[dan-o]

I paid for college by growing and selling weed so, in a way, other kid's parents paid for my education.
IIRC, I also left college with more money than I arrived with. That funded some real estate flips and ultimately my current business.
Who says Literature degrees are dead ends?

 

[dante]

no, it was the "people put this much emphasis on stuff i thought everyone already knew?"

and yes dante...i'm very pleased that my tax dollars have served me so well. i like to pretend that those grants and loans came from my "taxes paid" account, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Well, with the federal budget being ~3 trillion dollars (at least in 2008 when it was submitted by the non-commie GWB), and there being about 300m people in this country, that means that every man, woman and child "benefits" about ~$10,000 every year from the federal government. So after your federal tax dollars surpass that amount (for your entire family, obviously), let me know how soon you pay off that $100k advance that you got for your college degree.

 

[RayB]

I paid for college by growing and selling weed so, in a way, other kid's parents paid for my education.
IIRC, I also left college with more money than I arrived with. That funded some real estate flips and ultimately my current business.
Who says Literature degrees are dead ends?

Respect.

 

[moff_quigley]

all colleges in ireland are free haha

Dental care or the lack thereof is evidently free in the UK as well.

 

[manimal]

let me know how soon you pay off that $100k advance that you got for your college degree.

$100k?! holy crap..why didn't somebody tell me i was a doctor!

 

[DaveW]

Dental care or the lack thereof is evidently free in the UK as well.

Cos as everyone knows Ireland and the UK are the same country......... Wish you Mexicans could get it right.

 

[moff_quigley]

Cos as everyone knows Ireland and the UK are the same country......... Wish you Mexicans could get it right.

The UK, Ireland's lopsided hat.

 

[binary visions]

$100k?! holy crap..why didn't somebody tell me i was a doctor!

I want to know where you can get a PhD/MD for $100k...

 

[dante]

$100k?! holy crap..why didn't somebody tell me i was a doctor!

I went to one of the most expensive private college's in the area as well...thank you pell grant and Federal Perkins Loan (no repayment as long as I stay in law enforcement for 5 years after my last class )

Over 15 years ago when I was looking at colleges, tuition/room/board at the college I went to was $25k/year. I was extrapolating that times 4 years.

(And you know I'm just giving you grief because for all your small-government leanings, you've done pretty well suckling on the teat of the American taxpayer. )

 

[antimony]

I want to know where you can get a PhD/MD for $100k...

ECU << $100k

 

[sstalder5]

ECU << $100k

Funny you should mention that... That's where I want to go to med school.

 

[Toshi]

I want to know where you can get a PhD/MD for $100k...

Actually MD/PhDs are free. Kids in this program (MSTP) get their tuition covered + a stipend in return for committing many more years of their life to the cause. It's the MD alone that are expensive.

 

[RayB]

Well my sister went to Yale for Pre-Med.

In her senior year, she tells our parents that she doesn't want to be a doctor but a teacher.

My father flips. He made the point that she could have gone to any school and become a teacher. For example, she could have attended Cornell, which is in-state for us, and received 5k in scholarships.

My sister, btw, is now a high ranking official in SFUSD.

I be still way smarter that her b*tch ass thouf.

Kinda sounds like my parents when I tried telling them I didn't wanna goto Berkeley...

F*cking Asian parents........ *sigh*

thankfully she steered away from the stereotypical asian path of being a engineer

I hate you.

 

[manimal]

I want to know where you can get a PhD/MD for $100k...

my brother did it at UF for that much...well, that's what he owed when he was done. he did graduate suma cum laude (sp?) from pre-med and med school...maybe that helped? not sure how the med school scholarship stuff works.

 

[zdubyadubya]

Actually MD/PhDs are free. Kids in this program (MSTP) get their tuition covered + a stipend in return for committing many more years of their life to the cause. It's the MD alone that are expensive.

this man speaks the truth. got my engineering master's, job market sucked, went back for more school, will have a PhD in December just in time for an even worse job market. have yet to pay a dime for any of my education (undergrad or grad) and I am getting paid for the PhD. but MD's are a different story....

 

[KavuRider]

This thread is making me re-think the idea of going to school right now.

I graduated high school, good grades, got accepted to ASU. Kinda got screwed with financial aide, since I had to include my parent's financial info. They apparently made too much for me to qualify, even though they weren't paying for it. So I got a student loan. Lasted 1 semester, realized I was just wasting time and DID NOT care about school. Went back to working full time instead, been in the bank/insurance industry for 10 years now...also had to pay back that $1300 student loan right away.

