Students Make Costly Mistakes With Financial Aid

Is this "dissing" others for the dissertation?

There are many students who would never get a chance to go to college without the financial aid the government makes available to them, but it is the school that determines the size of the award based on the student's FAFSA. If the student feels they've come out on top with what is doled out for the semester, are we really surprised they find it a little intoxicating? Some of these students have never seen that much money in one lump sum in their lives. Do we really fault them for seeing how it might meet some financial neediness that was already in their lives before they came to college? WHO determines what's necessary or unnecessary to other people?

Maybe these students could get a job in their college department, teach classes for extra pay, and be safely protected by their husband's salary while in college. It would limit their financial aid awards and any chances of misuse or abuse of those funds.

My views on US education

Listen, education is important, it is the key to unlock your future success.. but education in American is terrible. For a powerful nation like the US, how can the education system of say.. Pakistan be far superior to ours? The huge amounts of money we spend on schooling in this country is high enough.. but what is worse is that we don't even get the same quality of education as some third world countries! Now I understand education is important, as I previously stated.. but is it really worth it to pay so much, when you can go to another country for about the same, maybe less(very rare is it more) and benefit from their high quality of education. Think about it.. as such a powerful country, do you think we should possibly improve our education?

I think so.

It was a bit off topic, but I think it was worth it to bring this message across. Basically what I am trying to say is, if possibly leave the country to go to College or Grad School, you'll have a great experience, in every aspect.

US Brain Drain--Our Loss

The outdated classism that persists today contributes to lost potential in our youth, thereby leading to further misunderstanding and reliance on the system by those same individuals throughout life.

It is easy to anonymously insinuate that such people are too stupid to benefit from an education. But the fact is that there is a subtle, pervasive cultural ignorance perpetuated on many levels which creates active consumers and passive citizenry. This includes primary level education in logic or civics studies, and basic personal finance training, all vital to a robust and contributive population.

In fact, only exposure to higher levels of economic, political, and intellectual ideals and resulting progressively more responsible experiences changes perceptions, and thereby behavior. This is precisely what a college education should provide.

However, it is true that university isn't a guarantee, nor a necessity for a fulfilled life. And by making it a mandate dilutes the relevance of the higher learning process.

Ultimately, there are many paths along over a lifetime for each individual that lead to satisfaction, if children are challenged and encouraged to create those lives for themselves, not fill a slot. And that is what our educational system is currently designed to create, again, active consumers and passive citizenry.

Finally, home ownership isn't a mandate, but as long as a citizen is required to pay inflated taxes, it would be advisable to get them invested in their community. The alternative is further marginalization, resulting in unwanted behaviors by those populations on the fringes. The ultimate extreme would be revolution by the have-nots on the "haves."

Now, if i MUST pay, I would always choose paying for education over jails and more law enforcement, any day. In the end, those individuals are accountable for their actions, but WE are the ones who truly pay by letting them languish on the edge.

My parents taught me about managing money in high school, and I'm lucky they did.

I've never been able to take a course on finances--although I would LOVE to--because I already have a very full course load plus athletics in college.

It would be great if money management classes were required in HS, college, or both. If the parents aren't serious about money, it's pretty likely the kids won't be either. The more people learn to be responsible with their finances, the better--so I say require the classes!

Needs vs. Wants

Live like a college student today so you do not have to live like one the rest of your life....

student finances

people who haven't the brain power to manage their finances, don't have the brainpower to benefit from a college education, and will never be able to repay their student loans. As with home loans, the financial institutions and educational institutions need to stop making student loans to people they know can't ever repay the loans. We need to get over the political fiction that everyone needs to be a home owner and everyone needs a college education. College educations cannot be forced on those who are incapable of benefiting from them.

HOW DO YOU EDUCATE THE UNEDUCATED ?

OH MY GOD, WHAT A MESS WE HAVE MADE FOR OUR CHILDREN AND THEIR SCHOOLS.

I GREW UP ON A SMALL DAIRY FARM IN A SMALL TOWN. WE WERE DIRT POOR.

WHEN I WAS THIRTEEN, MY FATHER WAS IN THE HOSPITAL AND FOR ALMOST A YEAR I RAN THE FARM.I KNEW EXACTLY HOW MUCH MONEY WAS COMING INTO THE HOME.

I NEVER GOT A PENNY FOR MY WORK WHICH AMOUNTED TO ABOUT 25 TO 30 HOURS PER WEEK.MY PARENTS NEVER BOUGHT ME A CAR WHEN I TURNED 16. THE MONEY WASN'T THERE AND I KNEW IT.

