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In-state price at a good state school is about $22k/year with room and board. Figure you work a minimum wage 40 hours a week for 12 weeks during the summer. Th

In-state price at a good state school is about $22k/year with room and board. Figure you work a minimum wage 40 hours a week for 12 weeks during the summer. There's $3480. Now, figure you average 10 hours a week for the other 40 weeks of the year. There's $2900. Figure you're an outstanding student, so you got a one-time $2000 scholarship payout from winning a bunch of awards in high school. There's a good chance at many large state schools that, even if you're focused, you'll need an extra semester or two due to limited course availability. Not counting the possibility of recovery from a leave of absence related to (mental) illness or family emergency, etc. Let's say you do one summer semester and it costs exactly half of a traditional year's net price. So we're looking at: + $99k in bills and spending - $10k for 3 summers of work - $13k for 9 semesters of work - $2k in total merit scholarship payout. That leaves us with a $74k education. If mom and dad aren't buying, then there's $75k in principal. At 6.8% over 10 years (the federal government's deal, but it's capped; your actual rate from the private sector will be worse) that's $102k in payments. That's for someone who did the "responsible" thing: went to state school, got scholarships, and worked continuously. Now imagine that you go to a private school where the price after need-based financial aid is in the $30k-$40k range. Or, worse, that you go to private school and your parents are rich, so you qualify for no need-based financial aid at all, but your parents still don't want to fund your education. Then you're looking at $60k/year. See where this is going? It's easier than you might think.

diminoten 12y ago
Heh, the comments are piling up, and I'm willing to admit maybe my experience isn't the norm, but what you're saying does make sense. Like I said though, I know a bunch of post-grad folks who aren't hitting $100k. It's just a big clash with what I've seen, to hear 100k after just four years.
- superuser2 12y ago
  The people you're thinking of, like most of the people I know, either have 1) Families that have contributed $60k+ 2) Families that are poor enough that financial aid has contributed $60k+. I'm guessing that anyone with $100k in debt has neither of those things.
  - sanderjd 12y ago
    And the gap between (1) and (2) is most of the middle class.
  - refurb 12y ago
    The other thing that matters is when you got your degree. Graduating even 5 years ago means you've likely had to take on less debt than someone who graduated this year. That's how fast tuition is rising.
jere 12y ago
I found this a little bit hard to believe. I managed to graduate from a state school with no debt at all (neglible scholarships, small amount of savings, worked as an RA for a bit and did a decently paying 3 semester co-op). Surely my school isn't THAT expensive. Whoa. Turns out it is. My school estimates a total annual cost as $23k and this is a public university that's regularly listed as one of the "best value colleges." http://financialaid.ncsu.edu/cost-of-attendance/cost-of-attendance-undergraduate-students/ http://financialaid.ncsu.edu/cost-of-attendance/cost-of-atte... http://www.princetonreview.com/best-value-colleges.aspx http://www.princetonreview.com/best-value-colleges.aspx I have to think some of that has to do with the exploding cost of tuition and fees (I started 10 years ago), but I can't be exactly sure. Thanks for the post.

diminoten 12y ago

Heh, the comments are piling up, and I'm willing to admit maybe my experience isn't the norm, but what you're saying does make sense. Like I said though, I know a bunch of post-grad folks who aren't hitting $100k. It's just a big clash with what I've seen, to hear 100k after just four years.

superuser2 12y ago
The people you're thinking of, like most of the people I know, either have 1) Families that have contributed $60k+ 2) Families that are poor enough that financial aid has contributed $60k+. I'm guessing that anyone with $100k in debt has neither of those things.
- sanderjd 12y ago
  And the gap between (1) and (2) is most of the middle class.
- refurb 12y ago
  The other thing that matters is when you got your degree. Graduating even 5 years ago means you've likely had to take on less debt than someone who graduated this year. That's how fast tuition is rising.

jere 12y ago

I found this a little bit hard to believe. I managed to graduate from a state school with no debt at all (neglible scholarships, small amount of savings, worked as an RA for a bit and did a decently paying 3 semester co-op). Surely my school isn't THAT expensive. Whoa. Turns out it is. My school estimates a total annual cost as $23k and this is a public university that's regularly listed as one of the "best value colleges." http://financialaid.ncsu.edu/cost-of-attendance/cost-of-attendance-undergraduate-students/ http://financialaid.ncsu.edu/cost-of-attendance/cost-of-atte... http://www.princetonreview.com/best-value-colleges.aspx http://www.princetonreview.com/best-value-colleges.aspx I have to think some of that has to do with the exploding cost of tuition and fees (I started 10 years ago), but I can't be exactly sure. Thanks for the post.