18 minutes ago, rjs4470 said:

There are certainly some pretty useless degrees out there, but there are many important jobs that are absolutely needed and can't be done without college.

While I agree that there are obviously jobs that would require a degree, I think corporate America hides jobs behind the "Bachelor's Degree Required" label when they don't need to. 

When really analyzing what a job takes, I'd bet the majority of jobs do not actually require a degree with proper training. 

2 hours ago, rjs4470 said:

Some higher education is something it is not. There are certainly some pretty useless degrees out there, but there are many important jobs that are absolutely needed and can't be done without college. And like many have said, costs are just crazy now. The days of being able to work your way through college in your teens and early 20's are pretty much gone. And like it or not we need doctors, lawyer, teachers, engineers etc, and many would never be able to pursue those careers without loans. There are some very good values out there though which I wish students gave more thought to. I started working on my MBA a year ago, and looked at all the usual suspects in KY. And UK, EKU, UL, were all WAY overpriced...like to the tune of $40K+ for 12-15 classes. I ended up going to Murray and the whole program will cost me about $16k, which fortunately, I can afford (with a little help from a part time job). I just can't imagine how these "elite" and private schools continue to suck kids in  when they might literally take a lifetime to pay off the tuition. 

This is why you stand out amongst most of our posters. Go Racers.

College education is still affordable. Live at home. Work part time, 20 hours week at $12 an hour and you don't even need a loan.

1 hour ago, Voice of Reason said:

College education is still affordable. Live at home. Work part time, 20 hours week at $12 an hour and you don't even need a loan.

That’s $240/week BEFORE taxes. Roughly $200/week after taxes. $10400 total per year. Tuition at NKU is $10296/year. Doesn’t include books, parking or other fees. Or gas, or a car, car insurance etc. I guess if you didn’t eat and could walk to campus, as well as not have any other expenses you could do it in your scenario. That is as long as living at home is still an option AND your parents covered all the shortage along with food, your car etc. I’m guessing you’d be surprised at how many kids living at home or expecting any parent help is simply not an option. And I’m also not sure you realize how kids don’t have a more affordable, respectable option like NKU near their home. Which goes back to a previous post where it was mentioned, the ones who can least afford it and need the help are the ones who are hurt the most.

7 hours ago, Voice of Reason said:

College education is still affordable. Live at home. Work part time, 20 hours week at $12 an hour and you don't even need a loan.

You know this isn’t really feasible, right? Maybe run some numbers and get back to us. 

$12/hr at 20 hours per week is $240/wk. 

52 weeks in a year, $240 x 52 = $12,480.

The average person pays what, 25% in taxes? (This is a guess on my part). So $12,480 x 25% = $3,120. Now we're at $9,360 for ANNUAL income. 

UofL - $11,966

UK - $14,590

EKU - $9,452

WKU - $10,926

Murray - $9,252

Morehead - $9,082

None of those include books, fees, or any other expenses. They obviously don't include cost of living. 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, TheDeuce said:

You know this isn’t really feasible, right? Maybe run some numbers and get back to us. 

Here are some of those number. The average cost of public college tuition in this country is just under $10k. In some states, that cost is as high as $17k. Again, doesn't include everything else involved with school, let alone living expenses. And that's only for public schools which may or may not be a commutable distance for all. For private schools, that number jumps to almost $40k per year. And just under 60% of all college age adults live at home, which still doesn't mean the parents can help out with school. And while it's  a little off the subject, it's mostly private schools we all get excited to see our local HS athletes "commit to" to continue their athletic career. What no one talks about is most of the money to pay for that "opportunity" is in the form of loans. If you ever wondered why or how so many D3 and NAIA schools bring in 100+ freshman every year, there's your answer. And those athletes aren't going to be able to work a part time job 20 hours a week. Small school college athletics is even a bigger scam (for most, not all) because they are recruiting kids who have very little chance if any to play all in the name of driving tuition payments. 

