The state of higher education in Europe.

[RedImperator]

The biggest problem with the American system is that because it's basically evolved on its own it's rather complicated, and can be overwhelming for some students, especially ones from poor backgrounds. Fortunately, the states and the colleges themselves work to help students know their options. There's basically no reason why anyone in the United States with the grades and the motivation can't go to college.

I read that the loans one takes out can be crippling, as they may require up to 10 years to repay. Is this true?

Mine are $550 a month. Tough, but not crippling. The real problem is that I picked a major where employment isn't immediate out of college. Still, at the moment I'm making $1400 a month, which would be enough to cover all my expenses if I was living on my own (admittedly, it would be a lot easier with a roomate). The ten year period is actually better for me because my payments would be higher with a shorter term loan.

[Illuminatus Primus]

The biggest problem with the American system is that because it's basically evolved on its own it's rather complicated, and can be overwhelming for some students, especially ones from poor backgrounds. Fortunately, the states and the colleges themselves work to help students know their options. There's basically no reason why anyone in the United States with the grades and the motivation can't go to college.

I read that the loans one takes out can be crippling, as they may require up to 10 years to repay. Is this true?

Some of this is due to the snobbery of going to out-of-state elite undergrad schools, for example, one of my father's partners went to Tufts University, and finished his loans seven years ago. My dad went to University of Iowa, and paid no loans, ever, and got the same salary.

It all depends on what you want to do, really.

[Mayabird]

The biggest problem with the American system is that because it's basically evolved on its own it's rather complicated, and can be overwhelming for some students, especially ones from poor backgrounds. Fortunately, the states and the colleges themselves work to help students know their options. There's basically no reason why anyone in the United States with the grades and the motivation can't go to college.

I read that the loans one takes out can be crippling, as they may require up to 10 years to repay. Is this true?

Some of this is due to the snobbery of going to out-of-state elite undergrad schools, for example, one of my father's partners went to Tufts University, and finished his loans seven years ago. My dad went to University of Iowa, and paid no loans, ever, and got the same salary.

It all depends on what you want to do, really.

Also, since tuition is dependant upon state residence and some states don't have certain majors, to keep from penalizing students who want to study, let's say Aerospace Engineering but are unfortunate enough to live in Arkansas where there is no college that teaches it (I have two friends who were in that exact situation) they can study that major in another state and still pay that college's in-state tuition.

If you know where to look, you can find a lot of little tricks like that which can keep you from having to take out crippling loans.

[Col. Crackpot]

Even still, the people at Direct Loans are very resonable. All you have to do is call and say "I have no money this month because i had to pay rent and eat". They'll re-arrainge your payment schedule, put the account in forbearance, etc. Only the people who blow then off completely are the ones who get fucked over. Not only that, the interest rates are only like 2%.