Dear Parents, Please Save Your Freaking Children From Massive Debt

Here's a great NYT piece on the near-criminal enterprise that is today's Law School. They're puppy mills and, like almost all puppy mills, they don't care about the dogs. Law schools don't exist to train people to become lawyers; they exist to suck up all kinds of money for the school, and that's why they've rapidly expanded, even though the profession hasn't (quite the opposite, in fact).

The sad thing is you could easily apply this to most of academia, given the extent of degrees that aren't worth the paper they're printed on. We tell children, in what should be pure mythology, that college is the answer to everything. We've even convinced ourselves that it is as a society. I certainly bought it when I went off to school.

Meanwhile, there's untold millions of people graduating college today who have job prospects that are little better than if they hadn't gone to school at all, particularly for graduate programs and certain BAs. I can't count the number of friends who have graduated from college and can't find a meaningful job that makes use of their skills -- and these are all perfectly smart people, most finishing in the top 10-20% of their class. Some have been forced to take jobs that they certainly could've had right out of high school; others were forced to take jobs where they're lucky to be able to afford the rent. Finally, some have been forced to consider what should be the unthinkable: Grad school.

For the latter, they'd say at least they'd be doing something fun with their time -- less hopeful that the grad degree would provide them an edge for a job as they are hopeful a two year pause would provide enough time for the market to sort itself out. Yes, I've actually heard that argument -- from sane and rational people who are very desperate and know it's easier today to get into a decent grad program than it is to get a decent job. Of course, they'd be sorely mistaken, particularly given the millions of others who share the same thoughts -- and would be competing for the same jobs. The only group of people making out here is academia -- and the sad thing is, deep down inside, they probably know it.

But college graduates looking into grad school at least have some foresight and understanding of what all that debt will do. Teenagers graduating high school don't -- and they should be pitied most of all. We just throw students out there, with little time for them to understand what they even want to do or what their options will truly cost -- and without that kind of a plan ahead of time, four years can go by and a student can realize they just wasted all that time and money. Case in point: My college friend who learned he really wanted to study English after nearly getting enough credits for a degree in Biochemistry. Every teen thinks they know what they're doing and it's so hard to argue to them that they don't, but given the enormity of a possible mistake in this day and age, no responsible adult should let them before they have some idea of what the consequences would be -- and what those consequences would mean.

In Massachusetts, we're worse off than most states, because we suffer from HarvaBuMit-tus, where students are caught with the bug that makes them think it's somehow unseemly to go to public college, as if public schools were tainted or something. In a day and age when UMASS is ranked in the top 100 schools across the Globe, you'd think we could make some headway on this -- but alas. This, of course, goes doubly for community colleges -- which induced laughter amongst many of the snobbier types at my high school back in the day.

Those ignorant enough to choose private schools without the means to pay for their debt (aka those without wealthy parents) should be pitied, because they really have no idea and they won't want to be dissuaded -- until it's too late. Private schools will cost twice as much or more in almost all cases, but they certainly won't make you twice as likely to get a job or even get into grad school. No where close. Your experience and, most importantly of all, contacts, are far more likely to help in that department -- and your GPA and field-appropriate grad-school test scores are the tickets into that town, should you be foolish enough to choose it.

Thinking back on how stupid we all were at 17 and 18, picking where we'd go to school, I'm utterly shocked our society lets us do it as easily as we do. The NYT makes a great case that law school admissions, or at least rankings, need a great deal of reform -- but the truth of the matter is our entire system does. Far from empowering students to do what they want, our system of endless and easy college loans in this country is a system of neo-indentured service -- and the only people it empowers is colleges and universities to grossly inflate the cost of a college education. For students, those who graduate or not, they get giant loan payments that force them to sacrifice what they want to do for what they have to do -- killing entrepreneurship, creativity and even happiness.

