Rising tuition trumps interest rate among students’ worries
Sometimes, it’s the “principal” of the thing. Particularly when “the thing” is a loan.
As lots of homeowners learned, borrowing too much money can lead to trouble even if interest rates are relatively low. If college students are wise, they’ll realize the current debate about the interest rate for their loans is a sideshow compared to rising prices.
President Barack Obama visited college students last week to argue for keeping the interest rate for federal student loans at 3.4 percent. He urged them to tell Congress, “Don’t double my rate” to 6.8 percent, as current law requires.
He was arguing against … no one. Republicans and Democrats alike propose holding the rate steady. As is often the case, they differ only over how to offset the cost (Republicans would cut spending; Democrats would raise someone’s taxes). Obama’s presumptive GOP opponent, Mitt Romney, also favors holding down the rate.
No doubt, a higher rate would be a blow to students. And the job market, still stagnant almost three years after the recession ended, means they’ll have a hard time finding a job to pay off their loans, whatever the interest rate. But the student-loan interest rate has fallen each of the past three years, and student debt rose sharply anyway. It now tops $1 trillion, more than Americans collectively owe in credit-card debt.
The root of the problem is the soaring amount of principal students are borrowing due to the rising price of tuition.
Tuition at Georgia’s public colleges has doubled during the past 10 years. Add the mandatory fees that figure more and more prominently into their prices, and the price has nearly tripled at both Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia.
In fact, given the past decade’s growth rate, students can expect a four-year degree to run them more than $47,000 at Tech and some $46,000 at UGA. And that’s just for tuition and fees: Living expenses for four years add thousands more.
Ten years ago, the cost of two semesters at either school was about $3,600, for an expected cost of $14,500 over four years (again, for tuition and fees only). It’s much the same story at Georgia’s other colleges. Is a degree really worth three times as much now as then?
Now, like most state agencies, colleges have been getting less from the Legislature: an average budget cut of 3 percent a year since 2008. So they’ve jacked up tuition and fees by 10-14 percent a year since then, depending on the school.
But that doesn’t explain why in the previous five years, when their take from the state budget was growing 5 percent annually, tuition and fees were still rising 6 to 8 percent a year. General inflation was about a third as fast. (The generosity of the HOPE scholarship almost certainly explains part of the faster growth for college prices.)
Had tuition and fees grown at even a 4 percent clip during the past decade, a loan to cover them at UGA for four years — even at that doubled federal interest rate — would wind up costing a student about $31,000, according to the feds’ online calculator.
At current rates of tuition growth and even assuming the lower interest rate, that same student is looking at $54,000. That’s an extra $200 a month in loan payments. For 10 years.
If this tale sounds similar to that of health care, you must have aced the SAT. Health care, education, energy: Markets in which the government plays a large role have seen prices grow wildly. And that’s a big reason many Americans feel they aren’t getting ahead, college degree or not.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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199 comments Add your comment
Just saying..
April 30th, 2012
2:24 pm
Just guessing that the for profit schools gorging on student loans are part of your solution?
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
April 30th, 2012
2:32 pm
Prove it: I’m no national health care advocate. I noticed the information that was posted and asked questions
——–
Mmm hmm.
There’s a form of troll who gets his/her jollies asking questions and trying to keep others busy.
Glad to hear you don’t support nationalized healthcare! Heh heh.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
April 30th, 2012
2:35 pm
Health care used to be just another thing…if you needed some, you went out and got it.
And then government busybodies got involved.
Much the same with education and university.
Thanks, Democrats.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
April 30th, 2012
2:41 pm
Gallup, official propaganda poll of the dummycrat party- Romney 47% obozo 46%, just sayin…
hryder
April 30th, 2012
2:45 pm
Vote out all incumbent office holders in the November elections. Especially the entertainer in chief, President Obama. He has fewer positive accomplishments holding public office other than his being elected,enriching his supporters, and vacation traveling for his family, friends, and self at public taxpayer expense than anyone since my birth,1942. He reached his level of total incompetence when elected to the Illinois legislature. Unfortunately, he continued demonstating this incompetence when elected to th U.S. Senate and Presidency. He vividly indicated the inability to carry out the duties of the office when a legislator by voting “Present”. He was there, that is all.
Dusty
April 30th, 2012
3:10 pm
Road Scholar 1:50
Glad to hear about Engineers without Borders. Good to know they are tackling some of those projects in third world countries. GA Tech is right in there helping. Filling a great need, I imagine.
Old timer
April 30th, 2012
3:47 pm
Republicans are only raiding the SAME pot democrats raided for pay roll tax cuts last year…..what is the difference? We cannot just keep on spending. Some college kids might give up their car and live on campus to help cut their borrowing. They could live at home for a year or two…..I lived on rice and beans in college…so didmy girls. I am a teacher and could only help some.
