Why I Defaulted on My Student Loans

I remember paying roughly $1200 for a full-time slate (12 hours) my freshman year in college (early 2000s). Ten years later to the semester, I took a course at the same school and it cost me about $8-900. Granted, $200 or so was junk fees (activity fees, etc), but that still stood out to me.

 

Be careful in reading those horror stories, because they're almost always framed in pretty unrealistic ways. No, you probably can't work your way through Columbia University ... but you sure as hell can work your way through Nondescript State.

 

GO GENERALS!

 

What's bullshit about it?

 

I don't think DeskMonkey likes it when Nondescript State is maligned.

 

Just so we can have some numbers to work with, I looked at both Cleveland State and U of Texas. Surprisingly, the prices were about the same. So here are the UT numbers.
In-state tuition: $9,346 – 10,738
In-state room and board: $9,272 (cheapest option)
Estimate of total cost for in-state student (including books, food, transportation and personal expenses): $25,862 – 27,254

 

Room and board is the killer. If you live at home, it's not too difficult to work/pay your way through college.

 

How much is Grand Valley State?

 

Pretty cheap, but the transfer rate is high.

 

Well, the post to which I was responding stipulated "being 100% self-sufficient," and that indeed might be a challenge. But it can be done. As a professor at a Nondescript State, I can tell you I have plenty of students doing just that. It's about $10K a year on top of whatever else your living expenses are. But, if you're fairly low-income, you're also probably going to get a full Pell Grant, which is at present about $5,700 annually.

Now, I'm not saying that it'd be easy, or fun. But it can be done. Unless you think you deserve better than Nondescript State. I hear that's the case with some people ...

 

Frankly, I don't think Lee Siegel would have his followers settle for some crappy dorm suite and a meal plan, either.

 

Hey, easy now. I wouldn't call your university Nondescript State. More like University of Nondescript-Podunk.