Are you paying for your college education?

[TheMonarch]

and just for good measure

How in god's name did it gety that high, My Chemical engineering degree cost
about $21K in australian dollars and thats staying one yr too long.

My friend is going to owe 80-100K US when he gets out. He isn't living at home either. Education can get expensive.

 

[iSaint]

Those of you who will owe money upon graduation...what's your degree in? There are fields you can go into that will sometimes pay your student loans, or part of them at least. Teaching, for one! A military commitment, I believe, would help pay some loans - and think of the experience you would gain. Co-Op is a great idea, too. I'm sure there are other opps, but this is just to get you thinking.

BTW I don't think my parents want to pay for their 42 yr old's Masters degree, though they might if they could!

 

[angelneo]

I am still servicing my loan, it was about 16K previously (My fees had been subsidised heavily by my government so I guess I was lucky). I took up freelance jobs to pay for my day to day expenses. Now, I am down to 8k... a year more and I am debt-free...

 

[Chundles]

Those of you who will owe money upon graduation...what's your degree in? There are fields you can go into that will sometimes pay your student loans, or part of them at least. Teaching, for one! A military commitment, I believe, would help pay some loans - and think of the experience you would gain. Co-Op is a great idea, too. I'm sure there are other opps, but this is just to get you thinking.

BTW I don't think my parents want to pay for their 42 yr old's Masters degree, though they might if they could!

Ours aren't loans, The government pays a certain percentage of out course fees and we have to pay the rest, although they let us defer these payments that will eventually come out of our tax bills when we start earning over a certain amount per year.

It's still a hell of a lot less than what the Americans pay and the current fear here is that with the new federal education policy which allows universities to both increase HECS (Higher Education Contribution Scheme) payments and increase the number of full-fee paying students (students who have chosen to pay the full fee asked by the uni pay about AUD$15,000 a year and upwards and who then get a guaranteed place at a lower required mark) will make the cost of a degree closer to the US system.

Currently, our system operates (at least in NSW) like this:

During year 12, students undertake a number of subjects of their choosing (the only compulsory subject being English) that can either count towards a uni mark or not. These subjects are rated according to the Board of Studies and after taking into account assessment marks and trial examinations (50%) and the final exams (50% - known as the Higher School Certificate or the dreaded HSC) they do a little magic and come up with a mark that is representative of your position compared with the other 65,000 other students in the state.

So when the marks are finally up on the net (or even text messaged to us now :O) we get two sets of marks, our actual subject marks which are useful to people not going on to uni and require more specific marks for their chosen field and the big one, the UAI (Universities Admissions Index) which is basically your rank in the state. For example, I got a UAI of 96 which means that my marks in the subjects I chose were good enough to place me in the the top 4% of the state. It was a very good mark but not enough to get into say, medicine or any sort of major degree at Sydney Uni. Yes, we can go into medicine and law straight out of highschool but they are rolled into a double degree.

During the examination period we all select our university and course preferences, this is done online - at no stage do we have to do write or perform any tasks to be accepted at uni. When the marks come out, the Unis start looking at who has applied for what course and they fill them from the top mark down. Once the places are full they list the lowest mark accepted as a "cut-off" although it really just shows a course's popularity. So for medicine at Sydney, the cut-off is often listed at around 99.7 whilst the cut-off for my course is always set at 90 no matter how many students apply. Other degrees and unis can have higher or lower listed cut offs. These places we apply for are most often covered by HECS although it is possible to apply for the full fee positions in which case you can slip into a course with a higher cut off than your mark in exchange for paying through the nose. The maximum number of these full fee paying positions is I think set at about 10% or something reasonably low - the government wants to increase that to 50% meaning that suddenly a lot of students who have the marks to get into the course can't go to uni because their places were taken by fee paying students, turning our unis into a playground for the wealthy.

 

[SharksFan22]

I was very, very lucky. My parents paid for my college education and unfortuantely, at the time, I didn't appreciate the sacrifices they made. I held down a silly job, partied WAY too much, and generally (in hindsight) probably took advantage of them. The positive is that I've become an adult I've really learned to appreciate what they did and will do whatever it takes for my kid(s) to have the same opportunity.

I too admire anyone that puts themselves through college. It's a noble action.

 

[Abstract]

Now I'm in a Grad program where they pay me to go to school
In fact, they gave me this handy office for me to surf MR, too

Dood, me too! So strange, isn't it?

Of course, since I'm an international student, the Uni isn't paying me as I'm not smart enough (I already had very very close to an A+ average (or an HD in Australia)..... ) However, I got a nice scholarship from an external source, so all is well in the land of Absy.