I NEVER FORGOT HOW TO SCRIMP AND I HAVE NEVER RUN A CREDIT CARD DEBT IN MY 81 YEARS. IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY CASH, THEN YOU SURE AS HELL CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY CASH PLUS INTEREST

I DON'T REMEMBER EVER PLANNING ON COLLEGE WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL. FARM BOYS DIDN'T GO ON TO COLLEGE THEN.

I FINALLY ENROLLED IN COLLEGE BECAUSE THE G.I. BILL PAID MORE THAN UNEMPLOYMENT.HOWEVER THE G.I.BILL DIDN'T QUITE COVER MY CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS.I HAD TO WORK MY WAY THROUGH.

I CONSIDER MYSELF VERY LUCKY BECAUSE I COULD NEVER AFFORD TO SPEND MONEY WHICH I DIDN'T ALREADY HAVE.

I HAVE ALWAYS HAD FUN JOBS AND HAVE TRAVELD MUCH OF THE WORLD.

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financial education

I agree that students need financial education, but it needs to start in high school, at the latest. Once the student gets to college, it's too late, because by then the student has already gotten into debt, bought the car, etc. I work mainly with grad students and even many of them have no concept of basic financial principles, nor any discipline to budget for needs and eliminate wants. And many of the students in the worst shape are those from higher-income families, who have never been told "no" by their parents. So they think that they should be able to borrow as much as they want for whatever they want--new cars, premium cable on big-screen TVs, upscale apartments and furniture, expensive spring break trips, restaurant meals, top-flight entertainment, partying at the local pub, nice clothes (one female student several years ago cited a $600 suit as an educational expense), cell phones with all the bells and whistles, etc. The students say, "I should be able to borrow whatever I want, because I'm going to have to pay it back." They have no regard for what is considered educational costs and what is not, and think that they should be entitled to borrow loans at low student interest rates regardless of how they spend it. I see a lot of these students borrowing the maximum amount they can, and chomping at the bit for their next refund check because they spend more money than they are allotted. Many of these students aren't even interested in working, not even in the summers, because they feel "entitled" to summers off for playtime, just like when they were in kindergarten. Their parents often paid in full for their undergraduate studies, and never forced the students to do anything to help earn their keep. For these students, money just drops out of the sky. Then they freak out when they graduate and see how much they have borrowed and how much they will have to pay per month, even though they have been getting information from the lenders each time a loan is made. With virtually no work experience, these students have trouble finding a job that pays enough for them to make their student loan payments, much less live. That's when you get students whining and complaining that they didn't know what they were getting into, that they should not have been lent so much money, that they should not be expected to repay the loans, etc. There is just a total lack of taking responsibility for their actions, especially when they find out that after they graduate and start working, they're going to have to lower their standard of living because now that they actually have to work for a living, they're not going to be able to afford all the luxuries they've taken for granted all their lives.

I do empathize with the students from lower income backgrounds, but most of them know the difference between a need and a want. The one student's sibling needed shoes, so the student bought them. That's a far cry from a lot of spoiled kids!

Taking Responsibility

I realized when my daughter was about 14-15, how was I going to expect her to budget wisely in college if I didn't start now to realistically help her with "real world" tools? We've since gone to our local bank and set her up with a debit card to a checking account (no ability to write checks though) and receives a weekly allowance. She is asked to budget accordingly (purchases for friends gifts, her own clothing budget, entertainment budget, gas allowanance, etc.). Due to health issues, my daughter doesn't have an outside job (we choose this while she is still in high school) but still want her to treat "our" money like she has earned it.

She has to balance her account, save for items she wants/needs, and is expected to save some extra as well. The goal is that by the time she is ready for college next year, the concept of budgeting won't be foreign to her. She will have experienced the idea of delaying instant gratification ("do I REALLY need this") vs. valuing a private college education paid for without loans due to lots of hard work and willingness of her family to go without.

By the way, we are a family of two, a divorced mom with one daughter with an above-average income. I share my household budget with her and am fairly upfront about budgeting issues but frame them in an issue-neutral way. Both cars are paid for but I just had to spend 5k on a new transmission. Her birthday present was $900 of car maintenance and she was thrilled! It's all where your priorities are...mine are family, retirement, everything else...

realist

It is not a perfect cookie cutter world. We are not all drones in the cogs of someones machine. Humans will get it wrong, sometimes more than we get it right, but sooner and sometimes much later we get it right. It is better to fall flat on our face trying than to never get it wrong because we didn't try.