joestein
TUG Member
I honestly don't think that an 18 year old has the financial sense to understand the ramifications of being in substantial debt just to get a college degree. But their parents should understand, and certainly the colleges and universities know and understand this, yet they do very little to steer the kids away from taking on life changing amounts of debt. My personal belief is that the colleges and universities should be held accountable for the amount of debt that they encourage the kids to assume, although I don't know how to effectively do this.
I know this might not sound nice, but the parents are usually just as uninformed as the students. Most of them probably are in over their head with debt as well.
It is the adults that live their life responsibly that help guide their kids properly.
It is my observation that the people who have the least assets (which are the most irresponsible in many cases) are the ones who spend the most on college. Most responsible adults who can afford to spend are the ones who look to keep the cost down the most.
Joe