It would be nice to have the extra $300 a month in my pocket. I know I would be out spending it as many people who are just out of college would.
I took the courses I needed for my major and a couple that I felt would help me
I took GEO366- Urban Systems Geography, GEO367 Urban Social Geography, GEO419 Transportation and Society, GEO 103 Geography of economic systems, GEO 101 Earth System Science, and GEO106 Earth Systems 2
I also took environmental design courses but not through the GEO dept.
Edit- And you do know I was defending Geography right? I didn’t take the most advanced courses but I did get a slight feel for how intense some of the programs are. It’s not what people think
Edit 2- and I also just applied for grad school in the geography dept
This is definitely a tough situation. Before the Market crash there were plenty of scholarships and grants to be had. I earned enough to get a full ride through RPI for the last 3 years, at roughly 50k/year. Now with the grants cut, the best money opportunity for college kids is the military. So yes, the government will bail your ass out, but it will cost you 4 years (6 in the Air Force) of service.
But yes, I am totally looking forward to taking out those student loans to finish my schooling…:banghead:
Touche’ salesman
So because they did what they love and went to school because of an accredited program/degree they now have loans it wasn’t real?
shut the fuck up, idiot
My brother is a Dr. at one of the most prestigious hospitals in the country and has over 300k in loans to get there. So now that he is working as a med adviser well underpaid for the next five years accruing interest on his loans should they not be forgiven for doing what he loves doing?
America is built on diversity and freedom, remember that. It’s a black and white either you agree or disagree deal…
^^he meant “real” as in “useful.”
just because you love something doesn’t mean it makes sense to get a degree in that field. i feel bad for your brother, my sister is in the same boat (underpaid and big student loans) but just because someone loves their proffession doesn’t mean their student loans should be paid by the government.
I’ve always felt education should be at least interest free if not TOTALLY FREE. The government can collect higher taxes from a person that’s educated and earns more…it’s in their best interest (tax wise) to have an educated nation.
From a fundamental perspective though, educated workers produce less (tangible perspective) and earn more. So this would be further bowing the fundamental damage to the US economy. We are a consumer nation and we produce very little. An economy needs to produce goods which are sold both domestic and internationally to be viable. Having all high paid service jobs isn’t healthy, nor sustainable.
Unions and bloated pensions are also a killer of our US economy. Basically the days of living high on the hog have been and will continue to catch up to us. We no longer produce things like steel which has a GLOBAL need. We are a superpower running on fumes. I’m against nationalizing debt myself. And also against the government buying in/owning/bailing out failing private industries. Free market and fiat currency don’t really go hand in hand I suppose.
Obama bucks to the rescue. 
Edit—
Just read TPGSR’s post above…excellent!!! Couldn’t agree more!
I know a kid that bought a car etc… with loan money. He’s got a shitty basic BA degree making shit money and has like a $100k loan to repay. Deserving of a bailout? I think not!
Furthermore…if you get a degree to do something you LOVE then you are making a poor BUSINESS decision. And the reality is, life and survival in a monetary based society IS BUSINESS. Pick your major wisely!
Reality is we’re in an economy that’s HEAVILY inflated and out of wack. A full bear market is the ONLY solution IMO. Let things drop, this will in turn bring wages down and should bring back many of the production jobs that a healthy economy needs to thrive. Lower wages will kill the cost benefit of outsourcing American jobs and we can begin recovery. Through suffering comes a greater good when the dust settles. Basically bailouts add more air into an already heavily expanded balloon, we need to let deflation take some of the air out first and let free markets work their magic.
I despise fractional reserve lending and fiat currency manipulation. That said are we really that dumb a nation to absolve any/all personal responsibility?
Do people really need a copout for their decision to buy a $200k home when they have an income of $30k a year? Do people really need assistance when they have chosen to live beyond their means via credit. YES the banks/credit industry enabled people to spend excessively for profit. No I don’t forgive people for being retarded and having an in the red debt to disposable income ratio. Live within your means…if you don’t have the cash for it you CAN’T AFFORD IT! It really is that simple. A moron can understand that, but alas who would have a 60" lcd and dubs on their 2 cars that the bank owns??? This country makes me sick, all these people want to be entitled and whine and point fingers. Pull your fuckin heads out of your asses and your noses out of the clouds.
I see where you are coming from, and I agree.
However, usually people go to school, so that they can get an education and move into a specific career.
I think newman is really talking about people that went to school and got degrees, but ended up working in Retail Sales(aka register jockey) or waiting tables or something.
There is a big difference. Some people COMPLETELY wasted their time and enough money to buy a ferrari…just so that they could end up right back at the starting line.
If you get a degree, PUT IT TO USE. If you get a degree, and don’t put it to use, I am not going to feel bad for you, and I sure as shit am not going to donate any of my money to pay off your loans.