Not sure if I regret it now or not. All my friends who went, they aren't doing anything that they couldn't do without their degrees. They are also in the process of trying to pay back their student loans in today's job market. Its not pretty.

Hell, my Ex-GF got a high paying (to me) job making $50K right after getting her Masters, but she is struggling to pay back the loans.

 

[binary visions]

I think people need to go to college when they're ready.

If you're ready straight out of high school, great.

I wasn't. I would have been a "C" student, would have spent all of my time partying and graduated with a computer science degree which I am thoroughly uninterested in pursuing.

Took several years off, partied without it wrecking my grades and a financial investment, went back, graduated as a straight-A student with a degree that I was interested in and would help get me a job I would enjoy.

It's all about going to school when you can actually get something out of the education.

 

[KavuRider]

It's all about going to school when you can actually get something out of the education.

I agree.

 

[RayB]

I think people need to go to college when they're ready.

It's all about going to school when you can actually get something out of the education.

So true.

 

[Toshi]

this man speaks the truth. got my engineering master's, job market sucked, went back for more school, will have a PhD in December just in time for an even worse job market. have yet to pay a dime for any of my education (undergrad or grad) and I am getting paid for the PhD. but MD's are a different story....

I don't think the math works out in the favor of the MSTP program even with the free education. Assumptions: 4 years for MD, 8 years for MD/PhD (slightly optimistic although some eager beavers do it in 7), ~$30k/yr in loans, expected attending salary of, say, $200k to be conservative/if they stick around in academics, MSTP stipend of $25k/yr.

MD alone = $120k in loans but 4 extra years of making $175k/yr extra.
MSTP = no loans, but 4 more years of making peanuts.

Yeah, I'll stick with my loans.

/me has a small mortgage worth of student loans, all in forbearance for now

 

[KavuRider]

I have a hard time fathoming making $50K, let alone 6 figures...

 

[zdubyadubya]

I don't think the math works out in the favor of the MSTP program even with the free education. Assumptions: 4 years for MD, 8 years for MD/PhD (slightly optimistic although some eager beavers do it in 7), ~$30k/yr in loans, expected attending salary of, say, $200k to be conservative/if they stick around in academics, MSTP stipend of $25k/yr.

MD alone = $120k in loans but 4 extra years of making $175k/yr extra.
MSTP = no loans, but 4 more years of making peanuts.

Yeah, I'll stick with my loans.

/me has a small mortgage worth of student loans, all in forbearance for now

agreed. in my case it was either 30k stipend for four years or hunting for a job (no pay, living off loans for who knows how many years). physicians are lucky in that they can choose to leave school with a pretty much guaranteed job opportunity waiting for them. that and the starting salary is a good 100k higher.

 

[zdubyadubya]

I have a hard time fathoming making $50K, let alone 6 figures...

just picture more toys.

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

I want to know where you can get a PhD/MD for $100k...

ECU << $100k

If I saw an ECU diploma on the wall at a Dr.'s office I would be tempted to run away. Of course my experiences with the ECU infirmary were a loooong time ago and they my have improved, but I'm still suspicious.

 

[manimal]

I think people need to go to college when they're ready.

If you're ready straight out of high school, great.

I wasn't. I would have been a "C" student, would have spent all of my time partying and graduated with a computer science degree which I am thoroughly uninterested in pursuing.

Took several years off, partied without it wrecking my grades and a financial investment, went back, graduated as a straight-A student with a degree that I was interested in and would help get me a job I would enjoy.

It's all about going to school when you can actually get something out of the education.

very good point

i started community college after HS, realized i was too lazy/unmotivated to continue with it. blew up my motorcycle drag racing, owed my dad a bunch of money in rent (he charged me rent to live at home if i wasn't going to college), lost my job.....and decided to join the marines.
-enter life changing event/forced maturity-
took my base college courses while i was in the corps and then, several years later, when i knew what i wanted to do with my life, i finished school with a respectable gpa.
it's odd, at 18 years old i couldn't handle a few days per week of community college but at 26 years old (when i started full time college) i could handle 50+ hours per week job, marriage, 3 kids, AND full time class load i didn't have much tolerance for whiny 18 years olds complaining about writing assignments because it interfered with their "busy schedule" ie: drinking

 

[zdubyadubya]

i could handle 50+ hours per week job, marriage, 3 kids, AND full time class load

3 kids at 26... wow man. major props. i thought i was shooting myself in the foot with 2 at 25. major, major respect.

