Student Loan Debt?

[MossRoad]

No.
Notre Dame also has excellent mens basketball, mens lacrosse and other sports.
They compete at the highest level with the best in the country at almost everything, not just football.

Maybe what you should have said is “if it wasnt for sports, it would be just some weird catholic college in the middle of nowhere”.

Also, why is it “weird” to be a Catholic college?

Notre Dame has really nice identical facilities for men's and women's basketball.... except for those 2 trophies on the women's side.

 

[Hay Dude]

Notre Dame has really nice identical facilities for men's and women's basketball.... except for those 2 trophies on the women's side.

You don’t have to win national championships to be a great program.

ND competes and usually wins at the highest level and that‘s great, IMO.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

The whole college "experience" irks me. I think it's irresponsible to make kids believe college is required. By and large k-12 education pushes the college route with little regard for career planning. The thought process is go to college to get the education and find out what you want to do. There are a few benefits of going straight to college. There are more scholarships available to traditional students that are just not available to non-traditional. Vocational - aside from trades, I'm pro-trades - If the youngling is sure they want to do something that actually requires the education; healthcare (is this a trade?), accounting/ finance, teaching, and I'm sure there are others that I'm not thinking of.

Aside from that, get out in the world and get a job. Figure out what you want to do and get paid while you do so. If you like the field you picked set your sights on the position you think you would like in the next 5 years, figure out what it takes to get into that position, then start working towards it. If it's college, do that, - if it's certifications, get them. If you don't like the field you picked, look for a job in a different field and do the same thing. Most people happen into their career for the most part. My advice to youngsters is to put yourself into positions to find something you really like by inserting yourself into jobs within a field that interests you. That way, you are there to happen into a position you really like. If you are on your mom's couch between classes while "trying to figure it out" it's going to take you a lot longer to happen into that spot. Then you might still have to get additional training or certifications when you spot that next rung on the ladder.

I feel college is an investment that should be weighed. I'm sure I think that way because that's the way it worked for me. I started in manufacturing - working on the production floor, then as a lead, then a supervisor. I tried to move up or out and realized, without a degree I couldn't make the money I was making anywhere else or move up. So I got my degree at night. I'm in purchasing now, making double what I was as a supervisor, the investment paid off. Plus, since I was working towards a real goal, not just going to college because it was expected, I got a lot from the classes and I was able to immediately apply what I was learning.

 

[two_bit_score]

Both my kids were on D-1 teams and their teams lost a prolific amount of money. This was not big time football or basketball.
The coaches both made well over 100K and got full state benefits for themselves and their families. I bet that’s worth 250K. Then there’s assistant coaches. Then there’s travel expenses, uniforms, helmets, cleats, etc. etc.
My guess is each program cost their respective universities about 1 million each.
When you attended the games, it was big attendance if 200 people came. I mean we would play Johns Hopkins at lacrosse and maybe 250 people watched, mostly students, who attend for free. My daughters field hockey team would play Ohio State and there was 35-50 people there lol.

Now put 20 of those money losing teams on each college campus in the USA, and you get the idea how much the football team has to make in ticket & TV revs to pay for all that.

Most sports programs at the HS through College level don't make money.

UT, A&M, 'Bama, etc, yes they make a lot of money and really benefit the schools because of the booster contributions not only to the program but to other areas of the school as well.

Saban was the best investment Alabama made said the Chancellor. No question.

 

[Hay Dude]

Most sports programs at the HS through College level don't make money.

UT, A&M, 'Bama, etc, yes they make a lot of money and really benefit the schools because of the booster contributions not only to the program but to other areas of the school as well.

Saban was the best investment Alabama made said the Chancellor. No question.

Yes! There are a few exceptions.
However, there’s like 3,000 colleges in the US and each one could have between 5-35 sports programs. That’s like 50,000 sports programs! lol

 

[ultrarunner]

My nephew switched to a Catholic school and at first my sister in law was 100% against it… she thought indoctrination and such.

Looking back she said it was nothing like she had imagined and my nephew thrived.

In public school they actually suggested drugs… he was never in trouble but very active and was always asking questions… the second grade teacher with the backing of the school said it’s not unusual to have students on Ritalin and my brother was having none of that.

 

[kenmbz]

My son wants to be an educator, so college is a must.
We have been saving for this.

I don't understand how the government is so entrenched at using our tax dollars to "forgive" loan contracts.
If you default on a contract there are repercussions.

Will these people start looking at getting car loans and mortgages forgiven too?

If you don't have to earn something or struggle in the least, what lesson does that give?

If the government went after the colleges, that would be so very different, or rejected loans for degrees that could never repay the loan. But then we get back to the government getting more involved.
Between the gov loans, and the gov mortgages, so much funneling into the pockets of the few.

 

[tractortroof]

Thank You... Intrusive is the word that escaped me.