Now community college does fall into the realm of affordability, but even that is going to take up 25% or more of what you earn in a $12 an hour part time job, and you're only going to leave with an Associates Degree. 

 

 

I’m glad my ancestors weren’t the “my generation did it so yours will too” type of folks.  

14 minutes ago, TheDeuce said:

$12/hr at 20 hours per week is $240/wk. 

52 weeks in a year, $240 x 52 = $12,480.

The average person pays what, 25% in taxes? (This is a guess on my part). So $12,480 x 25% = $3,120. Now we're at $9,360 for ANNUAL income. 

UofL - $11,966

UK - $14,590

EKU - $9,452

WKU - $10,926

Murray - $9,252

Morehead - $9,082

None of those include books, fees, or any other expenses. They obviously don't include cost of living. 

 

 

 

That's if you live close enough to one of those campuses to be able to live at home and commute. Otherwise you're only options may be private schools, which ups the costs even more. Of course that also assumes you have a car or some other reliable form of transportation. 

On 4/28/2022 at 10:06 PM, Beechwoodfan said:

So, you don’t feel good about paying your loans off? You worked hard to accomplish this and yet feel students should be able to slack off and not pay what they owe?

 

Yes. 

5 minutes ago, rjs4470 said:

That's if you live close enough to one of those campuses to be able to live at home and commute. Otherwise you're only options may be private schools, which ups the costs even more. Of course that also assumes you have a car or some other reliable form of transportation. 

If you don't live close to campus, you can always do online!

Online courses at UofL are $499 per credit hour. 

I'm still wondering when my Geology with a Lab class is going to kick in.

7 hours ago, rjs4470 said:

That’s $240/week BEFORE taxes. Roughly $200/week after taxes. $10400 total per year. Tuition at NKU is $10296/year. Doesn’t include books, parking or other fees. Or gas, or a car, car insurance etc. I guess if you didn’t eat and could walk to campus, as well as not have any other expenses you could do it in your scenario. That is as long as living at home is still an option AND your parents covered all the shortage along with food, your car etc. I’m guessing you’d be surprised at how many kids living at home or expecting any parent help is simply not an option. And I’m also not sure you realize how kids don’t have a more affordable, respectable option like NKU near their home. Which goes back to a previous post where it was mentioned, the ones who can least afford it and need the help are the ones who are hurt the most.

 

1 hour ago, TheDeuce said:

You know this isn’t really feasible, right? Maybe run some numbers and get back to us. 

 

22 minutes ago, TheDeuce said:

$12/hr at 20 hours per week is $240/wk. 

52 weeks in a year, $240 x 52 = $12,480.

The average person pays what, 25% in taxes? (This is a guess on my part). So $12,480 x 25% = $3,120. Now we're at $9,360 for ANNUAL income. 

UofL - $11,966

UK - $14,590

EKU - $9,452

WKU - $10,926

None of those include books, fees, or any other expenses. They obviously don't include cost of living. 

 

 

 

We can debate the details and work out a complete budget if you want. For example, tax rate at that income level is less than 15%. However the numbers here support it is within range. Work full time for 3 months in the summer and you have enough to cover books, food, and everything else. Get a job paying 15, 18 even 20 an hour (they are out there) for the summer. Add in KEES money if you made good grades in high school. 

Bottom line, yes it is realistic and achievable to attend college and get a degree with minimal or zero loans.

9 minutes ago, rjs4470 said:

That's if you live close enough to one of those campuses to be able to live at home and commute. Otherwise you're only options may be private schools, which ups the costs even more. Of course that also assumes you have a car or some other reliable form of transportation. 

This is a good point. If you have to live on campus or in a nearby apartment, you are looking double the cost and loans are necessary.

6 minutes ago, TheDeuce said:

If you don't live close to campus, you can always do online!

Online courses at UofL are $499 per credit hour. 

This is the biggest ripoff in colleges today. 

____________________________

As to the laugh on the post above, facts are facts. If you don't think it is possible, I can connect you with someone who is doing it right now.