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> Except now, college is something like 5x as expensive as it was for your parents, teachers, and advisors, adjusted for inflation When did this hypothetical 1

> Except now, college is something like 5x as expensive as it was for your parents, teachers, and advisors, adjusted for inflation When did this hypothetical 18 year old graduate? At least in 2000, the increase in college costs and difference in post-graduate pay was already widely covered in the media. From personal experience, one didn't need to look in order to hear about it. I can imagine that it might not have been clear in 1990 or maybe even 1995, but pre-1995 high school graduates have probably paid off or discharged debt. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2003/2003030.pdf https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2003/2003030.pdf (1999 data, 2003 publication) has interesting data. Doesn't really make the case either way, just informative.

klodolph 9y ago
I was thinking about people who went to college circa early 2000s, which is the population which graduated into the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Despite the fact that you couldn't avoid hearing the truth about your financial prospects, you also couldn't avoid hearing outright falsehoods from well-intentioned friends and family members. I know plenty of baby boomers who were basically kicked out of the house at 18, paid for college + rent + food + books with a part-time job, and thought that the best way for their children to have the same chance at life was to take on student loans.
- withoutclass 9y ago
  Hello it's me, guy who graduated in December of 2008. I made the pragmatic choice to do computer science at a cheap in state school. Graduated with a job offer right out of school. Paid off my loans around age 26ish. I worked part time which paid for my housing and food. I had some financial help from family, but not to the point where my loans would have taken more than another year or two to pay down, even less if I had paid more than minimum payments. I also had some cash saved from working every summer since I was 12, as well as part time for a few years in high school. I think people pitching college as a magic "you go then you get a job" is pretty bad for sure. Mostly because it leaves out the part where you need to make sure the juice is worth the squeeze monetarily. It's definitely doable and it's definitely worth it if you choose a path that actually supports the future you envision for yourself.

klodolph 9y ago

I was thinking about people who went to college circa early 2000s, which is the population which graduated into the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Despite the fact that you couldn't avoid hearing the truth about your financial prospects, you also couldn't avoid hearing outright falsehoods from well-intentioned friends and family members. I know plenty of baby boomers who were basically kicked out of the house at 18, paid for college + rent + food + books with a part-time job, and thought that the best way for their children to have the same chance at life was to take on student loans.

withoutclass 9y ago
Hello it's me, guy who graduated in December of 2008. I made the pragmatic choice to do computer science at a cheap in state school. Graduated with a job offer right out of school. Paid off my loans around age 26ish. I worked part time which paid for my housing and food. I had some financial help from family, but not to the point where my loans would have taken more than another year or two to pay down, even less if I had paid more than minimum payments. I also had some cash saved from working every summer since I was 12, as well as part time for a few years in high school. I think people pitching college as a magic "you go then you get a job" is pretty bad for sure. Mostly because it leaves out the part where you need to make sure the juice is worth the squeeze monetarily. It's definitely doable and it's definitely worth it if you choose a path that actually supports the future you envision for yourself.