4 ms·

Theres also the concern if you're not really doing a STEM subject that has high career prospects, its not really worth it to take on student debt from college o

Theres also the concern if you're not really doing a STEM subject that has high career prospects, its not really worth it to take on student debt from college only to graduate without a stable career. I think this may also be a concern to people from rural areas who can have livable careers without college.

watwut 9y ago
Rural areas tend to be poorest as far as whites go. They are not full of great jobs.
- forkLding 9y ago
  Agreed, however living and housing costs tend to be low, so relatively speaking, with a not-so-great job, can still have a livable career.
  - gowld 9y ago
    If the finances balanced like this, Ii's unlikely that cities would be such popular destinations for young adults. I expect you'd find that the missing income is even greater than the savings in costs of living.
    - dorchadas 9y ago
      I dunno. I think there's more to the draw of cities. Like, I personally know I'm saving less living in a "city" than I could be living in my hometown... But, there's a lot more to do, it's a lot more culturally diverse, etc etc. I value that more than the extra money I could be saving. I'm willing to bet others value things like that, as well as the career opportunities, that come with cities.
    - jschwartzi 9y ago
      Or they do balance like this but the opportunities you miss out on as a young person are worth far more to you than the cost of living. That's certainly how it worked for me. I could have lived off $20.00/hr in the rural area I grew up in, but I would be isolated or stuck going to church for all of my social interactions. In the city I can't live comfortably off less than $30.00 but other people are right outside my door.
  - Slansitartop 9y ago
    But college costs the same for everyone. On average, I see more expensive cars in the Bay Area than I do in my home state. I suspect that's because they're proportionally cheaper to someone who can afford to live there.
    - AnimalMuppet 9y ago
      Not necessarily. College X costs the same for everyone (modulo scholarships and grants), but Chadron State College (in Nebraska), say, probably doesn't cost as much as Stanford.
    - lev99 9y ago
      People in rural areas have less options to live with their parents while attending a college. People that live with their parents while going to college save a significant amount of money compared to people that live on their own. College costs are actually not the same for everyone. It's hard to find two people that have the same degree and paid exactly the same for it. It's easy to find two people eating the same burrito that paid exactly the same for it.
      - Slansitartop 9y ago
        That's true, and actually amplifies the point I was trying to get across. A low rural cost of living doesn't help low-income rural kids afford college, since the college is likely in a higher income city area and priced accordingly.
        pc2g4d 9y ago
        So maybe colleges need a cost-of-living adjustment?
        Fomite 9y ago
        Agricultural and land grant schools are often not in urban areas - and far closer to where rural kids are growing up, and have more helpful programs to help them in their actual careers. Washington State University, for example, is vastly more affordable to live near than the University of Washington, and has agriculture, forestry and farming oriented majors, as well as all the ones you'd typically expect.
  - Spooky23 9y ago
    You get trapped in trailers and need a car, so it’s harder to get social benefits. The only way out for country folk is the army.
  - megaman22 9y ago
    You can do alright if you learn a trade, which is typically much less expensive than university. In another life, I might have hung around home and taken up being an electrician, carpenter, boiler tech or mechanic. Cost of living is so much lower, in particular housing costs and taxes, that I could make half as much money and experience a comparable quality of life.
  - s73v3r_ 9y ago
    But those are the jobs that everyone here is saying are going to be automated away soon.
UncleMeat 9y ago
This is a risk, like anything else. But in aggregate college graduates make far more money than non-graduates, much more than would offset even the crazy tuition today.

watwut 9y ago

Rural areas tend to be poorest as far as whites go. They are not full of great jobs.

forkLding 9y ago
Agreed, however living and housing costs tend to be low, so relatively speaking, with a not-so-great job, can still have a livable career.
- gowld 9y ago
  If the finances balanced like this, Ii's unlikely that cities would be such popular destinations for young adults. I expect you'd find that the missing income is even greater than the savings in costs of living.
  - dorchadas 9y ago
    I dunno. I think there's more to the draw of cities. Like, I personally know I'm saving less living in a "city" than I could be living in my hometown... But, there's a lot more to do, it's a lot more culturally diverse, etc etc. I value that more than the extra money I could be saving. I'm willing to bet others value things like that, as well as the career opportunities, that come with cities.
  - jschwartzi 9y ago
    Or they do balance like this but the opportunities you miss out on as a young person are worth far more to you than the cost of living. That's certainly how it worked for me. I could have lived off $20.00/hr in the rural area I grew up in, but I would be isolated or stuck going to church for all of my social interactions. In the city I can't live comfortably off less than $30.00 but other people are right outside my door.
- Slansitartop 9y ago
  But college costs the same for everyone. On average, I see more expensive cars in the Bay Area than I do in my home state. I suspect that's because they're proportionally cheaper to someone who can afford to live there.
  - AnimalMuppet 9y ago
    Not necessarily. College X costs the same for everyone (modulo scholarships and grants), but Chadron State College (in Nebraska), say, probably doesn't cost as much as Stanford.
  - lev99 9y ago
    People in rural areas have less options to live with their parents while attending a college. People that live with their parents while going to college save a significant amount of money compared to people that live on their own. College costs are actually not the same for everyone. It's hard to find two people that have the same degree and paid exactly the same for it. It's easy to find two people eating the same burrito that paid exactly the same for it.
    - Slansitartop 9y ago
      That's true, and actually amplifies the point I was trying to get across. A low rural cost of living doesn't help low-income rural kids afford college, since the college is likely in a higher income city area and priced accordingly.
      - pc2g4d 9y ago
        So maybe colleges need a cost-of-living adjustment?
      - Fomite 9y ago
        Agricultural and land grant schools are often not in urban areas - and far closer to where rural kids are growing up, and have more helpful programs to help them in their actual careers. Washington State University, for example, is vastly more affordable to live near than the University of Washington, and has agriculture, forestry and farming oriented majors, as well as all the ones you'd typically expect.
- Spooky23 9y ago
  You get trapped in trailers and need a car, so it’s harder to get social benefits. The only way out for country folk is the army.
- megaman22 9y ago
  You can do alright if you learn a trade, which is typically much less expensive than university. In another life, I might have hung around home and taken up being an electrician, carpenter, boiler tech or mechanic. Cost of living is so much lower, in particular housing costs and taxes, that I could make half as much money and experience a comparable quality of life.
- s73v3r_ 9y ago
  But those are the jobs that everyone here is saying are going to be automated away soon.

UncleMeat 9y ago

This is a risk, like anything else. But in aggregate college graduates make far more money than non-graduates, much more than would offset even the crazy tuition today.