Colleges could cut some administrative posts. I hope professor’s pay and benefits are shrinking like classroom teacher’s.
Dusty
April 30th, 2012
3:52 pm
Well, what do ya know (off subject)? Bill Clinton has come out in full force for Obama. The one thing that ol’ Bill likes more than women is politics.
Now Bill jumps on the Romney dirt wagon. Then they all go to guessing what Romney would do if he were president and had bin Laden in his sights. Then an Admiral who was in on the whole decision process did not say that Obama made the whole kill’em decision. He said in so many words that the answer was obvious to all and of course any president would go after a sure sighting of an enemy.
What next? Would Romney let John Wilks Booth shoot Lincoln if he had been at the theater?
Democrat speech writers are already headed for the lower levels of insinuation and defamation. I thought they had exhausted themselves with Bush but I guess not. They are cranking up all the big wheels who might say the “correct” things.
I wonder if Hillary is kicking Bill in the shins when he pats Obama on the back? She should.
————————————————————————————————-
BULLETIN: Braves against Pittsburgh tonight at 7:10. Go Braves!
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
April 30th, 2012
3:54 pm
Lousy ingrates should be thanking the taxpayer for providing UNSECURED loans at 6.8% instead of whining about the interest rate.
When did beggars get so darn choosy?
MarkV
April 30th, 2012
3:57 pm
hryder @2:45 pm
Have you vented your spleen sufficiently or one day, or are we to expect more stupidities from you today?
MarkV
April 30th, 2012
3:58 pm
for one day
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
April 30th, 2012
4:00 pm
Sounds like a personal attack to me.
Finn McCool (Class Warfare === Stopping Rich People from TAKING MORE of OUR MONEY)
April 30th, 2012
4:12 pm
Gallup, official propaganda poll of the dummycrat party- Romney 47% obozo 46%, just sayin…
Gallup? LOL, try Las Vegas. Those guys aren’t in business to lose money. You want a key as to who will win? Keep an eye on the latest political line.
MarkV
April 30th, 2012
4:15 pm
One of the most disgraceful things some conservatives do is to deny the President the credit for Bin Laden killing. First, falsely claiming that he did not make the decision alone. Then, that any president would have made the same decision, even claiming the ridiculous falsity that there was “a sure sighting of an enemy.”
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
April 30th, 2012
4:23 pm
Our brave troops killed bin Laden. Obozo will happily take credit for it, since it went so well.
Trillion dollar budget deficits three years in a row? Bush’s fault.
Disgraceful.
carlosgvv
April 30th, 2012
4:33 pm
Barry
And if Bin Laden had been killed during Bush’s administration, he wouldn’t have taken credit for it?
TruthBe
April 30th, 2012
4:41 pm
Salaries and benefits of most these Corrupt Liberal Professors at Colleges and Universities are too high. Get rid of the liberal perverted professors and make the rest earn their salaries with better educated students to become the leaders of tomorrow instead of community activists.
TruthBe
April 30th, 2012
4:51 pm
carlosgv, What has Obama done to improve the Nation? What has Obama done to improve the economy? How come Obama hasn’t kept his campaign promises? How come Obama has become the great divider instead of the great unitier? How come Obama and his administration spend so much? How come Obama put two communists on the supreme courts? How come Obama has so many czars?
Tiberius - Banned by Bookman and proud of it!
April 30th, 2012
4:57 pm
Disgraceful, MarkV? You don’t know the meaning of the word. Disgraceful is taking a snippet of one line in a series of lines that were said and only using the snippet that takes the whole line of thought out of context.
Then claiming you’re not excessively celebrating when asked about your ad.
In the real world, we call that lying through your teeth. In your world, you chalk it up to campaigning.
THAT is disgusting and disgraceful, MarkV.
I’ll give that lying SOB the credit for making a decision 99% of Americans would have made in the same situation, but that was no gutsy call he made, and any attempt to glorify it as such is pathetic.
MarkV
April 30th, 2012
5:05 pm
Tiberius @4:57 pm
Disgraceful and disgusting, and a lying SOB – that fits you, Tiberius. Not to mention being an imbecil, with your claim of what 99% of Americans would do in the same situation.
Dusty
April 30th, 2012
5:08 pm
Carlos,
Saddam was killed while Bush was president. Bush made the decision to rid the world of a dictator and also the possiblity of wmds. He did it legally with consent from Congress.
Bush made his decision for the good of our country. the Iraqis finished Saddam after Bush gave them the opportunity. Obama made his decision for the good of our country. The SEALS completed the riddance of bin Laden after Obama gave them approval….
