Baby boomers - Northwestern U is now 70k / year...what do you have to say for yourselves?

Supply and demand, twinkletoes. Move to Russia or Syria if you don't like it.

Maybe helicopter mom and dad can arrange a special education for you.

I think what bothers me the most (and what's clearly evident in this thread) is that boomers don't really seem to be interested or concerned with equity and fairness. They have a very selfish, darwinian attitude towards life (eff you, I got mine) and tough luck if things suck for you. It's really sad because their generation was the first one who could have a positive change

Billy Fap wrote:

Supply and demand, twinkletoes. Move to Russia or Syria if you don't like it.

Maybe helicopter mom and dad can arrange a special education for you.

I find comfort in the fact that you will be dead soon

I'm not a boomer... nor did I take out loans I could not afford. By 18 years old you should have a sense of what you can afford (or your parents should). If you agree to a loan you shouldn't agree to just to go to a certain school that's on you

alwayss be closing wrote:

I think what bothers me the most (and what's clearly evident in this thread) is that boomers don't really seem to be interested or concerned with equity and fairness. They have a very selfish, darwinian attitude towards life (eff you, I got mine) and tough luck if things suck for you. It's really sad because their generation was the first one who could have a positive change

I bet a lot of people on this thread are not boomers. Myself, I graduated college in 2005 and think you need to suck it up.

This fairness and equality between what other generations paid that you seek is a fairy tail. Please enlighten us on what you think these boomers should have done. Keep in mind that college enrollment from the 1970s was around 8.5 million and is now at about 31 million.

alwayss be closing wrote:

I think what bothers me the most (and what's clearly evident in this thread) is that boomers don't really seem to be interested or concerned with equity and fairness. They have a very selfish, darwinian attitude towards life (eff you, I got mine) and tough luck if things suck for you. It's really sad because their generation was the first one who could have a positive change

Pretty simple fix. Take the loans, work your ass off, make six figures. That's too hard? Ok, take the loans, get the degree, work public sector for 10yrs, loans are forgiven. Spoken from a recent grad.

alwayss be closing wrote:

sbeefyk1 wrote:

This is kind of funny. They'll take out $70k/yr in student loans and they'll have to wait 5-10 years before they work their way into a job that pays $70k/yr.

But in all seriousness, who cares. Congress will be forgiving ALL student loans while overhauling the financial aid system to keep this disaster from happening again. So might as well take out the loans while you can and get them forgiven.

There's too much research now proving that student loans are costing the economy 1%+/yr. When Trump hears this he will make the tough decision to forgive all current loans and overhaul the system.

Excuse me, this thread is about short-sighted boomers and their hypocrisy. Please do not deviate from the subject.

Does anyone else LOVE chicken McNuggets?

Precious Roy - I agree with your comments about mobility.

You do not mention the beneficiaries of this current system. They are those in the academic industrial complex, which uses students as conduits for billions in federally guaranteed loans and grants, all of which give those in the complex absolutely no incentive to become efficient or deliver education via a different and cheaper method. And guess what, those in the complex all virtually vote for one party - the Democratic Party. I thought it ironic when Occupy Wall Street took on the capitalist oppressor without any understanding that for the bulk of young people one on the largest oppressive factors in their lives is the federal government. Heck, look at the federal balance sheet. It doesn't have many assets. Student loans (now taken over by the Government) are one of the largest collection of assets. This is great if you like Government control for the sake of Government control.

Of course, the real students who suffer are those who don't go to the Northwesterns of the world. They take on lots of debt, without gaining much value. But the beneficiaries - virtually progressives all - march on - as the ultimate rent seekers on the planet. No wonder young people look at the boomer generation as hogs. I can see why.

alwayss be closing wrote:

Gokvkv wrote:

pull themselves up with their bootstraps and get a job to pay for your tutition.

People complaining about the cost of tuition are ignorant and silly.

This post is absolutely enraging. How the hell do you think someone is going to pay 70k with a summer job? You're so out of touch it hurts.

70k is insane. Just as a simple ratio, that is what, double the U.S. average income?

