I've been hearing people complain recently about the cost of a higher education and that many students are going into quite a bit of debt in order to pay for their schooling. Never mind that there are places (Tennessee and Georgia, for example) where all in-state students receive free tuition at state schools, provided they maintain a certain GPA. In Tennessee, I believe the required level is 3.0 (that's a B). There are also prestigious universities (Stanford and Harvard, for example) that are using their massive endowments to ensure that students whose parents make less than a certain amount ($150k, I think) will leave school debt free.
That being said, the majority of students probably must still rely on some sort of financial aid. For those people fortunate enough to have their parents pay for everything, well that's nice. For everyone who is relying on student loans, it's not as bad as you think. Yours truly has attended 9 years of school, the first 6 of which relied almost exclusively on loans. I have had little to no help from the parents and inconsequential amounts of scholarships (until these last 3 years). As a result, I'm looking at about $70,000 in debt. Whoa is me. Whooooooaaaa is me!
Whatever. Consolidate that debt at a low rate and pay it off over 30 years. 30 years? Wait a second. That's like a house payment, except with a lower interest rate. People think of houses not only as places to live, but also as an investment. It's one of the few things you purchase that will usually increase in value over the years. Most people realize that. What most people fail to realize is that an education will as well.
Your house will make you money when you move out of it...and then you spend money on a new house. In the mean time you get to pay for your house and also pay taxes on it. Sign me up. Oh, and if someone could explain to me why you have to pay taxes on your home every year I'd appreciate it. I'm not paying taxes on the value of my car every year. Why should I have to pay every year for owning a home? If Ron Paul was President this probably wouldn't be happening. Hmmm, maybe we can get him to run as an Independent... Sorry, got sidetracked.
Your education is better than a house. Yes, your education will make you money as soon as you complete it. It will continue to make you money for as long as you're employed. $70,000 in school debt, at 4% interest, paid off over 30 years is about $335/month. 5% will put you at $375/month. People will spend that much a month on a car note. They'll spend $100 a month for cable (gotta have HBO). Eating out isn't cheap. Neither are cell phones, especially if you like to text. None of these things pay you back. People don't really complain about the cost of them either.
I'm guessing that most people don't have $70,000 in debt. Those that do have probably gone to graduate school (e.g., Rowrbazzle), medical school (e.g., Señor Entropy) or law school (e.g., uh, lawyers). Those folks are expecting to make more money than their friends with Bachelors degrees so their added debt will be offset. Of course there are some people who just went to some crazy-expensive private school and therefore have a lot of debt. Yeah, that probably wasn't worth it. Unless you're talking Ivy League, you're probably not going to get a better job than someone who did equally well at a state school. That's just my opinion, though.
Another option would of course be Military service. But, but, I don't wanna fight in a war, you say. Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time between now and when you're put on active duty so you probably won't have to. And even if you are called up you can just get religion to get out of it. Once that happens you won't have to go to war. Yeah, you might have to pay back that money, but I'd say it's a risk worth taking. You were going to have to pay it back anyway if you hadn't joined up.
The moral of this story is, of course, quit complaining. School is worth it. Also, U.S. tax laws are stupid. And Ron Paul is the voice of the people, but he'll never be elected because he's probably crazy. And appellate court judges are completely gullible.
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