In my interactions with older coworkers, it's astonishing how little understanding there is amongst their generation at what student loans mean. There's a lot of misunderstanding at what tuition levels really are at universities (both over-estimating {Tulane has a VERY healthy 'discount rate' that makes the $50K+/yr. tuition more reasonable} and under-estimating {state schools are now beyond the level you can work your way through college}). There's a lot of misunderstanding about how harsh repayment terms can be (look at these vultures).
Student loan companies, like Sallie Mae, can go fuck themselves up the ass with a sideways pineapple. I have a healthy math background and I got snuckered into a pretty poorly structured loan refinance. I went from a bundle of 4 or 5 loans at 1% or 2% with a 10-year repayment period to a new loan at 6+% with a 20-year repayment period. Once you get that higher rate and the longer term, you end up paying a boatload more in interest. It's like the difference between a 15 and 30 year mortgage. It was only after a couple of years and realizing, 'wait a minute, I should be paying more' did I realize I'd be taken. If that can happen to a STEM grad, imagine how badly some poor Humanities major can be taken for a ride.
Here's a Glenn Reynolds WSJ Op-Ed. It leans too much on the unicorn of "online classes" as a solution, but it's food for thought.
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Congratulations.
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