When I went to one of the best schools in Canada, tuition was $4000 per year (not per course.) One could easily make that working even a menial job for the summer, with money to spare/save/blow if you had a decent summer job (e.g. research, other things on campus).

It is not surprising that the U.S. has the lowest social mobility of any industrialized country.

Center of the city wrote:

Supply and demand.

The government keeps supplying money and the schools keep demanding more tuition.

For decades now, the gov't has stepped in supplying loans while hardly constraining rises in tuitions, which have outpaced inflation.

It would be better if the schools were on the hook for the loans: they would have a greater interest in producing better graduates and an incentive to keep their tuitions down.

OK, college grads. Yes, I'm aware that there are all kinds of statistics to support the theory that a person with a college degree is more likely to make a comfortable living than those that do not have a degree.

however, are you trying to tell me that if you go to high school, and decide to go to a tech school instead and become a plumber, that you will not make as much income as a teacher?

I mean, a plumber is NEVER out of work. And, when they answer a call, 50% of the time, the person who needs them is willing to pay to fix the problem. I am aware that the work is WORK. And quite often it is work dealing with urine and/or poopies. But, let's get real. Are plumbers in debit for 10+ years from their student loans? While many young men and women are in their sophomore year of college, the young man who trained to be come a plumber is making $$$. And, with very little debit.

My point is, there is a greater demand for a good electrician or plumber than another accountant in a large firm.

I graduated from high school in 1970 and couldn't have afforded to go to Northwestern, not that I wanted to. Actually, ALL the schools I wanted to go to were too expensive. Oddly,I didn't blame my parents' generation for that. I did what people traditionally do when they can't afford something they want. I didn't "buy" it and went to a state school that I sort of could afford .Even that was a reach. If Northwestern's too pricey for you go somewhere cheaper.

If you want to go all generational about this though, you might consider that most boomers are more affected by the obscene rise in the cost of college than their kids are because they're the ones who generally pay for their kids' college. Yes, I know some people from my generation who can afford $60k and up per year for college but I know a lot more who anguish over how to get the maximum amount of aid from a school, dump their retirement savings, take out second mortgages and so on so that their kids can have as small a student loan to repay as possible.

Gokvkv wrote:

one geezer runner wrote:

Education was affordable in the 1950s - 70s and 80s. Not so much now. But what's your point?

Education is affordable now. Just because Northwestern allegedly costs $70k per year doesn't mean that education is not affordable.

I get tired of people whining about college costs.

Schools in California in the Cal State System (SDSU, Long beach State, Fresno State, and about 10 others) run about $3000/semester.

So, cut back/get rid of your cable, don't buy the 70" TV or 12 pairs of athletic shoes, you can get your kid through college.

Don't want to pay at all? Join the Navy and have them pay for it

Billy Fap wrote:

Supply and demand, twinkletoes. Move to Russia or Syria if you don't like it.

Maybe helicopter mom and dad can arrange a special education for you.

Better yet, move to Germany, Sweden, France, Norway, Finland, or Slovenia. You can go to college for free there. Or basically move to any first world industrialized nation as secondary education will be significantly cheaper there. The United States indisputably leads the world in the cost of education and the cost of health care. For some reason, supply and demand have resulted in systems that are far more expensive and far less effective than non-free market systems. Who would have thought?

Dilllll wrote:

Billy Fap wrote:

Supply and demand, twinkletoes. Move to Russia or Syria if you don't like it.

Maybe helicopter mom and dad can arrange a special education for you.

Better yet, move to Germany, Sweden, France, Norway, Finland, or Slovenia. You can go to college for free there. Or basically move to any first world industrialized nation as secondary education will be significantly cheaper there. The United States indisputably leads the world in the cost of education and the cost of health care. For some reason, supply and demand have resulted in systems that are far more expensive and far less effective than non-free market systems. Who would have thought?

Boomers...thoughts?