I don’t see that one president deserves more praise than another.
Tiberius - Banned by Bookman and proud of it!
April 30th, 2012
5:13 pm
If you don’t think that 99% of Americans wouldn’t have made that decision (and wouldn’t have taken 17 hours to make it) then you’re more out if touch with reality than I thought, MarkV.
Dusty
April 30th, 2012
5:16 pm
Obama did not make the decision alone to “go ahead” on the finalities of bin Laden. There is even a photograph of the group with Obama as they sat worriedly considering all odds.
Obama had the final word because he was president and the only legal one to do it. But it was a group agreement legalized by Obama. I don’t think he denies that. Just takes credit for it while others say it.
Ask Hillary, the admiral and others in the making of that decision. They were all there.
mountain man
April 30th, 2012
5:17 pm
“Add the mandatory fees that figure more and more prominently into their prices, and the price has nearly tripled at both Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia.”
300% in ten years equals about 30% increase per year. You are right – no wonder today’s students have to have so much more in student loans.
MarkV
April 30th, 2012
5:28 pm
“Obama did not make the decision alone to “go ahead” on the finalities of bin Laden. There is even a photograph of the group with Obama as they sat worriedly considering all odds. “
It is amazing, but mainly shameful and disgraceful to make these statements. Not only totally misinterpreting the photograph. But mainly ignoring the undeniable truth: Only the Commander-in- Chief COULD make the decision. That was a commander does – makes the decision. It is unbelievably ignorant to deny this. There is no such thing as “group agreement.” By all accounts, many of the major participants advised against the action.
People who were there were asked. And their answer is quite clear. The President made the decision.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
April 30th, 2012
5:38 pm
carlosgvv: And if Bin Laden had been killed during Bush’s administration, he wouldn’t have taken credit for it?
———
Our President Bush took responsibility for what happened on his watch. He is a gentleman and prou American. Obozo gloms on to anything positive and passes the buck for his failures. He’s a petulant putz
Tiberius - Banned by Bookman and proud of it!
April 30th, 2012
5:42 pm
Admiral: “Is it a go Mr. President? ”
Obama: “I’ll get back to you tomorrow. ”
Given all the intelligence we had, and it took him 17 hours to make the easiest decision of his presidency?
Seriously?
Dusty
April 30th, 2012
5:43 pm
Mountain Man 5:17
There are still other ways to pay for higher education than taking a government loan. That should be considered first.
Among them are working a year or two after high school and then go to the university. Or get a loan from your parents or grandparents and pay them the interest. Or study enough to get a scholarship. Or excel in sports or some activity and get a scholarship. I don’t advocate internet universities because most of their degrees gain less favor. They do cut some expenses.
I want our young people at the university level to begin taking care of their own financial needs without government help. They need to stop the trend of depending on government for every personal effort. The government was not established for personal needs but for the direction and protection of our country, not a personal nanny, banker and health bandaid.
Today’s students will have plenty of USA debt without adding student loans to their burden..
Dusty
April 30th, 2012
5:53 pm
Obama made the “legal” decision as has already been said. Documented evidence cannot be denied. The president did not sit in room by himself and decide anything. He never said he did.
I ‘m sorry if personal opinion does not agree with the obvious truth. NO need for a vendetta. We are all Americans and name calling pleases no one but terrorists bent to destroy us. Don’t help them.
MarkV
April 30th, 2012
6:00 pm
And nobody claimed that the President sat by himself when he made the decision. Even if it might be true – reports are that he made the decision after the meetings, in private, and communicated it in the morning. Whether it is true or not, is also immaterial. The burden of decision was exclusively his.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
April 30th, 2012
6:01 pm
Romney said that even Jimmy Carter would have given the OK on the bin Laden mission. I for one would have to hear Carter say it before making that assumption.
MarkV
April 30th, 2012
6:04 pm
You are not just out of touch of reality – you have no idea what reality is, Tiberius. You do not even realize how pathetic you are.
Kyle Wingfield
April 30th, 2012
6:06 pm
Folks, I suggest you save the Romney/Obama/Pakistan talk for tomorrow, when I plan to write about it myself.
MarkV
April 30th, 2012
6:08 pm
“We are all Americans and name calling pleases no one but terrorists bent to destroy us.”
Think about it when you and others indulge in character assassination of the democratically elected head of the country.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
April 30th, 2012
6:19 pm
How ironic that MarkV invokes our Americanism in advising us about addressing our America-hating “head”.
MarkV
April 30th, 2012
6:28 pm
@6:19: Supplying evidence for what I have written @6:08.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
April 30th, 2012
6:58 pm
All you have evidence of is that some of us remember what it’s like to have as President a patriot who is President of all Americans rather than a pretender who, as just one example, singles out some Americans for criticism merely because they donated to his opponent.
