4 ms·

Education has quite opaque pricing which makes comparison difficult. For example, my undergraduate Alma Mater, a New York State University, charges 7K per year

Education has quite opaque pricing which makes comparison difficult. For example, my undergraduate Alma Mater, a New York State University, charges 7K per year in-state, 25K out-of-state. Which one of those is factored into the average cited here? Furthermore, what percentage of students actually pay this tuition? Poor students get financial aid from the government and the university, good students get academic scholarships - all the way up to a free ride. Are those discounts reflected in the averages? And, direct tuition is not the full story of the cost of education. For example, while it looks like a NY student can get a good deal on State education, it's possible that their family's life-time tax bill to support education far exceeds the savings. Likewise, if German tuition seems cheap - where is the money coming from? Germans must be paying for it in some other way. The thing that matters the most is: how affordable is a college education to someone. Let's say I am a New York resident with good grades and I can get a half-ride tuition (3.5K/year) at a very good State School, the fact that I could also go to NYU (50k/year) or Columbia (61k/year) is irrelevant to my affordability. If I chose to go in to 240K debt to go to Columbia, that's my choice and my problem I could have gone to Stony Brook and pay 14K for 4 years for a solid education. And finally, there's the elephant in the room that not all degrees are the same, but somehow they cost the same. If I get a highly relevant degree (let's say, Engineering) then even the 240K student debt can be easily paid off in a few years of full time work, and launch me into a great career (though, the Stony Brook degree would too.) On the other hand, the fact that Columbia would likewise happily bill you 240K for a soft-degree that will never lead to a good job is a fricking crime.

Semaphor 5y ago
> Likewise, if German tuition seems cheap - where is the money coming from? Germans must be paying for it in some other way. Tax-financed, obviously. A big difference here is that non-university career paths seem far better accepted than in the USA.
- xyzelement 5y ago
  > Tax-financed, obviously. Obviously (as in my New York example.) I am just making the point that this stuff costs people whether it shows up in the article or not. > A big difference here is that non-university career paths seem far better accepted than in the USA. I actually think this is one of those things where following "what's acceptable" is going to hurt people, as it often does. For example, there's plumber in my town, one of the things he does is helps people drain their sprinkler systems for the winter. $70 a pop for 20 mins of work, so $210 an hour. I would be very surprised if he has a degree. Meanwhile, someone can have a $240K degree from Columbia in something totally useless and be working in retail for minimum wage. To some degree this person is "more acceptable" because he went to college, but in a real sense this person is powerless, not just despite their degree but in part because of it. That's not a sustainable situation and I can't see this kind of thing continue. As a side not, it's funny that we sometimes make fun of politicians that have support among non-college educated adults. But in my mind, I am much more impressed with someone that my plumber thinks is good, vs the 240k-in-debt Columbia grad.

Semaphor 5y ago

> Likewise, if German tuition seems cheap - where is the money coming from? Germans must be paying for it in some other way. Tax-financed, obviously. A big difference here is that non-university career paths seem far better accepted than in the USA.

xyzelement 5y ago
> Tax-financed, obviously. Obviously (as in my New York example.) I am just making the point that this stuff costs people whether it shows up in the article or not. > A big difference here is that non-university career paths seem far better accepted than in the USA. I actually think this is one of those things where following "what's acceptable" is going to hurt people, as it often does. For example, there's plumber in my town, one of the things he does is helps people drain their sprinkler systems for the winter. $70 a pop for 20 mins of work, so $210 an hour. I would be very surprised if he has a degree. Meanwhile, someone can have a $240K degree from Columbia in something totally useless and be working in retail for minimum wage. To some degree this person is "more acceptable" because he went to college, but in a real sense this person is powerless, not just despite their degree but in part because of it. That's not a sustainable situation and I can't see this kind of thing continue. As a side not, it's funny that we sometimes make fun of politicians that have support among non-college educated adults. But in my mind, I am much more impressed with someone that my plumber thinks is good, vs the 240k-in-debt Columbia grad.