Baylor in the news again, and not in a good way

[Cyclone06]

Seems like higher education has largely become a scam preying on families and enabled by tax payer guaranteed student loan programs.

Updated

 

[Cyrealist]

I love the Baylor president’s response was essentially “thoughts and prayers”.

A guy that Tim Pool had as a guest suggested that universities be required to underwrite all student loans used at their university. I love that idea.

I don't have a subscription, but the lead-in said Baylor had the highest default rate of those schools with an endowment over 1 billion. With that size endowment, perhaps they should be expected to provide more scholarships rather than saddling so many students with crippling debt to pay for degrees with marginal value in the labor market. I think the liberal arts value of a Bachelor's degree can probably justify 30K or so in student loans even if it doesn't lead to employment directly in the field of one's major. Much more than that and it should be joined to some careful career planning. Many graduates of professional schools come out with over 200K in student loans. That seems insane to me.

 

[Gonzo]

I don't have a subscription, but the lead-in said Baylor had the highest default rate of those schools with an endowment over 1 billion. With that size endowment, perhaps they should be expected to provide more scholarships rather than saddling so many students with crippling debt to pay for degrees with marginal value in the labor market. I think the liberal arts value of a Bachelor's degree can probably justify 30K or so in student loans even if it doesn't lead to employment directly in the field of one's major. Much more than that and it should be joined to some careful career planning. Many graduates of professional schools come out with over 200K in student loans. That seems insane to me.

They absolutely should but the $$$ value of a school's endowment isn't entirely relevant to the article's main topic. It's not like schools can just dip into their endowment whenever they want and for whatever purpose they see fit. Those funds are guided by pretty rigid criteria, much of them can be devoted only to certain things or specific areas, and a lot of it is in the form of land/property/real estate. That said, I'm sure they could devote some funds to easing the cost of attendance and just choose not to.

 

[flycy]

This is every school, only private schools cost more. Unlimited loans are the biggest factor in the sky rocketing cost of college. If enrollment doesn't drop when tuition is raised, there is no incentive to keep costs down.

 

[nrg4isu]

The whole College business model needs some intervention. People paying $100,000 - $300,000 for majors where there are no jobs or don't pay anything close to the type of return to justify the expense. Unfortunately it's only going to get worse.

My kids are 3 and 5. I've got a solid start on 529 accounts for each, but I'm hoping that college costs are a bubble that will burst sometime in the next 10-15 years. A guy can dream right? Right?

Jamie Pollard did say something about an enrollment cliff that the entire country is expecting within the next few years... maybe this kicks it off?

 

[MJ29]

Mocking Mormons: Controversy erupts over Baylor homecoming photos circulating on social media

People are upset over controversial photos of Baylor University students mocking their homecoming opponents: Brigham Young University

www.kwtx.com

Baylor loves being in the news.

 

[psychlones]

Mocking Mormons: Controversy erupts over Baylor homecoming photos circulating on social media

People are upset over controversial photos of Baylor University students mocking their homecoming opponents: Brigham Young University

www.kwtx.com

Baylor loves being in the news.

F*** Baylor.

 

[stateofmind]

when Baylor makes the news is it ever in a good way?

I mean there's this...


But yeah, I totally agree with **** Baylor.

 

[Cloneon]

One of the biggest reasons that the cost of college has gone up is the percentage of the cost that the 'state' absorbs has decreased significantly over the last several decades. The attached story is from 2015 and the state of Washington. But the same trend has happened in IA and every other state. The 'state' is absorbing a lower and lower percentage of the cost of college and students and families are paying a higher share of the cost.

The cost of higher education in WA hasn't increased much, but the price has gone up - here's why - Economic Opportunity Institute Economic Opportunity Institute

View attachment 90815

So the question is, does the 'state' find value in subsidizing the cost of college education. The more the 'state' finds value in citizens receiving a college education, the more it will subsidize college education. The less value the 'state' finds, the less the state will subsidize college education. Over the last several decades as the graph shows, the percentage of the state subsidy has decreased.

However during that time the percentage of the adult population with a college degree has drastically increased from under 10% in 1950 to about 30% in 2015. See the snip it below.

View attachment 90816

So another important question is do all the people currently attending college need to go to college for the job/career they get into. If you keep the cost to the 'state' constant year over year, one possible solution is to make 'entry' to college more difficult so there are fewer students. Then by keeping the state funding at the current level the percentage of the college cost covered by the 'state' for the remaining students will decrease.

I suppose the ROI for the state would matter if they keep the graduates in-state post graduation. Then the tax revenue would offset expenses.

 

[CascadeClone]

This is every school, only private schools cost more. Unlimited loans are the biggest factor in the sky rocketing cost of college. If enrollment doesn't drop when tuition is raised, there is no incentive to keep costs down.

Agree - schools know people will pay $X, and if the government adds $Y on top, they are gonna charge $X+Y. I mean universities aren't dumb, by definition, lol.

Someone posted earlier that schools should have to underwrite the loans, and that's an idea in the right direction. Another would be they only get a piece of earnings over $X for a set number of years. Both these would encourage schools to make sure kids stay and graduate. We talk about useless majors with too much student debt, but at least they have degrees. The truly screwed are the ones that go for a year or 3 and then drop out and never get a degree. Imagine having $40k in student debt at age 22 but working at Menards stocking shelves.

One last thing that would help, imho. If you want a business loan, the bank wants to know what your future revenues and profits are going to be. They won't loan you $1M to start up a $1k business. Something similar on majors should be there - you should be able to see an ROI, a projection of future salary vs loan payments, comparison to just working at WalMart, something that helps people know what you are in for. Too many kids and parents are way underinformed about the financial aspects, esp lower income or 1st time college kids. You can still make the decision but being more informed may change how some approach it.

 

[CascadeClone]

I would like one of my kids to go to ISU but out of state is $35K. I love ISU but no freaking way.

FWIW my nephew was looking at ISU and Minny, and with scholarships at ISU it was basically same price; he got some money from Minny too (smart kid).

Point is, doesn't hurt much to apply and do a FAFSA; might not be as bad as you think. Good luck!