What I found odd is my nephew was 20 at the time he applied and had already completed 2 years at the local community college...

So why are the parents compelled to be involved?

Turned out with parents gainfully employed and owning a farm the mandatory assistance application was for naught... just as my brother had thought.

Finally proof of systemic discrimination. Not the right victim though

 

[scootr]

Kids can work their way up to 6 figure jobs without college. Without loans. Without drug and alcohol parties at Mom And Dads expense.
There will be lean times and hard work, both of which are out of style with the younger entitled generations.
It worked for me and I have no regrets for the path I chose.

 

[ultrarunner]

As a 12 year veteran of the Catholic school system... there are just as many social problems at Catholic schools as public schools. There just isn't as much violence. As for Catholic high school, lots of alcohol and drugs. Always was, still is.

Maybe dependant on location?

I attended Catholic High School in East Oakland... and it prepared me well for college.

The district public high schools had an abysmal college placement. The Catholic High School in the same neighborhood was 93 percent onto higher education.

My sister in law's fear was indoctrination and she was adamant... I did my best to reassure even saying my Catholic High School Invited Planned Parenthood, the Daughter of Malcom X and others to speak and mass attendance was optional...

One thing they didn't do was support Ritalin for students unlike the public school counterparts...

No experience outside Oakland CA.

In High School I worked the lunch room all 4 years... 3.5 as cafeteria cashier... plenty of opportunities to offset tuition for those willing.

 

[kozal01]

Kids can work their way up to 6 figure jobs without college. Without loans. Without drug and alcohol parties at Mom And Dads expense.
There will be lean times and hard work, both of which are out of style with the younger entitled generations.
It worked for me and I have no regrets for the path I chose.

They could, but they wont. There are SO many skilled trades jobs available that pay really really well and most employers will pay for apprenticeships to learn the trade but it takes drive and work ethic, of which many younger people and people my age are afraid of. (Im a millennial, I think? Born in 82) As an applications engineer for a large cutting tool manufacturer I spend a lot of time in many manufacturing facilities in my state and I see it daily. Employers cant get people in the door or if they do they dont stay, and these aren't general labor back breaking positions, its highly technical well paying jobs. People think that 40 hour work weeks are too much, and dont dare mention overtime! Its getting bad, the old guys with all the experience are retiring and leaving behind a massive skills gap. Ive been assisting with automation more and more as employers try to work around the labor and skill shortages. I wont go into how much I make but Its a lot more than most useless 4 year degrees will make me ever.

 

[two_bit_score]

the second grade teacher with the backing of the school said it’s not unusual to have students on Ritalin and my brother was having none of that.

The staff at public schools will do what is in their own interest more so than the child in about 90% of the cases. This is while I am a 100% supporter of school choice with money following the child. Real choice.

 

[two_bit_score]

Currently, in most states, the public school system is in real trouble. The only thing that will help fix it is competition from outside the public school bureaucracy.

 

[ultrarunner]

My father actually taught High School for one year and maintained his teaching credential until he passed away.

He left teaching because he found it wasn't about the students when the union voted to strike... being a new teacher he was expected to silently tow the line.

Years later he was PTA president at two public schools I attended... don't think he would be a good fit today.

 

[ultrarunner]

Students keep leaving a number of districts here... the cost per student is very high and money voted on to fund school infrastructure often goes to salaries... or frees up other funds to go to salaries...

Currently, in most states, the public school system is in real trouble. The only thing that will help fix it is competition from outside the public school bureaucracy.

 

[FriendwithTractor]

My college experience was far from what's been described in this thread.

I was fortunate enough to have my parents cover my cost, of which I am forever grateful.
However, I definitely was not living high on the hog. Many a time I scraped by eating plain rice out of a rice cooker in my dorm (Most students who lived in the dorms went home on the weekends, which I never understood, but it made for a lonely time)
Partying was far from an every night affair, in fact, the wildest I think happened was ski trips with the college team (Of which I paid my own way into) and that was only a spring semester thing.

Mainly, I remember being stressed out and broke. Many projects I had to do were done with whatever we could beg, borrow or steal. Rarely did we ever have all we needed or an excess.

I work with plenty of people who never went to college, some who truly are self-made and others who were fortunate enough to win the sperm lottery.
They all seem to think I had it easy by comparison, what I know is that even after school I struggled for years to find a decent job. College is far from a guarantee of a good job or the 24/7 indoctrination center some seem to think.

Then again, I do have a Bachelor's of Science rather than an Arts degree, so perhaps I shouldn't cast a broad net.

 

[ultrarunner]

I don't understand the Dorm requirement that is very much the norm today?

None of my siblings or myself hard the dorm experience or Frats but we all had jobs.

If you take the housing, meal and student health expense from the equation the cost often is significantly reduced to tuition, books and student fees.

 

[two_bit_score]

Years later he was PTA president at two public schools I attended... don't think he would be a good fit today.

Good for him!