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This week, Senate Democrats are lambasting Republicans for voting down legislation designed to fix need-based student loan rates at 3.4 percent. Without this legislation, rates will likely double in the next year, eclipsing 6.8 percent long before the next batch of freshman graduate. Although there is a lot of quibbling in the Senate and in the House as to why this bill got the thumbs down, student loan rates don't need to be up for debate at your kitchen table. If you design your child's college education the right way, you can get them from their first day to cap and gown, without relying on a dime from student loans - need based or not.
The First Two Years
The first two years of college are critical. It's during these years that students are prone to backslide, drop out and give up; weeded out of academia. And while I'm not professing that college is for everyone, the fact is that those students still exit the world of higher learning with excessive debt. And for those who do make it to the end of the undergraduate tunnel, the debt load doubles. The trouble with both scenarios is that students and parents alike are buying into the student loan lie, with interest.
What I'm Doing
This fall my twins are going to college. While they were both accepted to several four-year institutions, those schools required a lot in the way of student loans. Then I remembered, it doesn't matter where you start, it matters where you finish. We hit the reset button on our expectations in favor of fiscal responsibility.
Community College
We chose community college for the first two years, in lieu of a four-year university. After doing some math, we discovered that the twin's Pell grants pay for the majority of their education expenses, and their part time jobs cover the balance.
The twins also opted to live at home for the next two years, so that they could amass money before transferring to a four-year institution. By going to school full time and then working part time on campus, the twins are stockpiling over $5,000 a year, after paying their tuition and fees.
Not Stopping There
When the time comes for the girls to transfer, we estimate tuition and fees for a four-year university upwards of $9,000 a year. However, with that we know that the girls will have at least a year's worth of tuition saved in full by the time they finish their sophomore year of college.
In addition to that, the twins have weekend jobs where they earn $8,320 a year.
Add the money they are saving from both of their part-time jobs together, and their undergraduate degree is paid for in the first two years of college, sans student loans. When they transfer, they can pay the next two years' worth of tuition in cash -- not too shabby, if you ask me.
The Bottom Line
So you see, not everyone needs a student loan. You can go to (and pay for college) even if you haven't saved a dime in advance, providing you plan properly. We are, and we are (all) better off for it.
This week, Senate Democrats are lambasting Republicans for voting down legislation designed to fix need-based student loan rates at 3.4 percent. Without this legislation, rates will likely double in the next year, eclipsing 6.8 percent long before the next batch of freshman graduate. Although there is a lot of quibbling in the Senate and in the House as to why this bill got the thumbs down, student loan rates don't need to be up for debate at your kitchen table. If you design your child's college education the right way, you can get them from their first day to cap and gown, without relying on a dime from student loans - need based or not.
The First Two Years
The first two years of college are critical. It's during these years that students are prone to backslide, drop out and give up; weeded out of academia. And while I'm not professing that college is for everyone, the fact is that those students still exit the world of higher learning with excessive debt. And for those who do make it to the end of the undergraduate tunnel, the debt load doubles. The trouble with both scenarios is that students and parents alike are buying into the student loan lie, with interest.
What I'm Doing
This fall my twins are going to college. While they were both accepted to several four-year institutions, those schools required a lot in the way of student loans. Then I remembered, it doesn't matter where you start, it matters where you finish. We hit the reset button on our expectations in favor of fiscal responsibility.
Community College
We chose community college for the first two years, in lieu of a four-year university. After doing some math, we discovered that the twin's Pell grants pay for the majority of their education expenses, and their part time jobs cover the balance.
The twins also opted to live at home for the next two years, so that they could amass money before transferring to a four-year institution. By going to school full time and then working part time on campus, the twins are stockpiling over $5,000 a year, after paying their tuition and fees.
Not Stopping There
When the time comes for the girls to transfer, we estimate tuition and fees for a four-year university upwards of $9,000 a year. However, with that we know that the girls will have at least a year's worth of tuition saved in full by the time they finish their sophomore year of college.
In addition to that, the twins have weekend jobs where they earn $8,320 a year.
Add the money they are saving from both of their part-time jobs together, and their undergraduate degree is paid for in the first two years of college, sans student loans. When they transfer, they can pay the next two years' worth of tuition in cash -- not too shabby, if you ask me.
The Bottom Line
So you see, not everyone needs a student loan. You can go to (and pay for college) even if you haven't saved a dime in advance, providing you plan properly. We are, and we are (all) better off for it.
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