Credit Crunch Ups Price of College Loans

It's a four year—or more—waste of time, author says

(NEWSER) - College is a must if you want to have a real career, right? Nope, it’s “a scam, a self-perpetuating Ponzi scheme that needs to stop right now,” writes James Altucher for DailyFinance.com . Here are his seven reasons you shouldn’t send your kids:

• It’ll cost more than you think: Thanks to the fact that more than 60% of college students will take more than 4 years to wear that cap and gown.
• It doesn’t matter, money-wise: Yes, the difference in income between a college grad and a non-grad is approximately $800,000 over a 45-year career. But if you invest the $200,000 likely college cost in bonds yielding 3%, over those 45 years plus the 4 spent in college, you’ll end up with $851,000.

Education linked to better health, longevity

(NEWSER) - Sure, college costs a lot of money and you won’t necessarily get a job after you graduate, but good news! At least you'll live longer in your loan-induced poverty, because higher education is linked to longer life. An annual report from the CDC shows that those who obtain a bachelor’s degree or above live about nine more years than those who never graduate high school. Education is also linked to other healthy habits, USA Today reports: More»

Nation's economy creaks under $1T in student loan debt

(NEWSER) - Wannabe college students have a lot to prepare for: all-night study binges, grueling exams, and the three jobs they'll need to pay off their crippling student debt. What's worse, that financial burden is only growing, the New York Times reports. Today, just 38% of the nation's $1 trillion student loan debt is being paid off, and the default rate has recently doubled. “I’ll be paying this forever,” says a 24-year-old dropout with $70,000 in student loans. “For me to finish it would mean borrowing more money. It makes me puke to think about borrowing more money.” More»

Congress is screwing college students in much bigger ways

(NEWSER) - Congress is up in arms over how to keep rates on Stafford student loans from doubling in July, but Mark Kantrowitz and Lynn Shaughgnessy have a question: Who cares? "The partisan posturing is a distraction from far more pressing issues that face students," the college experts write in the New York Times . Stafford rates have only been at their current low rate for about a year, and even if they jumped back up, it would only costs students about $6 extra a month. More»

Calls Obama academic 'snob'

(NEWSER) - Rick Santorum has a bone to pick with college. This weekend, he called President Obama "a snob" for wanting "everybody in America to go to college"—perhaps a bit strange coming from a man with more degrees than the president, the Washington Post notes. Added Santorum: “There are good decent men and women who go out and work hard every day that aren’t taught by some liberal college professor trying to indoctrinate them." On ABC yesterday, Santorum noted that "a lot" of Americans "have no desire or no aspiration to go to college." More»