Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion go to college or no?

As much as anything else, I was referring as much to the stratospheric cost of a college education combined with employers wanting a college degree for menial positions.

UC costs roughly $30,000 a year unless you live within commuting distance and you can live at home. Tuition is $13,900, and even if you live at home, the cost is still about $18,000. You can't pay for that with a part-time job. In 2003, tuition was $5,500. It used to be nearly free.

People are leaving a public university with debt in the mid-five-figure range. And many end up in menial jobs that don't even pay enough to cover the interest. So they watch their loans balloon. The loans aren't discharged by banktruptcy or death. There's a 25-year forgiveness program. But the forgiven debt is treated as income and you pay tax on it.

It's like there's no way out of debt and no way to avoid incurring unless you're very wealthy. This is wrong.

ETA: And because of overcrowding there is a high chance of having to go on the 5-year-plan or go to summer school, or both, which just add to your costs. The latter option also reduces your ability to earn money over the summer.