$1M in student loans - WSJ Article

[Craigy]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/mike-meru-has-1-million-in-student-loans-how-did-that-happen-1527252975

 

Cliff notes, going to USC for dental school and orthodontics costs a lot  :P

[Side Hustle Scrubs]

?

He’s going to need to take WCI’s “live like a resident” advice to the next level - Live in a van down by the river.

[beth928]

Craigy wrote:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/mike-meru-has-1-million-in-student-loans-how-did-that-happen-1527252975

 

Cliff notes, going to USC for dental school and orthodontics costs a lot

And then people wonder why it costs so much to get braces.

[ENT Doc]

I saw this.  I think it's important to highlight how it's possible for this to happen so we can re-examine our approach to student loans.  That debate aside, this person clearly knew what he was getting into and made decisions that led him here.  Zero sympathy.  Dude leased a Mercedes and drives a Tesla.  Cry me a river.

[SerrateAndDominate]

"The government repayment plan affords the Meru family a comfortable life. Their home is on a mountain with panoramic views of the snow-capped peaks surrounding Salt Lake City. They take vacations, including a recent trip to Havana. He drives a used Tesla."

 

He clearly doesn't get it.

[jacoavlu]

anywhere you can read this without WSJ subscription?

or, was it in the print edition, if so what date?

[Zaphod]

I always thought my tuition was bad...until I taught head and neck anatomy to USC dental school over summers M1/2. They had trimesters instead of semesters and was as expensive as our semesters.

Its sad but like 75% of Sofi's finalists for their loan payoff thing a couple years ago were students from SC. Great school, way too expensive and only suitable if you have family money or scholarships.

[canadianoutlaw]

oddly enough if you access this link through the twitter app on your iphone is bypasses the paywall

https://twitter.com/EliArkush/status/1000023279996940288

[canadianoutlaw]

this story should be required reading for every health professional applicant. except the parts about the tesla, house buying and panoramic views... those should be redacted, ha

[MPMD]

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/04/your-money/student-loan-forgiveness.html

Kind of reminded me of this, essentially this guy's side gig became tracking his PSLF info to make sure he hadn't screwed it up.

[ENT Doc]

Crixus wrote:

It’s funny how most on this forum can see the debt problem on the small scale such as student loans. But can’t step back and see this is a fractal of a much larger systemic problem. If you think about it almost every facet of our lives has been impacted by this multi-decade credit orgy. Yet most are blissfully and/or willfully ignorant.

Click to expand...

Oh I think we're in for a world of hurt.  China has gone on a massive spending binge, financed by debt.  We can't seem to balance our budget and have an unsustainable debt problem at the federal level.  The YOY increase in interest payments on our debt rose 21% this April.  The states and municipalities are even worse (if that's even possible).  So I tend to agree with you.  I think too many people worry about bond duration, term, and balancing this between federal, munis and international debt.  But the thing constantly ignored is the credit rating of the underlying debt.

[legobikes]

Dear Crixus, I do not doubt the (relative) veracity of your posts, although I think you're not going to get anywhere with it in terms of convincing others. However, its explanatory power is limited, and I feel that what you really need is a much more comprehensive worldview, one not limited to the nature of current economic (and power) dynamics, or even the typical historical point of view. You need some metaphysics.

[Craigy]

ENT Doc wrote:

I saw this.  I think it’s important to highlight how it’s possible for this to happen so we can re-examine our approach to student loans.  That debate aside, this person clearly knew what he was getting into and made decisions that led him here.  Zero sympathy.  Dude leased a Mercedes and drives a Telsa.  Cry me a river.

Click to expand...

While I agree with you, according to the article, they had bought a used mercedes while he was in school with a $390 payment, and now drives a used tesla.  Both of those are drops in the bucket compared to servicing $1M of student debt.

But yeah he signed up for a USC education.

 

[portlandia]

Public: "We want our kids to all go to college, but it costs money."

Politician: "I will provide affordable higher education through grants and student loans!"

Public: "Tuition rates are now through the roof!"

Politician: "I will provide MORE grants and loans making education even more affordable!"

Public: "Hey, we have to pay these loans back?!"

Wash, rinse and repeat.

[LIFO]

Dental school and medical school are trade schools.  They come with a pretty safe guarantee of employment afterwards.  The schools know this and so milk tuition as much as they can.  I know for a fact that my well regarded medical school uses tuition to subsidize research.  Research bumps the ranking, student debt doesn't have a negative impact.  Its as simple as that.

On the undergrad level its even crazier.  There is zero penalty for putting students in massive debt. A lot of times its for a major that doesn't lead to gainful employment.  Kids are treated like kids until the bill comes due, and all of the sudden they are supposed to be experienced adults.

As a start, US News needs to implement a debt metric as part of their rankings.  Further down the line, the whole 4 year college model is pretty antiquated.