I drove a beat up 85 Toyota Tercel when I was in school. Maybe I should have rocked a luxury sports sedan and a sport bike and dropped out because of how expensive school was, then cried that the government didn’t do enough for me.
This right here is the problem, and TPGSR and several others touched on it. No one wants to wait and earn nice things; they want them RIGHT NOW because god damn it I deserve that nice car, bike, TV and solid gold tooth brush holder. The guy next door has one so I should too. Nevermind that he busted his ass through school, busted his ass at his job to work his way up and actually earned the stuff he has. I deserve it too for coasting through school spending my school loans on car mods and partying, then putting in the bare minimum at work to avoid getting fired. It’s the government’s fault I’m where I am, GIVE ME MONEY!!!
EDIT:
PS, just redistribute the wealth around a little to pay for it. That will show my rich neighbor who worked all his life to get where he is. That fucker.
I had a full ride to school, but I had to pay for when I wanted to live off campus to have more parties and get more ass, 4 summer classes, and a semester of grad school. I ended up with $21k in student loans. However, being that I got a degree that doesn’t suck, I’ve been out 18 months and I’ve paid down $13k of them, and the rest is consolidated at 2.5% and I will hold it for the full 10 years.
I do see where we should get into paying back student loans/free school for public interest positions though. I mean, look at doctors. They come out of med school half a mil in the hole and, between that and malpractice insurance, they claim they have to charge an arm and a leg the rest of their life to make it back. If we made med school free, not only would we attract the best and brightest to the field, but our initial investment would hold costs down for decades to come. Throw in tort reform on top of that and suddenly you have the groundwork laid to put in something like France’s healthcare. Same with teachers, free schooling would draw more of the top students into the field, instead of more of the slutty chicks that are like “OMG I’m in education so i can hit the beach all summer!”
The govt. does give out “free” education. About 13 years worth.
Not everyone “deserves” an education but everyone is entitled to one.
If you want the govt to provide college level education, it will have to be equal for everyone. I can’t wait to see how my daughter does in school.
They take the smart kids, and blend them with slower kids to make for a nice class “average”. Thats how I view public education… or education redistribution 
If you want to help the economy, give people the chance to get educated in a trade. We need people to do manual labor jobs as more and more college graduates can’t even change a light bulb.
OT: but not a bad read. (cross X from sportriders)
if you want school to be free you have to work for it.
this is not communism.
diaf.
I’m so thankful my parents paid for me to go to college. I am definitely gonna pay that one forward. It’s soooo much easier when you don’t have to worry about loans.
^The only thing that scares me with your free schooling idea Joe is the type of students you get when they’re getting a free ride.
College wasn’t that long ago for that I forget that the majority kids getting free rides, either from their parents or the government, were the ones treating college like an all you can drink resort. Not all of them of course, especially the ones who’s parents actually paid attention to what they were paying for, but a shockingly high percentage.
My wife & I have kicked the little sisters ass for the last 3.5 yrs. The ONLY “job” she’s had is to carry a 3.7 or better through high school (mostly AP classes et al). As much as she bitched about it, and bucked against the reigns, she sure was happy a couple months ago when she got the “One Student per year” free ride ($125k, 5 yr masters).
Yeah, I’d like to see it re-evaluated year to year, like schools do with their scholarships. You keep up x GPA and earn x credits, or you go on probation. You screw up again, and you’re out. Also, keep the rules from FAFSA aid intact, if you’re convicted of a crime, you lose it. It would come with some type of contract, like the GI bill. IE, we’ll pay for your med school, but you agree to be a doctor accepting the gov’t’s coverage at reduced rates for x years, or you agree to teach for x years, etc. It’d be too radical to ever implement here, but it works well for those who have it.
I tried arguing with my friends that partied a little harder than I did (not much) because they were going to school for Philosophy, History, English, Psychology, and Communications. 4 out of 5 make the same amount per year or less than their tuition cost. One of them, the English one, got a job in web marketing and search engine optimization, which had nothing to do with his degree and makes more. It’s fine to follow your passion, but you need to do a cost/benefit analysis if it’s gonna be $20k or more a year to do so. The other 3 of us, Accounting, Finance, and Biology, are killing it.
QFT
Did you take 419 with Casas? That class was living hell… I think I might know who you are if you just graduated…
As for the people thinking Geography being a BS major you obviously don’t have a clue.
I just graduated out of the department with a concentration in International Business and World Trade and I have a ton of avenues to go down. I just have to get off my ass and start applying…:eekdance:
There already is a bailout that has existed for many years, it is called military service.
But I know most people are just looking for free shit without actually doing anything in return.
Its hard to reward those with talent and drive with policy. The have nots will always want their cut.