Yup. I paid for all of mine, I say "Paid" cause I'm pretty sure I just had my last exam about an hour ago. Have had a few quiet ales but have to clean my pigsty to make way for the family tomorrow.

WOOHOO!!!

What area do you live in?

 

[Abstract]

I owe $190K in student loans. Thanks for reminding me.

Maybe he's talking about Canadian dollars.

*ZING!!*

 

[0098386]

yes but this is england, I'll be £5000 into debt when I finish my course but that'll get paid off in a year. Dont like debt at all.

My parents pay half of my student fee's for me. which is nice. and they pay for my food and everything so the only thing my loan goes on is the occasional game or £780 digital camera

 

[~Shard~]

What Uni? Was it Waterloo or something? They have such a great Co-op program in so many programs at their Uni. Quite weird.

University of Regina actually. Them and Waterloo, as you mentioned, were consistently ranked as having the best Co-op programs in the country. Yes, excellent program, I owe a lot to it.

Anyway, I'm lucky that my parents paid for almost all of my tuition and living costs. They did plan ahead quite well, so it's not like they got hit by shock when I was about to go to Uni. I think they had enough to pay for 3 years of Uni with no trouble, and then ran out of that university fund they had set up, and then paid for most of my 4th year out of their pocket.

That's great Abstract, consider yourself very lucky. I hope to do the same for my children in the future as well, or at least be in a position to. I will definitely make them appreciate working and earning money and paying for their own way as well, and the resulting responsibility and value in that, (so I'm not going to make it too easy on them ), but I will always be there to support them however they may need me to.

 

[eva01]

i pay for college all by myself and computers and toys etc. etc.

i am not in debt i just have too much money

 

[scem0]

A good portion of my tuition is covered by scholarships, but my school is insanely expensive , so my parents are covering the rest, but they are expecting to be paid back... within the next 50 years. I hope that'll be possible .

_Emerson

 

[Abstract]

That's great Abstract, consider yourself very lucky. .......I will definitely make them appreciate working and earning money and paying for their own way as well, and the resulting responsibility and value in that, (so I'm not going to make it too easy on them ).....

For me and my mum and step-dad, money has always been a non-issue. Its not that my mum and dad were rich (I had a bad childhood and dead-beat, abusive dad, and we were pretty bad financially for the first 16-17 years of my life, I would say), but I think it's because they were chinese. An education was a "need," and my mum sacrificed sooooo much to make sure I had what I needed to do well.

I don't keep track of $$$ with my mum, and my mum doesn't with me. She doesn't "owe" me a dime, even if I was 19 and used my own credit card to buy a $300 digital camera for her online. When I look at my bank account, I don't even KNOW what money is mine, and what money is hers. We guesstimate how much I need whenever my money runs low, and my mum puts money into my account.

Again, we don't keep track of money, so who cares where that money came from? All the money I earn, my $25000 per year scholarship, gift money, my parents contribution all goes into the one account.

Eg: For my entire life, my grandfather has always given me $1000 every Chinese New Years, and people expect me to spend some of it. I never do. I don't buy something JUST because I just got $1000 as a gift. If I "need" something, I buy it. If I need to spend it on school, I spend that money on school. If I "want" something, I'll use my judgement to see if it's worth it.

I'm 25 and have also had around 8-10 jobs in my life, some of them very difficult. It was NOT always this easy.

 

[freeny]

Oh man! Am I paying for it! And will continue to pay for it........

 

[zach]

I'm currently a high school junior, but I'm always thinking about it...

At the moment, my grandmother pays for me to go to a 20k a year private school, but my parents have made it quite clear to me that they would not be doing the same, and that they will not be paying any major part of my college costs.

Of course, it's all hopefully a moot point, because I am going to do the best I can to get into the Olin School (for those of you who don't know of it, it's a small engineering school in Massachusetts that the entire tuition, 30k a year, is paid for by a scholarship for every student. Of course, as every class is 75 people at maximum, there aren't that many students.) It still costs 10k a year in room and board, but with money I already have saved up and plan to earn, I assume I can handle most of that for the 4 years on my own without loans, and I can take out a small student loan to cover the rest.

That's my ideal situation, let's see how it turns out :X

 

[devilot]

My parents are paying for my college education. I usually work but haven't this summer and this year.

I can't even qualify for a lot of scholarships/financial aid because of our household income bracket and I suppose I'm not gifted enough to qualify for the big cash cow merit-based scholarships.

 

[yippy]

Some of it

My parents saved up about $8000 plus some bought some pre-paid tuition while I was growing up. So they are giving me that much for college but anything after that is completely up to me to fund. Luckily, with a few scholarships and a job I think I will be able to graduate with less than $20,000 in debt. Pretty good since that is only one years tuition and housing.

