re: 1 in 4 Americans defaulted on their student loans, study finds

quote:

---

Well this is a new one

---

Let me know which jobs are paying decent wages for someone fresh out of school with a bachelors degree in biology.

quote:

---

Don’t take out loans for degrees that don’t pay

---

That's more a symptom of the shite institutional process than it is a teen having no clue what they need to be.

Good Lord. Many here still argue electives like Astronomy or Golf are needed. College should be a 30 month process. Period.

3 thoughts.

1) The same boomers who are making cracks about student loan / education cost inflation, are the ones who were getting Ninja and other absurd mortgages before the home bubble popped. Why was there a home bubble? Ease of getting a mortgage, and lending to people who never should have gotten one. It's going to take a housing crash type scenerio to "fix" student loans. But as long as you can't discharge student loans, we can never have that crash.

2) People want to talk about the fedgov involvement in student loan guarantees, but the problem really is the private market. Fedgov loans are $5500 first year,$6500 second year, and $7500 third year and up, with a total cap of $31,000 for an undergrad degree. (this is for a dependent undergrad student, i.e. your average kid).

Even if you have a crappy job after graduation, you should be able to handle $31,000 (plus capitalized interest) especially with an extended repayment.

The issue is the kids who borrow 10s of thousands more per year in private student loan debt. To cover the costs of much higher private schools, or to cover additional living expenses, etc.

3) The real issue, and I've said this before, is the average 18-22 year old doesn't understand what they are doing, how these loans work, the insane costs of private colleges - and no one, not parents, not teachers, not counselors, not the colleges themselves - are teaching the kids how to do with it. It's easy for us to say these kids shouldn't do this... but we aren't doing it, as a society.

quote:

---

No

If a student needs loans to complete undergrad then he shouldn’t be considering med school

---

Well this is just dumb

quote:

---

Also, tie federal loan amounts to the average projected value of the degree.

Someone getting a degree in dance shouldn’t be permitted to take out the same amount as someone getting a degree in engineering.

---

If we’re just going on projected salary, you’re in essence suggesting the dumbing down of pretty much anyone working in public service. And creating an even bigger shortage if they still want specific training to acquire said job.

If we’re going to tie federal loans to the value of the job you’re receiving post grad, then we need to take a long, hard look at what we’re paying those people to begin with. And address wage stagnation.

quote:

---

let the banks actually do their job and make smart loans

---

Which would end over 90% of student lending.

How many 18 year olds have:
1 year at current residence (university address)
1 year on Full Time job
3 Credit references over 1 year old

These are 3 very basic criteria for minimal lending. Then there's the whole debt ratio, collateral, stuff.

Perhaps, then, 18 year olds shouldn't be getting loans in the tens of thousands of dollars. Perhaps continuing education right after high school is not the wisest action we can take for making a skilled, competent workforce.

quote:

---

Link?

---

LINK

quote:

---

tie federal loan amounts to the average projected value of the degree.

---

a smarter option is to tie federal loan amounts to the cost of the degree

quote:

---

Someone getting a degree in dance shouldn’t be permitted to take out the same amount as someone getting a degree in engineering.

---

they wouldn't have to if the loan was pinned to the cost to offer said degree. the arts, social sciences, and humanities are super cheap degrees to offer. the costliest degrees are the STEM fields, which require labs, equipment, etc.