As a simple matter of protecting students who don't understand what the real world is like and making sure we get as much bang for our buck in terms of government investments, any student who takes a government loan to go to college should first have to go to a two years at a community school before going onto a bachelor's program. Would it really hurt anyone doing that? For students, they'd still get all the same opportunities, as well as

1. Two more years to learn what they really want to do, so they can avoid disastrous mistakes (like my friend who spent 2+ years studying Biology before he realized his passion was English),
2. A greater likelihood of obtaining at least some kind of degree, rank or training in a specialized field requiring a two-year course,
3. Get the first two years of their education at a greatly reduced cost, saving millions from a crushing debt some may never truly be able to afford. 

The government would also get the tangential benefit of being able to greatly increase the number of students able to receive loans and grants, which would empower far more Americans. Why haven't we done this yet?

When I was looking at schools at 17 or 18, I'm glad I had the sense (at the last minute) to avoid all the private schools I desperately wanted to go to -- but had someone told me what even UMASS would cost, I'd have run to North Shore Community College for two years first. Back then, I seriously thought my loans would be pocket change -- something like $50 or $100 a month -- instead I have a $500 monthly albatross, binding me to my childhood home.

Update: Great blog on a WSJ story about how wages are declining across the country and probably won't rise for a very long time; the blog ties it into the greater (failed) strategy of the past 20 years that very much relates to what I wrote above.

On Student Loans: Here's an Idea

The State's going through a lot of hoops to make sure MEFA has funding available for its loans. In fact, while I appreciate the effort, Governor Patrick and others are trying so hard that I can't help but ask a few questions.

My first question is this: why have we let state colleges in Massachusetts become so prohibitively expensive that people are desperately searching for funds? Seriously, the UMASS system and other state schools are just rediculously overpriced at this point - meanwhile the state funds the system at the second worst rate in the country, per capita. The University now depends on charging students vast sums in fees just to keep the institution affloat, fees that are preventing many students from earning a college education in this Commonwealth.

Here's my second question: if MEFA is such a sound investment, why isn't the state kicking in the difference? Surely, we could have found $425 million somewhere, money we'll be able to get back with a sizable interest (6-8% annually!). By shopping these loans at Harvard and MIT, it's a very cheap way to ask them to scratch our back, while we scratch their's in much more expensive ways - funding for research at private universities over our UMASS system's, burying the bill that would tax Harvard's windfall investments that lead to profits of hundreds of millions every year (the head of their investment portfolio earns over $35 million a year at this 'public' institution alone) and other awful quid pro quos.

While MEFA is a program that thousands in Massachusetts depend on every year - I borrowed over ten thousand dollars in MEFA loans - it's not actually a program I would consider "good" in Massachusetts. We need to toss aside this rediculous notion that it's okay for students to take out upwards of $50k in debt at state schools to get an education. It should be free. It's free in many other places in the world. No student should be wondering whether or not, at this point in the summer, they'll have funding available to continue their education, yet it's a yearly conundrum for tens of thousands and it's only been exacerbated this summer.

My last question: Imagine what $425 million more in scholarships and fee wavers would do in this state, instead of going to fund MEFA? For starters, it would pay for Governor Patrick's free community college program twice or three times over. It may be enough money to extend a free public college education beyond the two years to anyone who successfully moves through the first stage. No matter how anyone looks at it, it's one of the best investments we could make in this state: not only do we need to keep our young smart and local, public investment in public colleges brings a return of over $3 for every $1 invested - $425 million would become $1.275 billion in economic activity. Not even MEFA's sound numbers bring in those dividends. It's time to rethink the way we do public higher ed in this state - and do it better.

Know a Twentysomething?

Then I think you should read this. Here's just a brief blurb:

Stop judging the twentysomethings. Instead, look at yourself. Why is it so important for your twentysomething to make choices that you like? In fact, the most successful people in today’s workplace are making choices that would have seemed absurd ten years ago. And things that are true today were not true ten years ago.

