The fact that 60 Minutes was promoting the white kid's plight is what got me ... hell, it was 60 Minutes. You know, Let's Watch Dan Rather Give Castro a Blow Job and after the Commercial Break Ed Bradley Will Set Fire to a Republican Senator 60 Minutes.

That 60 Minutes.

[gentle self-depricating]Or were you just not able to get past the idea that my TV might have channels other than FoxNews and The History Channel? [/sarcasm]

Yeah, but in that case you almost certainly have other options. The white girl with the 3.9 wasn't cursed to community college, unless she was stupid enough to only apply to one place. I didn't get into my top college choice either, boo hoo hoo...

We had plenty of bright overachievers "playing the system," though. I knew of several kids who transferred to bad schools their senior year so they'd have a better chance of being valedictorian, and jumping through a million hoops to get out of gym classes because those by definition couldn't be "honors" courses and would bring down their GPA.

With the latest Supreme Court decision, you should get a mortgage. You only own the place at the sufference of the local politicos anyway, might as well let the bank get screwed when they take it from you.

That probably wouldn't work, as the bank would still insist he pay it off ... if a drug dealer has his hoopdie confiscated by the man with 58 payments owing on it, the dealer still owes the 58 payments ... not that he would have paid it off to begin with, but he still owes on the lien despite the government having taken and even resold the property.

I would hope (but not necessarily expect) that what the government considered "fair compensation" would at the very least pay off any outstanding mortgage...

I paid into an inexpensive scheme in Canada,not sure if in US, whereby a small amount is contributed very month, if you start early when the kids are young.
You pay for the first year of university and if the grades are OK subsequent years of tuiution etc. but not living expenses are paid by the scheme.
Of course I went overseas and the plan lapsed but in theory it was good.

Had I kept it up my son would benefit now because his is going to do a masters in London and will probably go the PhD route.

Crap, I guess I should have bought intothis place while I was in Arenal.

Go for it. I will clean your Griftropical resort's bungalows.

Yes it is right but sorry to say that you do not have other choice.

What?

Clarify your remark please.

You know, saving for college is such a bummer. man. But what are you going to do?

There are plenty of alternative paths but that's for the kid to choose. You could try for girls, a subliminal recording that says, "elope", and for boys maybe a military theme.
But you're still stuck with that nagging guilt trip of not being prepared to support all of their possible paths. :Flush:

I see college grads with as much as 200k in student loan debt, making 45k salary. They have the same shitty jobs everyone else has. I don't get it.

Colleges are businesses run by MBAs selling the illusion that their product is required for survival and success in life. If the product doesn't work as advertised it is your fault and you either need to apply more of the product or you lack the proper faith.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
If the answer is... 'I don't know, I'll figure it out when I get to college', alarm bells should be going off.
College debt can be a case of buyer's remorse having a huge impact on your quality of life for a very long time.

For a long time now, most parents have had the goal of the kid going to college, assuming with a degree the kid would at least be able to get job good enough to maintain a middle class lifestyle. Or, "I was they first in my family/clan/village/coven, to go to college and as god is my witness my kids will too."
That attitude has fed the price increase of the parchment, and the whole student loan/financing shark business, for those that can't quite grab the golden ring without help.

College loans have suffered the same fate as the rest of the credit market, and some people have fallen for it.
Easy credit, you said It!
Hurry hurry, hurry, step right up, today only... no money down, no payments for 3 months, low monthly payments.
Whatcha need Bubba, 10, 20, 30 years... sign here... blood thumbprint there.

Others tried to game the system and got trapped when the law was changed so they couldn't bail out with bankruptcy.

It's time for parents to step up and educate their kids about the alternate vocations, opportunities and career paths, where college wouldn't be the appropriate choice. If they choose to pursue something needing a degree, no problem, less chance its being wasted.
Let your kids know enough about the employment world to make an educated guess... but wait, what do you know about various vocations and how a kid would get there? Do you live in a white collar world where you haven't got a clue who makes the world around you work every day and how? Do you live in a blue collar world where everything is controlled by some faceless suit? No wonder the kid can't figure it out till they get to college.

The Catch22 here, is there will be a surplus of underemployed graduates for some time, and employers that will require a degree to even apply for that janitor, local truck driver, assistant helper, job.