NYT: Degrees of Debt

I agree. I know it may sound contradicting, because I've said "buyer beware" comments in the past- but the bottom line is that people simply don't know. They really don't know what they don't know, and I'd even go so far as to say MOST people will follow the advice of an admissions/advising person at the college or even a high school guidance counselor. They all have the same party line. The problem, is that people don't see the bias, and they don't know that there are LEGITIMATE work-arounds for much of the high cost, and frankly, they are simply following the mainstream. I have educated friends who don't understand the ins and outs of colleges (how they work, accreditation, transfer, tuition, etc) heck, I WORK with people AT a college who don't know. I didn't know. I was 15 years in (4 years dept chair!) with student ADVISING experience, and I didn't understand what I understand today. So, yes, buyer beware, but I'll cut some slack to the kid getting a credential right out of high school because the guidance is simply absent. When you get the 40 year old grad student racking up 70K......that's something else.

 

Very cool, cookderosa.

The only one thing I take issue with is the last sentence. I've racked up some college debt of late (some would say a lot of debt). That USC education of mine, as someone pointed out earlier about USC, didn't come cheap. That said, in the field of technology in which I work, and possibly at many Fortune 500s and certainly at many financial firms, employers often care about the pedigree of one's college. Google and Microsoft are two companies that are notorious for taking into consideration the pedigree of a candidate's alma mater. I've had one recruiter tell me that she phoned me about a position because of the colleges listed on my CV.

I know we're not talking about Ivies here, but here is a recent article that speaks to the point on whether, say, a 40 yr. should consider racking up $70K in student loan debt: Are Ivy League diplomas still worth the price of admission? - USATODAY.com. One notable quote: "But Ivy League grads should be more than able to recover those costs when they enter the working world, according to statistics." Although we're not talking about Ivies in this case, I think if one is making a well-informed and well-researched decision to rack up student loan debt in full and reasonable expectation of job opportunities that will provide significant increase in salary in the near term, then I don't think it's a silly risk to take.

 

That's somewhat of a gamble though. It worked out for you but can we say that it would work out the same way for everyone/most?

 

This guy is probably the poster child for the 40+ group :arms:

 

Another thing that comes into the equation is that most of these students have no idea of how to reduce their costs while attending a private school. As an academic advisor, one of the 1st things I discuss with my students is my University's CLEP policy. I encourage students to CLEP requirements, cutting time & money from the degree.

 

Very cool story!

 

I have heard of faculty receiving free classes but never staff of this nature. Impressive.

 

But? No butts. You knew exactly what I meant. Someone (else) can run the demographics on a typical DL for-profit grad student.

 

I only have anecdotal evidence in my field (technology; specifically, my counterparts at Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Starbucks IT/dev, Apple as well as at smaller tech companies) to fall back on, unfortunately, but my observations point to evidence that seems to indicate that even folks in mid-career (age 40s-ish) who get a DL degree from a for-profit fare pretty well compensation-wise over the long haul. Yes, there are caveats here: Namely, a) they already have experience in their field, are, in many cases, b) getting graduate degrees rather than undergraduate degrees at for-profits and, c) as a result of "b", already have undergrad degrees from public or better known private B&Ms. So, yeah, I do realize there are "if/then/elses" in my particular experience. My only point was that the blanket statement about it not being a smart move for a 40ish year old to get a for-profit degree and incur significant debt in the process doesn't hold true in the cases I have exposure to. Granted, my exposure is a very small world filled with experienced folks with in-demand tech nerd skills that augment their for-profit DL degree but still, it counts as a viable example of when getting a for-profit DL degree in mid-career (even at significant expense) can work for folks. :smile:


On a different but related note, this is the group of folks I think for-profit DL degrees work best for: experienced professionals. I have a friend who is under 30 who has an MBA from a for-profit but no solid business experience to go with it. Needless to say, said friend is now heavily in debt with nothing to show for it in the way of career advancement or pay increase, but plenty to show for it in the way of struggling to make ends meet. A real-life example of an entry level salary trying to cover living expenses and a six-figure loan debt. Ouch! Shame on the for-profit for taking in someone who couldn't yet benefit from the MBA and shame on my friend for not doing more research and career planning before embarking on the for-profit grad degree path.

 

Hmmm. . . yes, largely true, but still a pretty mean generalization. You CAN go places with a degree in English-- if you're savvy enough to make it work. There are lots of jobs that state "Bachelor's Degree" and do not say in what-- you might be able to squeeze in someplace. If nothing else, the Bachelor's is out of the way so you can get on to a more useful Master's.

Agreed. . . wholeheartedly. These folks will be scrutinized less than their young-pup counterparts over where they got the degree to begin with.