And have a heart. It’s not easy to be a twentysomething today. These young people grew up with tons of structure, tons of adults watching over them, tons of accolades. It’s a hard adjustment to go into the adult world where there is none of this. The most successful transitions happen when the person making the change receives time to adjust, space to grow, and support for tough decisions.

Have some patience. Most people find what they want to do with their life by the time they are 30. Really. And they are already putting so much pressure on themselves to find a good life. They don’t need more pressure from you.

I can't describe how many copies of the entire piece I'm thinking of printing up, so I can pass them out to every single person who has "advice" about what I should do with my life, instead of letting me figure it out on my own. It's as if some people think anything but being an Executive Vice President or half way through Harvard Law at the age of 23 is a failure. No thanks.

UMASS Boston Expansion Imperative

Today's news coming from the Boston Globe on the proposed UMASS Boston expansion rocks my socks. Here's the gist:

In the first phase of the blueprint, university officials are proposing to spend $750 million over the next decade to build three academic buildings along a central walkway bisecting the campus, two dormitories for 1,000 students, and a 1,000-space above-ground parking garage....

University officials said the overhaul would reorient the campus to create a close-knit and collegial atmosphere more akin to a traditional liberal arts college than an urban commuter school.

"It will change the whole culture of the campus," Chancellor J. Keith Motley said in a meeting this week with the Globe in which he detailed the school's plans. "It will create a much more open and vibrant community."

Let's examine just a few ways this plan is a great idea, in no particular order.

• It'll be great for UMASS Boston, able to expand its already very strong academic programs, going far beyond the ranks of just a commuter school.
• It'll become an even better school for commuters. Not only will the school get a new, functioning, large parking garage (which it currently lacks), it'll include a far more attractive campus, with new buildings, set for the new millennium. Academic quality will rise because of this plan - and ultimately, that's good for commuters.
• The young adults of this state, often just graduating from High School, deserve a more affordable option for college in Boston than the likes of BU, Northeastern and Suffolk - all upwards of $40 grand or beyond when living expenses are factored in. It shouldn't be a privilege to be able to afford college in this state's capital.
• It will bring a lot of income and new people into a community of Boston that needs it. For every dollar invested in a public college, the community creates $3-4.
• Having a full-scale, academically superior public university in the city of Boston will be the ultimate success in establishing the city as the Athens of America. It can never be that unless students are given the chance to have the full college experience at an affordable price, which currently doesn't exist in Boston.

The people of this state and the city of Boston deserve it. I can't possibly fathom one legitimate reason why UMASS Boston shouldn't be expanded to include residents, as well as more academic buildings and a far nicer campus. For too long, private colleges have dominated the landscape of all of Massachusetts, helping create the haves and have nots of the Bay State, all the while most graduates of this state's private schools move along to the 49 states in this country, while the majority of the state school grads stay home.

Of course, as we've seen with UMASS Dartmouth trying to expand to include a public law school, Boston's many universities are quite effective in resisting a stronger public university system. What's more dangerous to BU and Northeastern than a school that can compete with them - and cost half as much? They'll certainly lose tens of thousands of talented students from this state, especially if UMASS Boston expands beyond two dorms (and I'm sure, eventually, they will), but schools in Boston tend to have plenty of applicants and donors to keep them competitive even at higher costs. Furthermore, maybe a public college with dorms to compete with them could help keep down costs for everyone? Even if it doesn't, no Bay State student should have to decide between being around a hundred thousand dollars in debt - or missing out in the Boston college experience, if that's what they desire.

Deval Patrick: Free Community College

According to the Boston Globe, that's his ultimate goal. Very cool. I don't know how he intends to pay for it, but he's going to set up a commission to investigate it. And, really, is that such a bad thing? To create a goal, then spend the time figuring out how to get there?

Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, estimated Patrick's plan for the community colleges alone would cost roughly $50 million to $75 million a year.

