I am old enough to be truly lucky and have never had student debt. My father paid for my undergrad degree which would probably not pay for a full term now. He invested some money for me in the stock market and that made enough for me and my husband to go to grad school. Then I won a library school fellowship. I am truly grateful even aft…
I am old enough to be truly lucky and have never had student debt. My father paid for my undergrad degree which would probably not pay for a full term now. He invested some money for me in the stock market and that made enough for me and my husband to go to grad school. Then I won a library school fellowship. I am truly grateful even after all this time. We were also very lucky with our house and we have been debt free for a very long time. Our neighbor is an ex-banker and he has some interesting tales to tell. I think he dealt mainly with business loans and so we have had an inside look at how some businesses or whole business fields operate.
Michele, when I would counsel students on their offered aid package—reminding them that accepting loans, or the full amount offered, was optional & they had a period of time w/in the year to choose to pursue loans if they really needed to. Students would sometimes say their parents were willing to assist them, but they did not want to burden their folks. My response was to be grateful to their folks and accept their offer (assuming it didn’t come with conditions that were too controlling), and that there might come a time when their folks, later in life, would need their assistance & they could reciprocate. Basically, I tried to reframe the issue so the student could see the benefit & thus likely limit potential undue educational debt.
I am glad they had a counselor who cared about the outcomes for them. I have always been grateful for my parents and i guess to donors or taxpayers since I won a fellowship. We helped one of my ex-students who saved money by living with us during the summer, so she could work and save that money. She did have some student debt and since she has passed, I have no idea of she paid it off in full. Somehow I think she did because it was not as onerous as some we hear about now.
Michele, yeah, my focus was always on what was in the best interest of the student, even if it was to suggest our school might not be the best fit….and go over pros & cons of each option. I recall my boss, when I told her, being a bit startled because we were supposed to encourage enrollment. Um, nope, not if it was not in the best interest of that particular student….I thought very highly of our college and loved my attendance there, but might not be a good fit for everyone, especially if it was far from the student’s family and support system. And don’t get me started on the empty promises made by some of the athletic recruiters….had to do damage control to help the students a number of times. My take on it was you want any student that attends here to have an excellent education and experience & THAT is the best advertising possible. If a student has a miserable experience, know, too, that that is shared far and wide.
I worked in a high school and I know the pernicious influence of athletics. I can well imagine the machinations of the athletic recruiters. Right now college athletics, maybe not in really small institutions, is in shambles. Basically it is now offering bribes in the form of NILs. I do love basketball especially (native Hoosier), so it isn't that I hate sports, but.....Kudos for being 100% for the students.
Michele, what got to me were the empty promises of scholarships (nope, our school was not endowed with big bucks)….the student would end up taking out the maximum loans to make ends meet & then drop out, their athletic aspirations unfulfilled (more promises of collegiate athletic career that didn’t materialize). So, in debt, no degree, going home: recipe for default. Jeeze, I would get so angry!
I wasn't sure how this worked at smaller institutions, but I know from experience that many people in athletics have no integrity and often lie, including about their own resumes. I can understand your anger. I always was angry when coaches used students or when any teacher used students. I am thinking now about the one who labeled some gifted who were not to build his program. We sometimes had to get them out of that designation, tactfully of course. Back to athletics: In high school, it was often telling them some bs story to fire them up to win a game including making up family misfortunes.
I am old enough to be truly lucky and have never had student debt. My father paid for my undergrad degree which would probably not pay for a full term now. He invested some money for me in the stock market and that made enough for me and my husband to go to grad school. Then I won a library school fellowship. I am truly grateful even after all this time. We were also very lucky with our house and we have been debt free for a very long time. Our neighbor is an ex-banker and he has some interesting tales to tell. I think he dealt mainly with business loans and so we have had an inside look at how some businesses or whole business fields operate.
Michele, when I would counsel students on their offered aid package—reminding them that accepting loans, or the full amount offered, was optional & they had a period of time w/in the year to choose to pursue loans if they really needed to. Students would sometimes say their parents were willing to assist them, but they did not want to burden their folks. My response was to be grateful to their folks and accept their offer (assuming it didn’t come with conditions that were too controlling), and that there might come a time when their folks, later in life, would need their assistance & they could reciprocate. Basically, I tried to reframe the issue so the student could see the benefit & thus likely limit potential undue educational debt.
I am glad they had a counselor who cared about the outcomes for them. I have always been grateful for my parents and i guess to donors or taxpayers since I won a fellowship. We helped one of my ex-students who saved money by living with us during the summer, so she could work and save that money. She did have some student debt and since she has passed, I have no idea of she paid it off in full. Somehow I think she did because it was not as onerous as some we hear about now.
Michele, yeah, my focus was always on what was in the best interest of the student, even if it was to suggest our school might not be the best fit….and go over pros & cons of each option. I recall my boss, when I told her, being a bit startled because we were supposed to encourage enrollment. Um, nope, not if it was not in the best interest of that particular student….I thought very highly of our college and loved my attendance there, but might not be a good fit for everyone, especially if it was far from the student’s family and support system. And don’t get me started on the empty promises made by some of the athletic recruiters….had to do damage control to help the students a number of times. My take on it was you want any student that attends here to have an excellent education and experience & THAT is the best advertising possible. If a student has a miserable experience, know, too, that that is shared far and wide.
I worked in a high school and I know the pernicious influence of athletics. I can well imagine the machinations of the athletic recruiters. Right now college athletics, maybe not in really small institutions, is in shambles. Basically it is now offering bribes in the form of NILs. I do love basketball especially (native Hoosier), so it isn't that I hate sports, but.....Kudos for being 100% for the students.
Michele, what got to me were the empty promises of scholarships (nope, our school was not endowed with big bucks)….the student would end up taking out the maximum loans to make ends meet & then drop out, their athletic aspirations unfulfilled (more promises of collegiate athletic career that didn’t materialize). So, in debt, no degree, going home: recipe for default. Jeeze, I would get so angry!
I wasn't sure how this worked at smaller institutions, but I know from experience that many people in athletics have no integrity and often lie, including about their own resumes. I can understand your anger. I always was angry when coaches used students or when any teacher used students. I am thinking now about the one who labeled some gifted who were not to build his program. We sometimes had to get them out of that designation, tactfully of course. Back to athletics: In high school, it was often telling them some bs story to fire them up to win a game including making up family misfortunes.