tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13824647.post111932477158679389..comments2024-03-26T01:02:44.010-07:00Comments on The Narrow Bridge: Generation Debt-the columnAnyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17251949534479867675noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13824647.post-1134397631148791822005-12-12T06:27:00.000-08:002005-12-12T06:27:00.000-08:00do you realize that, at the top of your page, is a...do you realize that, at the top of your page, is an ad offering "great rates on student loans?"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13824647.post-1134397426536707172005-12-12T06:23:00.000-08:002005-12-12T06:23:00.000-08:00Thank you for tackling the Student Loan issue! I ...Thank you for tackling the Student Loan issue! I have yet to finish my bachelor's degree, primarily due to financial constraints, and have experienced TWO eras of the student loan. The first was fairly easy and simply filled out the grants I got from my school and the government. I paid it off with minimal difficulties, even working at one of those non-degree jobs. The second time around, about 12 years ago was a different story! The grant funds had shrunk to a laughably-inadequate amount and I was told by the financial aid counselor that, unless I took out a loan, they would not consider me willing to "take the responsibility of contributing to my costs." BTW, I was pushing 40 and working two jobs to support myself. Responsibility? Excuse me? It was made clear to me that, without taking out a loan, I could kiss any other financial aid goodbye! So I did. I finally finished paying off what it cost me to complete 2 years in a second-rate community college. Happily, I am now "comfortable" enough to pay my own tuition and am back at it...but it makes me mad to think how much richer my life til now would have been had I had the credentials and training to go after better jobs. The whole state of higher education in this county is a disgrace, anyway. We don't offer EDUCATION, for the most part, just advanced vocational training, and, after knocking around classes this long, I can tell you that we should NOT be offering EVERYBODY a college degree. NOT EVERYBODY is suited for this level of study. No country on earth sends EVERYBODY to university and it works very well for them. Certainly better than the half-baked system we have here, that turns out people who can run a computer, but can't name a Mozart opera or an American poet!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com