Hello. I am a student from Troy High School.
I am researching the social issue topic of college costs.
Here are the list of questions I need answered. Feel free to skip over any of them.
1. How do you think it affects students to have the 'better' college's prices so high?
2.What makes the prices so high?
3. What does tuition money contribute to after colleges recieve them?
4. Is it usual for students to still be in debt after finishing college?
5. Do the prices of the college tuitions affects the number of people attending college?
6.What would be the benefits/cons of lowering tuition prices?
7.What would be the effects on colleges if prices are lowered?
8. Do the students that attend high-end colleges usually come from a 'rich' family? (high income, financial aid not required)
9. Would students who are unable to pay be rejected into the 'better' colleges?
10.Would colleges be able to get the money necessary to provide for their students in other way without having such high tuitions? There is a certain amount of Price Fixing, to be sure.
A lot of the price, however, is geared towards the number of instructors, size of campus and salaries they have to pay.
I mean, Carl Sagan wasn't making your Typical PHD wages at Cornell.
YOu can be certain OTHER universities such as Cal Tech and MIT were certainly making him offers he did refuse.
Now, as my department head who was trained at both UCLA and USC told us, at USC EVERYTHING was included in the course fees or tution. At UCLA you had to pay for film, processing, editorial supplies, etc.
So if you made a 1 hour film at USC it cost you nothing (but they own the rights) but at UCLA it's going to cost your SEVERAL thousand dollars to buy the film, get it process, make work prints. This on TOP of your tutition.
Books, computer and Dorm are not included in Tuition, but ALL other basic expenses are.
So, UCLA costs about $15-20K per year for a cinema major PLUS BOOKS, DORM and expenses to MAKE MOVIES
UCLA costs $30-35K a year for a foreign or out of state student.
USC costs $40-45K a year for ANYONE and all expenses in making a movie are incuded.
USC also has some better equipment. George Lucas, for example, donated a LOT of his old Lucas Arts, THX and Industrial Light and MAgic gear to USC.
The price is NOT a factor.
HARVARD rejected 1,200 students with PERFECT SAT SCORES One expects ALL of these students had the $65K a year tuitution, DORM fees and books fees or could get them.
A state college costs more like $5k-10K per year and you get a good education.
But it's a diploma from California State University Northrdige not University of California Los Angeles or University of Southern California.
To most employers who cares.
But if you're a lawyer and applying to Latham and Watkins (Britney Spears Attorneys) your Cal State and San Fernado Valley School of Law degree will not look great compared to a UCLA LLB and JD degree and the Stanford or HArvard or Duke or Columbia or Yale degree will look even better on the wall!
Some firms WANT to see a prestigious degree on the wall.
You have to face reality, a State University undergraduate and State Univerisity Dental degree, then buying a private practise with the rooms, equipment, staff and patinets is going to put you close to 1.5 million in debt.
A lesser education with working as an ASSOCIATE at a clinic is going to make your $85K to $100K a year with no costs, but you still have to pay $100,000 to $400,000 in student loans.
These people let you make decent payments, but to be frank MY dentist didn't get his FIRST good car (a top of the line BMW) until he was in his late 40s.
He will BE rich when HE sells his practise to someone at age 55 or 58
He will sell the practise he bought for $750,000 for over $1.5 million and he may pay off the REST of his student loans with that 30 years after graduating school.
But he will have $1 million in the bank, plus a home paid for, plus other property, plus a top of the line BMW and he wll be 58 years old.
He still can stay with his wife at a Bed and Breakfast in Sonoma Wine Country for more than a few days.
He has a totally private practise, probably sees 8 - 10 patients a day. Does a lot of insurance work. Works 4 days a week. He works from 9 to 5 pm or later some times.
He's on PMA insurance plans and get a fixed fee per month (several thousand dollars) plus free amalgam, free other stuff.
He probably bill $1,000 a day.
He has to pay insurance, rent, secretary, hygenist and DA.
It's a matter of doing enough work to keep up with you loans on everything. Dental school, the purchase of the practise, the salaries, the insurance, the car loan, the house loan.
You this until you are old enough and then you sell it to someone younger for a lot more money and pay off a lot of outstanding things and keep the rest in an IRA and CD
Maybe you keep $1 millioin and live off the interest from the CD.
Today you get 5% interest in 100K in a cid and that's 5K a year and if you have 10 accounts that's $50K a year.
You rarely touch your principal, all your student loans and house loans and car loans are paid off and you are 58 and still married not paying alimony so you go off and have fun for the next 10 year or so.
Now look at the person with the HS diploma with no student loans and no business. They get 15K a year in Social Security at age 67, not 58. They get Medicare and Medicade.
Maybe they stashed some cash away in a 401K or IRA or CD.
They don't own a home. They have an older car and can only afford soemthing like a Hundyai if they need a new one.
They can't afford to take a Princess cruise.
They worked EVEN HARDER stocking shelves at K-Mart for $12.50 an hour until they wyere 67
Maybe they had a REALLY good job that paid them $20 an hour.
As a professional you make maybe $150 or $200 K a year before taxes for 25 years and then you sell your situation for $$$ and Fish on your own boat in Tahti half the year until you get too old to do it.
Even if you don't get our own business if you make $100K and pay off your student loans (tax break) you keep like $35K for yourself starting at age 30.
Most people don't make $35K take home until age 50.
You're 20 years ahead of the game.
Your mortage interest, student loan interest are all tax deducatable. If you IRA it is tax deductable. So you pay the 15% altnerative minum tax and the 7% social security tax and after the dust settles you are doing OK.
You own a home, a decent car.
Few Doctors, Dentists, Engineers, Psychologists are UNEMPLOYED
With a BA you make $25-35K a year gross, that's 20-28K take home and STILL have SOME student loans.
That's a modest car, maybe a home and maybe once every 5 years a Princess Cruise or Disney World for a week.
With a HS Diploma thats $1,000 a month NET maximum in a world where rents are $600 a month and a Hundyai is $200 a month and you have gas and auto insurance and food.
Without a roomate or spouse WORKING that doesn't balance on the accounting ledger.
You are - $300 a month just to survive at eat at the $1 menu.
Forget having children.
A low end family is two people working, one days one nights they see each other as ships passing in the night, they net $2,000 a month and that's enough to rent a nice place, have two cars, have two babies and go to the Apple and Pumpkin festival each year.
No student loans, not mortgage payment, not business payments.
At age 67 you BOTH can retire maybe at $1,500 each when you are 67!
By then RENT is $1,200 a month gas is $7 a gallon and McDonalds has a $3 menu
The Professonal who is now 70 sells their home they bought for $200,000 for $700,000 and moves into a gated retirement community that costs $600,000 to buy a small home.
They still have at least $800K in the bank and make $35K a year in interest. They're only payments are utilities and food.
They get $20K in tax deductions and pay taxes on $15K which amounts to $1,200 so they KEEP 32K
Yes, you are ONE STEP AHEAD of $1.5 million dollar BANKRUPTCY, but if you are a DOCTOR, DENTIST, CLINCIAL PSYCHOLOGIST there is ALWAYS a way out.
You can TEACH and make $30 an hour extra nights and weekends.
They are NOT going to cut the cost of education for you.
There are GRANTS and other awards to promising people from the rich who like to finance the poor.
The EXCEPTIONAL who reserach and apply and get grants and scholarships cut their costs from $500K to 200K
That's about the best the Capitalis world has to offer. Take it or don't.
There is no free lunch. But if you look hard someone will subisidize your lunch if you merit it.
That's about the best you can do. |
