Seeking Arrangement: College Students Using 'Sugar Daddies' To Pay Off Loan Debt

[banca rotta]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/29/seeking-arrangement-college-students_n_913373.html

People people college is NOT worth it!!!

[banca rotta]

I bet all of the men or shall I say "sugar daddy's" work for JP Morgan Chase's student loan dept. or Sallie Mae.

[bcohen]

Unfortunately, one of the biggest reasons for skyrocketing higher education costs is the fact that many people go to college who, objectively speaking, should not have to. This "bids up" the price which a university can charge for tuition and required fees.

People who want jobs that historically only required a high school education now have to have a college degree--any degree--because many companies require it. In a situation where jobs are scarce and companies are glutted with applicants, employers are able to demand a college education--even when it has nothing to do with a person's ability to perform the job duties.

Since these people generally want their degree with the least possible effort (i.e. they don't want to stay up late studying) they choose majors that are known to be entertaining and easy. A person looking to earn a college degree so they can supposedly qualify for a "good job" on the "corporate ladder" is not going to major in mathematics, chemistry, physics, engineering, or anything like that. They're going to major in business, psychology, English, or the humanities, and unfortunately these kind of degrees don't translate into marketable job skills--especially in this economy. For these people, college is not "worth it" and may result in crippling levels of student debt and a job that barely pays a living wage.

Now, there are still certain degrees that are still in demand, and will provide graduates with good job prospects--even in this terrible economy--however not all people are willing or able to study these subjects. These include math, engineering, computer science, chemistry, physics, biology/life sciences, and so on. If this is what you're studying, then college is definitely "worth it" and the investment should pay off.

Of course, you have to put in the time and effort to study, attend tutorials, get help from your professor/TA, and so on. But since today's generation doesn't want to do that, they take the easy way out and study bullsh** majors that don't lead to a job.

[IamOld]

If we had a REAL economy, humanities, English, etc would pay off. In the "old" days, before the 80's, believe it or not, for example, "Wall Street" would rather hire a humanities graduate than a business graduate - why? Because (an old hand at a LARGE WS firm told me several times) you can teach anyone to use a spreadsheet; but you can't necessarily teach people to think critically and to be able to learn. That's what a humanities grad would bring to WS.

I agree with what you write in principle, but I am also seeing schools producing walking calculators totally disconnected from politics, history, arts...

Unfortunately, one of the biggest reasons for skyrocketing higher education costs is the fact that many people go to college who, objectively speaking, should not have to. This "bids up" the price which a university can charge for tuition and required fees.

People who want jobs that historically only required a high school education now have to have a college degree--any degree--because many companies require it. In a situation where jobs are scarce and companies are glutted with applicants, employers are able to demand a college education--even when it has nothing to do with a person's ability to perform the job duties.

Since these people generally want their degree with the least possible effort (i.e. they don't want to stay up late studying) they choose majors that are known to be entertaining and easy. A person looking to earn a college degree so they can supposedly qualify for a "good job" on the "corporate ladder" is not going to major in mathematics, chemistry, physics, engineering, or anything like that. They're going to major in business, psychology, English, or the humanities, and unfortunately these kind of degrees don't translate into marketable job skills--especially in this economy. For these people, college is not "worth it" and may result in crippling levels of student debt and a job that barely pays a living wage.

Now, there are still certain degrees that are still in demand, and will provide graduates with good job prospects--even in this terrible economy--however not all people are willing or able to study these subjects. These include math, engineering, computer science, chemistry, physics, biology/life sciences, and so on. If this is what you're studying, then college is definitely "worth it" and the investment should pay off.

Of course, you have to put in the time and effort to study, attend tutorials, get help from your professor/TA, and so on. But since today's generation doesn't want to do that, they take the easy way out and study bullsh** majors that don't lead to a job.

[DYLAN150]

I just saw two people on the news the other night that have a combine payment of $3000 per month for student loans. (both had master degrees) Both people were unemployed and couldn't find work.

[espo1357]

And to think there was a time a BK would have cured all student loans.

"they" have us by the nuts, with these student loans.

college is good, ONLY if it puts you in a spot to make money in the market (nursing comes to mind), but to go to college to "grow up" or other crap, is silly.

[kornellred]

I think bcohen's analysis is close to the unvarnished truth. Liberal Arts degrees don't count for that much any more, but they can be a "meal ticket" that can open doors to situations where you can acquire valuable skills. Bachelor of Science degrees are necessary to get you into advanced degree programs. People who get ahead in life are focused, driven, and generally are descended from very successful bloodlines. It's a cruel world, and whatever justice there might have been has long since evaporated.

[Exployer1234]

I do understand the concept that "some" people are seeking a Liberal Arts degree as an easy way out, but not every Liberal Arts degree is useless. Now if you are seeking a Liberal Arts degree you normally will not make a ton of money. I am a Secondary Education major. I am minoring in English, but my MA degree will concentrate in education. I can say it is not an easy degree by any means. I have some classes where I have to read 30 novels per semester, wrote endless papers, and normally the tests count for 75% of my grade (2 tests per class). I can see where if you are younger it would be easy, but waiting 15 years to go back to school it is not easy. You forget a lot of things. I have spent many days speaking with my professors. Personally I would never choose to teach Chemistry or Physics. I don't enjoy being a human computer and I get more frustrated trying to work equations. Have I taken lots of math courses yes, but I dreaded every minute of it.

Now I am only telling my experience. I do have years of experience in the business world, so regardless I will have something to fall back on. If anything I can go into corporate America and do editorial work. The pay is often more if you can land a job.

As for the article I think it is sad the girls have to resort to this just to pay for college. I know student loans can add up fast, but if you pick the right profession the student loan debt can be cut in half. PLus my next question is why are these girls not looking into various scholarships that can help cut down the cost of their loan amounts. If these girls had a high enough GPA the funding is out there. Also another option is pick a school that is not so expensive. There are lots of great colleges out there that do not cost 6K-12K per semester. I attend a decent university and my tuition is about 3800 per semester. This includes books. The end result is people need to shop around and figure out what the best deal is when deciding to go to college.