 

[~Shard~]

<snip>

Thanks for the insight Abstract, I enjoyed reading that and learning more about your situation and views when it comes to money.

I'm the same way - I don't buy something just because I've been given money - I buy something when I need it. And in many respects I don't need to worry about money either (at the end of the day, how much does one person realy need to live comfortably?), but that being said, I'm very careful and smart with my money as well.

Thanks again.

 

[mcarnes]

and just for good measure

How in god's name did it gety that high, My Chemical engineering degree cost
about $21K in australian dollars and thats staying one yr too long.

$50K for undergrad (got a few bachelor degrees -- couldn't make up my damn mind). $130K for medical school (finally made up my damn mind). $10K in interest and counting fast. But starting to pay off now at about $1200 per month.

On top of that I told my ex-wife I'd pay off her $30K student loan as a measure of good faith. Now we hate each other but I intend to keep my word.

 

[w_parietti22]

1.5 years

 

[~Shard~]

On top of that I told my ex-wife I'd pay off her $30K student loan as a measure of good faith. Now we hate each other but I intend to keep my word.

That's very noble of you - I respect that. It must be hard for you, but it's tough to find a person who will stick to his word these days and be responsible, it seems... I say good for you for standing by your promise, even though circumstances have changed.

 

[MacCoaster]

I'm lucky enough to live in a family in which the mother earns a respectable income. She is paying for both my brother's and my college expenses--even my off campus apartment in which I live right now in Rochester. Not to mention my tuition is higher than my brother's because I go to a private school (fortunately, I get about 1/2 the regular tuition rate through the federally funded National Technical Institute for the Deaf; if it were full, it'd be impossible for me to go without student loans).

On top of that, we have a security for one year which I got from inheritance from one of my relatives, particularly because I am deaf. My family knew that being deaf was no barrier for me and wanted me to succeed.

I don't know how lucky I am. I have friends who have to struggle with student loans and all that. I have a hard time imagining how I would repay my mom--only way I can think of is to succed in life as a good person.

Some of my (deaf) friends got full rides by means of VR (vocational rehabiliation) and I'm happy for them. It'd be next to impossible, if not impossible for them to get the education they need. It is statistically proven that deaf people on average are the poorest minority in the United States.

Back to studying... I'm making every dollar spent worth its use.

 

[joepunk]

My college money comes from the life insurance and the stock money from two family members who died. So, basically my father puts a few thousand in the bank for me to pay for each quarter of school. I had a job that helped pay for the PB and any other small accessories for now. I try to live a simple, non-consumption life as much as possible.

 

[Music_Producer]

No wonder so many Americans don't have a degree..

Its sad that education is so expensive here (well everything is!) I can't fathom the fact that you have to pay through your nose for it. I graduated from med school in Bombay, India..and we had to pay $200/year.. thats $1000 for 5 years of medical school. I wonder how much it costs out here..probably hundreds of thousands.

No wonder all the doctors you see around everywhere are Indian..

I find the whole system so messed up.. from insurance.. to education..just bloody money hungry institutions. No wonder people work 2-3 jobs just to support their basic lifestyles.

 

[Demon Hunter]

Its sad that education is so expensive here (well everything is!) I can't fathom the fact that you have to pay through your nose for it. I graduated from med school in Bombay, India..and we had to pay $200/year.. thats $1000 for 5 years of medical school. I wonder how much it costs out here..probably hundreds of thousands.

No wonder all the doctors you see around everywhere are Indian..

I find the whole system so messed up.. from insurance.. to education..just bloody money hungry institutions. No wonder people work 2-3 jobs just to support their basic lifestyles.

Wow... now that's something. Is it a good medical school?

Ours aren't loans, The government pays a certain percentage of out course fees and we have to pay the rest, although they let us defer these payments that will eventually come out of our tax bills when we start earning over a certain amount per year.

That sounds like a dream compared to the nightmare of loans, grants and subsidies here in the States. I can see why you're concerned about the full-fee students though.

I can't even qualify for a lot of scholarships/financial aid because of our household income bracket and I suppose I'm not gifted enough to qualify for the big cash cow merit-based scholarships.

Me too. Even with a 3.8 GPA I get absolutely nothing. There are just thousands of others who "need" it more than me, so my loans are private. I should be able to qualify this year though, since my dad's income was cut in half.

 

[yg17]

I'll have debt coming out my ass when I graduate in 2008. I'm guesstimating around $80,000. ouch. But I think I have like 15 years to repay it, but obviously the sooner the better. I pay for all of my living expenses, and my parents pay my car and insurance.

We don't qualify for any aid either which blows. The government figures my parents make enough money to put me through college, but they don't take into account I have a sister in college and a brother in high school, living at home which also costs money.