... I swear to God, man. And the UC Regents are voting on whether or not they want to increase tuition on top of this increase? I wish I was poor so I could get financial aide, or rich so I could actually afford to go to college.

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Guest bob_barron

Do what I did.

 

Go to school in Canada- tuition is very cheap since the Canadian dollar sucks

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Guest hardyz1

Hey kkk, some fun Penn State news: Rendell just cut funding to all state universities. Now, last year with normal funding, they increased tuition by 13%. I wonder how much it'll go up this time.

 

Nittany Asshats

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Guest evenflowDDT
Academia ALWAYS increases tuition -- don't seem so shocked...

Oh, I know... I'm just pissed because I can barely afford it as is, and since I'm that dying breed of Art/Humanities-department major, I won't make enough after college to pay off any loans for many many years.

 

I really wouldn't mind so much except all the increased tuition is so that more money can go into the science departments (that, and Gray Davis cut a few hundred million dollars worth of state funding). Fuck that. Every other school in the UC system is a "science" school, and my campus is losing what made it so unique, bit by bit, more and more everyday. It's the little things that are getting me mad because I know it'll add up to the whole and come crashing down sooner or later. I'm only looking out for my own interests here :P

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Guest kkktookmybabyaway

"Oh, I know... I'm just pissed because I can barely afford it as is, and since I'm that dying breed of Art/Humanities-department major, I won't make enough after college to pay off any loans for many many years."

 

Well, you better get a job now, hippie. If it makes you feel any better my employment opprtunities downright suck, and I've been out of college for 4 years now.

 

"Hey kkk, some fun Penn State news: Rendell just cut funding to all state universities. Now, last year with normal funding, they increased tuition by 13%. I wonder how much it'll go up this time."

 

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

 

And he's a DEMOCRAT, who all those people in Academia land probably voted for.

 

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

 

Hardyz, if you come across any juicy Daily Collegian/CDT stories of student protests, etc. over this don't be shy to let me know about it. And how deep is the cut, or is it a smaller increase in spending that Democrats famously call a cut (aka school lunch program)?

 

13%?!?! Damn, and they just completed some multi-multi-multi-million dollar renovation to that stadium.

 

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

 

Oh how will PSU ever pay for Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender day now? Oh the humanity...

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Guest Hogan Made Wrestling

I go to a Canadian university and have never taken out a cent in student loans. I covered my first year on scholarships, and since then I have been able to pay for everything on summer jobs and some light work during the school year (tutoring, marking and TAing classes). This summer I am doing NSERC research with one of the professors, which will easily cover my final year of school. On the other hand, if I want to go to grad school in the USA (a strong posibility) I will need to get a fellowship or TAship which will cover the tuition in full and pay a $15000 salary to live on. I can probably get an additional $10000 on top of that from the Canadian government.

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Guest bob_barron

Even though I'm an international student tuition is still dirt cheap compared to American schools and I'm also getting a good education

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Guest hardyz1
Hardyz, if you come across any juicy Daily Collegian/CDT stories of student protests, etc. over this don't be shy to let me know about it. And how deep is the cut, or is it a smaller increase in spending that Democrats famously call a cut (aka school lunch program)?

Well, I don't read the Collegian, but I'll be on the lookout.

 

And the cut is only 1% each for all state universities. I'm not sure on the exact dollar amount that would be...a quick check of Centredaily.com reveals it to be $3.2 million. And apparently there was another $3.2 million cut in December.

 

Ha.

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Guest teke184

For anyone considering cheap colleges IN the US, try looking at certain colleges in the South, especially if you can get an out-of-state tuition waiver.

 

For an example, I went to Southern Miss in Hattiesburg, MS for about $4500 in tuition a year because I got the $1500 per semester out-of-state charge waived. I was able to get that because I had high test scores when I applied and, once I got there, I worked my ass off to keep the 3.0 I needed to continue the scholarship. (I ended up getting a 3.6 and graduating with honors, which I'm adding in just to toot my own horn. :P)

 

Another way to get a deal is to find a major that can get you an OOS tuition waiver via the Academic Common Market. The ACM is a program by which you can get the in-state tuition rates to go to an out-of-state college if no college in your state offers your chosen major. A warning: This isn't going to work for you if you live in a state like California, New York, or Massachussets with a ton of colleges and universities.

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Guest Sandman9000

If you need money, just do what I do: rob the gas station across the street from my dorm.

 

As for legal ways to pay off my student loans, I don't know. Especially since I'm getting a worthless diploma to go into an already overcrowded field where only the top 2% ever succeed, and only the top .005% make over six digits a year.

 

 

You know what, I'm just going to shoot myself in the face now and save the trouble.

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