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A comment on US college enrollments are falling, except for graduate degrees. Parent comment

Re:US college enrollments are falling, except for graduate d... by lumost on Tuesday September 29, 2020 @11:31AM (#24629029)
The cost of universities has also ballooned in both raw costs and risk adjusted terms in the last few decades, likely driving out most people who historically would have viewed their "opportunity cost" as worth it.

In the 1970s one could earn ~$2.75/hr as an entry level employee at a union job in a factory (~$20/hr today). UVA instate tuition and fees were only $484/yr, meaning that over a summer a student could earn ~2 years worth of tuition and fees.

At the time, spending the opportunity cost also opened doors just from having done it - substantially lowering the risk.

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Re:US college enrollments are falling, except for graduate d... by mywittyname on Tuesday September 29, 2020 @01:30PM (#24630598)
The costs really exploded in the past 15 or so years.

I'm in my mid-30s and managed to pay for the first two years of (community) college out of pocket while waiting tables. Quarterly tuition was ~$1500; I just cut a check at the registrar after scheduling my classes. By the time I went back for my BS a decade later, costs were closer to $10k per semester.

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Re:US college enrollments are falling, except for graduate d... by lumost on Tuesday September 29, 2020 @02:07PM (#24631051)
aye - The numbers I quoted were from my father's experience. I ended up carrying 1 years pay in non-dischargeable debt on graduation in 2010. Even on an accelerated payment schedule it took 10 years to fully pay down the debt. Paradoxically my initial inability to pay the debt nearly cost me my first job.
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Re:US college enrollments are falling, except for graduate d... by malandrew on Tuesday September 29, 2020 @01:59PM (#24630966)
Sadly, you're no longer just buying an education. You're now forced to pay for an entire country club experience and all the administration required.
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