Looks like the University of Illinois!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i37uttMA6Mc

It's not obvious to me why the OP is bringing baby-boomers into this, but I agree with his argument that tuition is becoming wildly unaffordable.

mussabini wrote:

Well I guess I'd say that one does not HAVE to go to Northeastern and that if you can't afford it go to one of the hundreds of schools you can afford that will still give you a fine education.

I want to throw up & laugh when I read people on this thread saying that you can do fine with an education from a state school or a non-Ivy private university. I think of my brother's experience:

1.) BS in Accounting - 4 years undergrad. at a prominent state school in New York State; only 1 class was not 4.0 GPA (A- in a liberal arts course)

2.) 1 year working governmental auditing with a local private firm that services half of the state, including 2 metropolises of more than 1 million people

3.) 1 year working construction while getting studying for & obtaining his CPA license -- all 4 parts passed on first try, which is quite commendable and by no means common, at least at the time

4.) 1 year getting Masters degree in Finance from perhaps the most prominent state school in New York State, 4.0 GPA

Then applying to jobs. He applied to over 60 jobs, with no luck, not even a request for interview. All the other people in his graduating class for Masters in Finance were having the same trouble. Finally, one of his friends from that class was able to get a recruiter to level with him. The recruiter said that they were nearly exclusively looking to hire Ivy League graduates, and was probably true of the other companies and firms. This was from a recruiter whose company goes out of its way to maintain a relationship with the university whereby the goal is high job-placement rate out of said state university in New York.

My brother ultimately got a job at a local large bank, which he only got from a call to a manager by our dad's cousin's cousin who worked at a competing bank. My brother was hired into an alleged management development program (which he would later find out was a joke, as there was no upward mobility at that bank) with a few dozen other people. A majority of them had Ivy degrees, and about a third had degrees that weren't accounting, finance, or business. One girl majored in Russian, but was Ivy. He had no idea what they made, but he started at $45,000. This was in 2012. For a Masters, a 4.0 GPA, and a CPA. He would eventually end up working between 12 and 19 hours per day, before saying FU to that.

Don't you DARE tell me that you can still do fine with a non-Ivy degree. Don't you DARE tell me that the opportunities are the same for a non-Ivy degree. If you did well at all with a non-Ivy degree in the 2000's, I immediately want to know your state, type of work, and firm, as I believe it's specific to said combination.

Benjamin Button wrote:

alwayss be closing wrote:

I think what bothers me the most (and what's clearly evident in this thread) is that boomers don't really seem to be interested or concerned with equity and fairness. They have a very selfish, darwinian attitude towards life (eff you, I got mine) and tough luck if things suck for you. It's really sad because their generation was the first one who could have a positive change

Pretty simple fix. Take the loans, work your ass off, make six figures. That's too hard? Ok, take the loans, get the degree, work public sector for 10yrs, loans are forgiven. Spoken from a recent grad.

I refer you to my post above. My brother worked his a$$ off, and made less than $50,000 per year. Six figures is a joke. Give an example where you state the state of location, company, and job title where this six-figure combination is happening.

alwayss be closing wrote:

sbeefyk1 wrote:

This is kind of funny. They'll take out $70k/yr in student loans and they'll have to wait 5-10 years before they work their way into a job that pays $70k/yr.

But in all seriousness, who cares. Congress will be forgiving ALL student loans while overhauling the financial aid system to keep this disaster from happening again. So might as well take out the loans while you can and get them forgiven.

There's too much research now proving that student loans are costing the economy 1%+/yr. When Trump hears this he will make the tough decision to forgive all current loans and overhaul the system.

Excuse me, this thread is about short-sighted boomers and their hypocrisy. Please do not deviate from the subject.

No hypocrisy here. I worked my way through school at a rather inexpensive state school (which still exist, by the way) and started on a decent career with zero debt. It wasn't that difficult to pull off and plenty of students are doing it today. Maybe it takes another year or two, but your future isn't clouded by massive debt.

Nobody makes people sign up for student loans or loans for houses that they will never be able to afford.

Zero sympathy here, and when Bernie ran on a platform of "free college for all," I had to wonder about the man's sanity.