Friday, April 20, 2012

COLLEGE TUITION MADNESS


INSANITY 
I've often written on the blog over the last couple of years about how college costs are out of control.  You can say that costs are driven higher by excess demand as "everyone" needs to go to college now and others point their finger at the massive college loan and federal aid subsidies that put gobs of money into the hands of immature and financially illiterate youths that have never thought to examine the return on investment for $100,000 of borrowed money.  (See past writings on this subject - "SLAVERY THROUGH STUPIDITY, ENTITLEMENT, AND LIBERAL ARTS")

Clearly, college tuition costs have raced higher over the last 10 years and it is probably attributable to these ideas and even others like the expansion of stupid programs and hiring of professors and Deans to promote "Diversity" on campus.  I've howled about how colleges now emphasize more liberal arts and less hard science and math and how the "system" is not focused on teaching but providing "the college experience".

CHANGE THE FREAKIN SYSTEM!!!
I even wrote about how the Alumni Association of the University of Texas rallied against Texas Governor Rick Perry's challenge to create a 4 year degree program for students that could be completed online at a cost of no more than $10,000.  They complained that the degree conferred would rob students of the maturing they receive and the college experience.  Let me tell you, that "college experience" robbed me of 2 extra years in school and it would have been longer had I not discovered that the purpose of college is to be equipped in the skills of critical thinking and teaching valuable real world information to prepare kids for a real job.  Nothing else!

Here is a snapshot of what has happened to costs in the last 10 years courtesy of Bloomberg.



Bloomberg is trying to make the point here that out of control college costs are crowding out a person's ability to purchase a home because student loan debt makes them hesitant to buy.

Finally, I'll end with a nice chart from the WSJ - This chart highlights the highest paying college majors and also some of the lowest.



Personally, I feel pretty strongly that anyone that wants to go into Social Work should only do so by obtaining an education at a public higher education institution (not private) and only based on receiving grants and other scholarships.  This is a fine helping career, but it isn't one that cannot support a living, especially if that student takes on $125,000 in debt to finance it from a private school.  Remember these two clowns?.... -Social Workers with $240,000 in loans-.




GOATMUG

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