Tiberius - Banned by Bookman and proud of it!
April 30th, 2012
6:58 pm
Character assassination is only in play when the person in question has some, but when the president lies about his opponent it proves the president has none.
Dusty
April 30th, 2012
7:03 pm
Well, so much for that. Kyle will give us a good opinion tomorrow.
The Braves are playing in about ten minutes. Get READY! I feel like a winner tonight. I think the Braves feel the same way. Go Braves!!!
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
April 30th, 2012
7:03 pm
The Obama campaign says Americans who donate to Mitt Romney are “betting against America”.
Is that what you were talking about, MarkV?
Hypocrite.
Dusty
April 30th, 2012
7:11 pm
I guess I have to close with one more thing. I don’t want any Democrat telling me about character assassination after eight years of every form of insult being thrown at President Bush.
Amd what do ya know, he was the democratically elected head of the United States.
TruthBe
April 30th, 2012
7:33 pm
Here it is plain and simple, Obama is not a leader. Obama is a total disgrace as our president. Hillary was correct when she said he had NO experience to be commander-in chief. Vote Obama OUT of office in November and save the Nation from anymore harm from him and the communists he installed in his administration.
MarkV
April 30th, 2012
8:29 pm
“I don’t want any Democrat telling me about character assassination after eight years of every form of insult being thrown at President Bush.”
You may not want it, but you will get it. Because there is no “collective responsibility” in such a matter. There is an individual responsibility. I am not responsible what some people said about President Bush, but you are responsible for your insults of President Obama.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
April 30th, 2012
8:32 pm
Sorry, MarkV, but you don’t determine what anyone else is responsible for.
Your Messiah, on the other hand, has said that if the economy was still failing three years in, that it would be his fault.
Obozo: responsible for the deficit, unemployment, and mass poverty.
Dusty
April 30th, 2012
8:36 pm
What insults? Your imagination?
@@
April 30th, 2012
8:40 pm
If the government’s behind it, it can’t be good.
There’s no such thing as easy money.
Tiberius - Banned by Bookman and proud of it!
April 30th, 2012
8:42 pm
Its not an insult if its true, MarkV.
This president is a stinking liar. Proven.
j$
April 30th, 2012
10:04 pm
They should have a national lottery to help pay off the debt.
In 500 years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESnxWz8Cqp0
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
May 1st, 2012
1:12 am
In anticipation of Kyle’s column later today regarding Romney and Bin Laden, here’s proof-positive that the current Disaster-in-Chief lied to the American people in his recent campaign ad by taking a snippet of a larger response from Mitt Romney and using it to create the false impression that Romney wouldn’t have made the same decision Obama made.
Here’s the full quote:
LIZ SIDOTI: “Why haven’t we caught bin Laden in your opinion?”
GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY: “I think, I wouldn’t want to over-concentrate on Bin Laden. He’s one of many, many people who are involved in this global Jihadist effort. He’s by no means the only leader. It’s a very diverse group – Hamas, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, Muslim Brotherhood and of course different names throughout the world.”
(The snippet used by the lying President Obama) “It’s not worth moving heaven and earth and spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person.”
(The rest of Romney’s remarks) “It is worth fashioning and executing an effective strategy to defeat global, violent Jihad and I have a plan for doing that.”
Source: http://ace.mu.nu/archives/328802.php
And what a surprise that AP was distorting the true meaning of Romney’s remarks. Following that interview, Romney was asked to clarify his position during a debate:
Romney: “Thank you. Of course we get Osama bin Laden and track him wherever he has to go, and make sure he pays for the outrage he exacted upon America.”
Moderator: “Can we move heaven and earth to do it?”
Romney: “We’ll move everything to get him. But I don’t want to buy into the Democratic pitch that this is all about one person — Osama bin Laden — because after we get him, there’s going to be another and another. This is about Shia and Sunni. This is about Hezbollah and Hamas and Al Qaida and the Muslim Brotherhood. This is a worldwide jihadist effort to try and cause the collapse of all moderate Islamic governments and replace them with a caliphate. They ultimately want to bring down the United States of America. This is a global effort we’re going to have to lead to overcome this jihadist effort. It’s more than Osama bin Laden. But he is going to pay, and he will die.”
No question as to what Mitt Romney would have done, now is there?
This President has NO HONOR whatsoever. A better man would never have “spiked the ball” (especially after saying he wouldn’t), nor would he do it using a lie to score cheap political points.
The current Disaster-in-Chief has been replaced by the Liar-in-Chief. The small, petty Chicago hood has come out to campaign.