*you must spread rep before giving it to manimal again*

 

[KavuRider]

3 kids at 26... wow man. major props. i thought i was shooting myself in the foot with 2 at 25. major, major respect.

*you must spread rep before giving it to manimal again*

I gave him +rep.

I could not do that. Major props.

 

[kazlx]

I was lucky enough to have my grandparents pay for my education at a Cal State school. My parents were seriously pissed when I went to a community college right of high school because I didn't have a clue about what I wanted to do. I was really in to cars at the time and I think they were scared I was going to become a mechanic. My brother went to a 3 year private photography school in Santa Barbara that cost a mint.

College education really can be a joke. I majored in Chemistry, which I learned a lot in and minored in Business, which, for the most part seemed like trying to teach common sense to idiots. Seems like the whole goal of a business degree now is to teach the students how to become middle managers instead of instilling some entrepreneurial spirit. Combine that with the fact that probably half of the people in college don't need to or shouldn't be there...I'm sorry, but basic math and english classes shouldn't be offered at a college campus. Please learn how to spell and use fractions prior to attending college.

 

[KavuRider]

I was lucky enough to have my grandparents pay for my education at a Cal State school. My parents were seriously pissed when I went to a community college right of high school because I didn't have a clue about what I wanted to do. I was really in to cars at the time and I think they were scared I was going to become a mechanic. My brother went to a 3 year private photography school in Santa Barbara that cost a mint.

College education really can be a joke. I majored in Chemistry, which I learned a lot in and minored in Business, which, for the most part seemed like trying to teach common sense to idiots. Seems like the whole goal of a business degree now is to teach the students how to become middle managers instead of instilling some entrepreneurial spirit. Combine that with the fact that probably half of the people in college don't need to or shouldn't be there...I'm sorry, but basic math and english classes shouldn't be offered at a college campus. Please learn how to spell and use fractions prior to attending college.

That concerned them?

When I was younger, I made the mistake of telling my parent's I wanted to be an engineer. So they were all happy about that. Then I realized that I absolutely hate higher math (algebra, trig). I realized that I wasn't going to be doing much in that field.

I'm in the industry I'm in because...well...I show up on time and I get stuff done, so even though I didn't have a clue, my bosses have all liked me.

Kind of difficult to think about college after working full time with bills and no safety net. I live pretty modestly, but even so, I'm scraping in this economy. The thought of adding student loans onto that is scary. Granted you don't have to pay until you're out, but 4 years can go by pretty fast...

 

[kazlx]

Yea...they see working on cars as a blue collar sort of gig. I was pushed into higher education by my parents my whole life. Not that I would have....but it wasn't an option to skip college. I graduated top of my class in high school, but didn't do anything extracirricular to apply to college. My motivation to apply to top colleges dwindled when I saw older friends that were overachievers getting denied.

 

[jimmydean]

Seems like the whole goal of a business degree now is to teach the students how to become middle managers instead of instilling some entrepreneurial spirit.

I was 1/3 of the way to my MBA when it occurred to me that I had learned nothing about business and all about how to make pretty graphs to show upper management.

I regret starting it and I will only finish it if it's on someone elses dime.

 

[manimal]

3 kids at 26... wow man. major props.

i know...it was a combined total if 15 minutes of work to make those little rugrats

 

[SkaredShtles]

<snip>
I'm in the industry I'm in because...well...I show up on time and I get stuff done, so even though I didn't have a clue, my bosses have all liked me.

Kind of difficult to think about college after working full time with bills and no safety net. I live pretty modestly, but even so, I'm scraping in this economy. The thought of adding student loans onto that is scary. Granted you don't have to pay until you're out, but 4 years can go by pretty fast...

Yeah - but with a finance degree you'd be in the same bank/insurance industry but you'd be a bigwig and be making 6 figures.

Or not.

 

[1453]

Kinda sounds like my parents when I tried telling them I didn't wanna goto Berkeley...

F*cking Asian parents........ *sigh*



I hate you.

wait, so what department did you end up getting a BS from? Was it ME or IE?

Regardless, Asian parents and Berkeley....