Wouldn't it be a good idea for college students to work, save up money and then go to college?

[ricard83]

I can understand how this wouldn't work if you want to be a doctor or lawyer, but if you're wanting to major in English or Theater, instead of taking out loans with interest rates, why not work straight out of high school for a few years, save up $50,000 or whatever, and then pay cash for that English degree that they want?

Why don't people treat college the way you would a consumer item, because that's exactly what it is. It's something that is fun, and exciting, and there're parties and you learn and you get to sit around and philosophize and it's also something that you should be expected to pay for.

[ruelle]

Its the old Catch 22 -- in order to get a good paying job in order to save up all that money one needs a college education. Without the sheepskin, there is now way you can ever save up fifty grand working at Micky D's.

[charlot22]

There are a few reasons why this isn't such a good idea. First being that when you spend time away from school you are less likely to go back. Second you will have likely forgotten a lot from high school depending on how long you wait. Also college is almost too expensive for anyone to pay for without loans. A typical 4 year degree at a public university will run more then 50,000$. Also it might take until your thirties to save that much money.

[slaine]

I worked WHILE I went. I had about a dollar left over at the end of the week and lived off of Ramen and peanut butter sandwiches, had to drink TAP WATER (OMG). College is a privilege, NOT a right and if you're too lazy to work for what you want, you don't deserve it.

@Krankybytch, NICE!

[favian]

I think students taking out loans and working to pay them back is better than those who's parents pay their way through life. once one is an adult they should be able to take care of themselves. take care of their own debts. plan their own lives.

[fyfe]

If government didnt subsidize the loans and drive up tuition prices students would be able to pay for college with a part time job while attending.

[gofraidh34]

Actually there is such a plan. It is called internship. So go look that up to see if there are any in your major.

[blaisdell]

... or you could get decent grades in high school and get grants. I was a B student and I had 2 grants covering about 70% of my tuition. And I didn't find myself at some fancy New England private school that was no better than what I had available in-state, and that includes living in student housing.

It's one thing if you're going to a top tier college. Otherwise, if you sign a loan on a private college out of state, then that is your own BAD decision and no one else's.

If you don't want to pay money back later on, do not sign a student loan.


Also, I just wanted to add that, theoretically, working and saving up for college seems like a good idea--but only on paper. The reality is that, a lot of the time, a person will find themselves working and working and they will just get used to that lifestyle. Going back to college is a very, very difficult thing, maybe more than people realize, and it is very easy to become complacent when you are just working right after high school. This is especially true when you add on to the fact that as we get older, our priorities change... our relationships with people change, our living situations change, some people will get married, have children--by that point, going back to school is the last thing a person wants to do. And stressful. When you get things like school out of the way when you are young, it makes it easier for when you are older.... so some people would go back to college, but most people, statistically speaking, would not.

** @ Hardhead: Internships do not replace college. Maybe you mean apprenticeship? I had three internships in college, and all three of them required that I was a college student with a certain number of credits completed and/or had a certain GPA. I do not recall ever seeing an internship position available for someone who was not in school. It costs money for a lot of companies to set up an internship--even if it's unpaid--depending on the nature of the company and what the intern is going to do. Very few people are willing to invest that kind of time and money on someone who is not in school.

[beacher]

Liberals? Work? Save?? Yer $h!tting me, right?

[romavia]

Law do not stop anyone to start its business accept the individuals who are minor or unsound mind. It doesn't meter that you are a student or a teacher the thing which matter is just the legality and ethics of the nature of that business.