Student Loan Debt: Who Are the 1%? (Those with the most debt have graduate degrees)

New York Times ^ | 12/03/2011 | Judith Scott-Clayton

[SeekAndFind]

A continuing refrain of Occupy Wall Street protesters has been “student debt is too damn high,” as James Surowiecki wrote in The New Yorker. In some cases — like for the college graduate profiled in a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education who has $100,000 in debt and uncertain job prospects — this is unarguably true. But such cases make for dramatic reading precisely because they are so rare.

The first thing to note is that most of those with that much debt have graduate degrees; it is difficult to accumulate that much debt in an undergraduate program. The chart below shows the percentage of beginning undergraduate students who, six years later, had accumulated more than the indicated levels of debt.

Only one-tenth of 1 percent of college entrants, and only three-tenths of 1 percent of bachelor’s degree recipients, accumulate more than $100,000 in undergraduate student debt. If you have more than $75,000 in undergraduate debt, you are the 1 percent – just not the 1 percent you might have been hoping for.

[Grampa Dave]

Your suggestion below is an excellent one, and it would start to eliminate a big problem re student loans and growing college costs in 10 years and probably turn our colleges/universities around in 20 years.”

“Have colleges make student loans - and be paid back with a percentage of what the student makes in the first 20 years after graduating. The ‘basket weaver’ major pays back almost nothing for a worthless degree... The enginering student pays back much more...

The result would be colleges taking an interest in their students well being rather than running the school for the glorification of puffed up liberal professors.”

[Grampa Dave]

Your suggestion below is an excellent one, and it would start to eliminate a big problem re student loans and growing college costs in 10 years and probably turn our colleges/universities around in 20 years.”

“Have colleges make student loans - and be paid back with a percentage of what the student makes in the first 20 years after graduating. The ‘basket weaver’ major pays back almost nothing for a worthless degree... The enginering student pays back much more...

The result would be colleges taking an interest in their students well being rather than running the school for the glorification of puffed up liberal professors.”

[A_perfect_lady]

Wait-a-minute... his PARENTS are paying off his loan? He’s a tenured professor and his PARENTS are paying off his loan??? Oh, man, spare-rod-spoil-child-chickens-home-roost-reap-sow bump!! Sad, sad, sad. But they should have weaned him a little earlier, eh?

[Niuhuru]

I fully agree; too many colleges and universities have so many other additional courses that just distract the students and then end up (if you can believe it) just being more bureaucratic fluff that exists to glorify the professors and give them all that much more pointless influence over your future.

[freedumb2003]

>>There was basically nothing that he learned from this business class, and he challenged the counselor to explain the necessity...with the only response as “mandated”.

I suspect that the colleges are geared toward making cash in the<<
The difference between colleges and Universities and trade schools is that colleges are supposed to (emphasis on supposed) create people who are well-rounded. I am very glad that when I got my business degree I also had courses in fine arts, law, literature, social studies, history, etc. They DID make me a more rounded individual and stoked my thirst for knowledge.

If you want to take courses for a particular craft, go to a trade school.

[freedumb2003]

! Sad, sad, sad. But they should have weaned him a little earlier, eh?

"That is sooo true!"

[Grampa Dave]

Yep, it is sad, but his parents don’t have him home in their basements.

[sthguard]

Good point. And going into debt for “prestige” is particularly ironic at the graduate level, since no amount of ivy on one’s office building will make up for doing good, conscientious research.