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Actually it is. Easy credit and the sentiment that any degree will pay off in the long run have inflated tuition prices to the point where they are not necessar
by rnernento 13y ago
Actually it is. Easy credit and the sentiment that any degree will pay off in the long run have inflated tuition prices to the point where they are not necessarily worth the investment. Similar to the house that was worth 600k and is now worth 300k the degree that costs 200k doesn't meet that value. It could potentially be worse than the housing market because there is no asset, just a piece of paper. Just like you said you can't buy and sell college degrees.
The point here is that banks are starting to get it. Just because you can't walk away from student loan debt doesn't mean you have to pay it. Sometimes the numbers just don't work out. The odds of someone with 400k in student loans from a PhD in Philosophy paying them off in a lifetime with their job is a barista are very low.
- dclowd9901 13y agoThe question is "what's the consumer -- and thus larger macroeconomic -- impact?" The impact is that if you "bought" your education at the "high time," you lost nothing. What were you supposed to do? Wait until the bubble burst and hope to "cash in" on a cheaper education? Student loans are so cheap that the marginal impact of such a burst really only stands to impact greater lifetime earning potential of two distinct groups of the population: pre-poppers and post. While that's unfortunate for the pre's, it's hardly comparable to the economic divide that has grown between the educated and uneducated classes.
- rnernento 13y agoUniversities are who's really going to take the hit here. When the free money dries up so will the number of students able to pay current prices for degrees. The effect on Academia and as a result research, innovation, etc. are still up in the air.