A Sea Of Red

I don't believe college gives a good ROI anymore. From my firsthand observations, it seems it puts more stress on graduates to repay the loans than it provides benefits. I think colleges and universities need to figure out how to reduce costs instead of raising them constantly, and students need to force this by refusing to pay a fortune. I tell all the kids that work for me to go to community college to knock out their basic courses and try to decide what they want to do with their lives before committing to college. If they can save 20-30k by going to community college for a few semesters that can have a huge impact on the next 10 years of their lives.

Life is too short to put yourself under a huge financial burden for 10-20 years with hopes of a potential benefit after it is paid off.

JDUB wrote:I don't believe college gives a good ROI anymore. From my firsthand observations, it seems it puts more stress on graduates to repay the loans than it provides benefits. I think colleges and universities need to figure out how to reduce costs instead of raising them constantly, and students need to force this by refusing to pay a fortune. I tell all the kids that work for me to go to community college to knock out their basic courses and try to decide what they want to do with their lives before committing to college. If they can save 20-30k by going to community college for a few semesters that can have a huge impact on the next 10 years of their lives.

Life is too short to put yourself under a huge financial burden for 10-20 years with hopes of a potential benefit after it is paid off.

Right on.

I've had the majority of my M.Div paid for through grants but unfortunately for me that well has officially dried up. I can't afford to pay out of pocket due to the amount I'm paying towards my student loans (which after 5 years of being out of undergrad, I still owe approx. $11k).

Any student in our ministry who comes asking for college advice, I always try and steer them towards community college until they have an idea on what they are looking to major in.

My advice: Don't get a masters degree unless its free or if you have work experience. For 5 months I kept hearing "Overqualified," or "Not enough experience." I also agree about community college, especially if one desires to go into a field of study that requires more technical training.

TDDance234 wrote: I still owe approx. $11k

I've been out 6 years and owe a TON more than that. Consider yourself blessed.

ATrain wrote:My advice: Don't get a masters degree unless its free or if you have work experience. For 5 months I kept hearing "Overqualified," or "Not enough experience."

I was the same way until this past year. I've now got 6 years of experience, my MBA, and a professional certification. I can land an interview any time I want.

JDUB wrote:I tell all the kids that work for me to go to community college to knock out their basic courses and try to decide what they want to do with their lives before committing to college.

This.

It's what I did. It's what my sister did & she was valedictorian of her class. I would hate to owe more than I already do.

Same here. as wonderful an experience as Ive had around here, I would not want anyone to go through what I did.

Here's an even better idea, get your general ed done for college credit while in high school. That way you combine the two necessities into one. My kids should have their general ed complete before they graduate high school barring a shocking turn of events. And they'll do it at ridiculously inexpensive community college rates. (Shout-out to Lone Star College)

I want to save enough money so my kids can go to a four year college and get that experience. I know too many kids that go to community college and drop out.

I am not sure if it was being out of the house, or being enrolled at Liberty, but those two years were important in my life. Financially I wish it were cheaper.

R i wrote:I want to save enough money so my kids can go to a four year college and get that experience.

They can go to community, transfer & still turn it into a four+ year experience. There are some on this very board that have done so.

blwall1416 wrote:

R i wrote:I want to save enough money so my kids can go to a four year college and get that experience.

They can go to community, transfer & still turn it into a four+ year experience. There are some on this very board that have done so.

I think what Ri is saying, is kids that go straight to a community college are more likely to drop out before ever stepping foot on a 4 year college's campus than those kids who go straight to a 4 year college.

jcmanson wrote:I think what Ri is saying, is kids that go straight to a community college are more likely to drop out before ever stepping foot on a 4 year college's campus than those kids who go straight to a 4 year college.

I was commenting more about cramming 4 years of college into 6.

The problem with your theory BWall, Is that if a kid goes to community school they might actually figure out what they want to study, and not waist a few years in the wrong program. So unfortunately they would complete college in the 4 year time frame.


Satire of course.

R i wrote:I want to save enough money so my kids can go to a four year college and get that experience. I know too many kids that go to community college and drop out.

I am not sure if it was being out of the house, or being enrolled at Liberty, but those two years were important in my life. Financially I wish it were cheaper.

I've said it before on here but I love the way my brother and sister did college. They moved away and went to community college for two years. Their school was pretty much paid for with scholarships and they were able to live away from home. Cheap school + freedom of being away from home + no loans. That's the way to go.

Great Idea.

Did they move close to a college they wanted to attend?

R i wrote:Great Idea.

Did they move close to a college they wanted to attend?

Yup. Both moved to Wilmington. The community college in Wilmington has a program that if you finish your associate's degree with ____ GPA then you're automatically accepted into UNCW. UNCW also had academic advisors at the community college to help make the transition academically.

You probably just saved me 30 grande per kid. I dont have kids yet but if I do.. I will send you your cut.

Appreciate it. Maybe it'll help with my $50k+ in loans.

I've been telling students, in both youth and college/career ministry, to go the community college route for years unless they really know what they want to do and have scholarships/grant money lined up.

Here in the DC burbs there's a program set up where you can do your first two years at NVCC and then get full credit transfer, and automatic acceptance if your GPA is high enough, at George Mason. Thankfully Mason is helping lead the way for 4 year institutions in that area and it looks like American, Catholic and UDC are going to quickly follow suit. Places like GW and Georgetown aren't doing that, but that's largely due to them being fairly elite academically and only taking the cream of the crop anyways.