College is ripping you off: Students are cash cows, and schools the predators

An educational publisher wrote to me a few months back; they wanted to reprint an essay of mine that they had seen on the Internet, where it is available for free. The textbook in which they wanted to include it, they said, would be “inexpensively priced,” and authors were therefore being asked to keep their reprint fees to a minimum. The low, low price that students were to pay for this textbook:

The Reason College Costs More Than You Think

Nearly nine out of 10 freshmen think they’ll earn their bachelor’s degrees within the traditional four years, according to a nationwide survey conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA. But the U.S.

Student Loan Debt Burdens More Than Just Young People

JANET LEE DUPREE, 72, was surprised when she received her first Social Security benefits seven years ago. About one-fifth of her monthly payment was being withheld and she called the federal government to find out why. The woman, who is from Citra, Fla.

40 million Americans now have student loan debt

Carrying tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt has become the new normal. Thanks to climbing tuition and inadequate college savings, 40 million Americans now have at least one outstanding student loan, according to new analysis from credit bureau Experian. That’s up from 29 million consumers in 2008.

Student debt becoming a larger albatross for economic growth: $1.2 trillion in student debt is outstanding and many college graduates working in jobs that don’t require their degree

There was a time when going to college made sense in every feasible way. It made sense professionally, economically, and many college graduates have a wonderful time in the process of completing their degrees. Most would argue that learning is vital in growing and moving forward.