[hb3b]

I am really sorry for anyone who has piles of student loan debt. But with that said, there is no reason in my mind for someone to not consider state schools.

State University of New York (of which I'm a graduate) estimates the yearly expense of a commuter student to be $17,320 @ a 4-year school, less if you live at home, buy used books, take the bus, or go to a community college. It's really affordable!

And there are so many opportunities for part time work on college campuses. Everything from grunt work to being a TA to being compensated for working for a department. Hell, I worked in the nursing department as a comp sci student sorting files and research articles for professors.

Along with this, programs like CLEP and DSST exams that let you test out of gen-ed coursework for $180 a pop. The savings can be in the thousands!

So for those students who aren't going to an IVY on a full or partial ride, or those going to med school, I say do some research before committing to a private school. There is absolutely no reason in my mind why somebody ought to take on such massive debt and I am totally against the idea of our government being in the student loan business.

[wilsonnb3]

I disagree that ~$70,000 for a four year degree should be considered affordable, even if private universities cost many times that.

I do agree that public schools are generally a better financial option, as are community colleges.

[dgzl]

I believe the parent is considering that price to include housing and other necessities as well. I really think you'll have a tough time finding a decent University that would cost less than that for a year's worth of use.

[greedo]

No, that's for a commuter student. Room and board would add much more to the debt total.

[vorgisborg]

I don't think anyone here is asking for 10 dollar education, by affordable we want an education that won't take us wage slavery over a million years to pay back with potential interest also contributing towards that elongated time. Job security is always shaky especially out of high demand fields, so that is a factor in determining the 'unaffordability', if you can't pay it back and can't land the actual wage to live a life while being a wage slave then it's simply unacceptable.

public schools are also plagued with debt collectively, what a way to attempt red herring.

[afjl]

It's pretty sad how much Americans pay for our higher education compared to many other developed countries. I recently met a few college-aged Brits who just graduated with ~$5,000 in debt. How can we be paying an entire order of magnitude more for school?

[ghettoimp]

Well for one, our administrators are AWESOME! And we have so many!

[neuromantik8086]

> So for those students who aren't going to an IVY on a full or partial ride, or those going to med school, I say do some research before committing to a private school.

It's worth pointing out that certain colleges within Cornell are part of the SUNY system / state schools, so (at least in this one case) Cornell provides both options (full ride and in-state tuitions).