Not only does it sound worth it, but it sounds rather reasonable as well. One of the biggest goals our founding fathers had was to create equal opportunity for all. That doesn't exist today - and Massachusetts isn't much better than the rest of the country. Free community college could be a stepping stone that truly does equate to equal opportunity: it really could open up some doors.

Equal opportunity is far different than handouts or public welfare. It's giving people the boots they need to wear to rise up. If people have almost no opportunity, how can they be expected to get out of poverty or improve their lives? Furthermore, it could be very likely that, over time, investing in this kind of public education would create additional revenue for the state. The people who take advantage of free community college are going to be able to turn that into better paying jobs, which means they'll pay tens of thousands more in taxes over the course of their lifetime.

Kudos to Deval Patrick for creating another great idea. Now, what can we do - as citizens of this state - to make it happen?

PS:

I do like one of Widmer's other lines in the Globe,

"We can't do it either without making some tough choices or raising a broad-based tax or if we get major economic growth," said Widmer, adding that support for raising taxes appears weak.

And I'm sure that's coming from a purely non-prejudiced, could-never-have-any-bias sort of opinion, right? In my experience, people don't mind paying fees as long as a) they know what it's going to and b) they feel as if it's worth while. For example, people aren't likely to say yes to a Prop 2 1/2 override if they don't understand why it's necessary, but if they do know what it's going for and they think it's needed - they're a whole lot more likely to pass it. The Governor, with his bully pulpit, is the person most poised to make an argument of why certain things need additional funding. He's doing that right now with the Municipal Partnership Act, something that enjoys broad support in cities and towns - it's just a few pesky leaders in the House and Senate that aren't thrilled (and I'm sure that has nothing to do with their corporate funders lobby friends).

Soulforce, Gordon College and BYU: Kudos to Who?

Soulforce is an organization that just so happens to be sending bus loads of glbt students across the country to protest against Christian colleges for warping Christianity to persecute against them. In great part because of their nonviolent actions, some of the colleges acted in ways that didn't exactly make them look good and show that good 'ol fashioned protesting is still effective. How do we know that? Well, several Christian colleges have taken a step in the right direction - in large part because of the actions of Soulforce.

The Globe had an interesting article about a trip Soulforce planned for at Gordon College in Massachusetts. Unexpectedly, the school agreed to allow the protesters on campus - and for really good reasons. One big complaint against these colleges is the suffocation of ideas and beliefs - by not even allowing a group like Soulforce on campus, they don't allow students the same kind of opportunity to think for themselves as they would at any non-religious college or university. It's something that Gordon got.

"We present lots of ideas in the classroom that we don't agree with -- that's part of education," said Barry J. Loy , the dean of students. "I'm hopeful that they will come here to learn, and we will do the same. We're not keeping our students from them."

Loy e-mailed the entire Gordon campus about the visit, declaring that, "Gordon College affirms the historic, orthodox Christian position that homosexual practice is incompatible with the teaching of Scripture. However, the college plans to provide a gracious welcome to our Equality Ride visitors and views this occasion as an important educational opportunity."

Clearly, Gordon College is trying to make it a place that students may actually want to go to.

What's even more shocking is the likely effects of Soulforce on a far crazier slightly more unique school and situation - Brigham and Young University. For whatever reason - and I'm sure Soulforce's role in this made an impact - BYU has changed it's policy on gay and lesbian students. Basically, for the first time ever, students are actually allowed to be gay at BYU. Granted, the policy is still draconian - homosexual activity is still banned and people aren't allowed to advocate for the 'gay agenda' - but, students can be "out" and apparently, it's already had an impact to some at the school.

One current student told the paper that the changes "remove a lot of the Gestapo atmosphere from the campus."

Things are far from perfect, but it's important for Christian colleges to move toward the direction of equality and it's nice to see that it just may be happening. It's too early to tell if things are getting better for sure, but hopefully progress is inevitable. Colleges are meant to be the last learning bastion that prepares an adult for the "real world" and that just can't happen in today's society if students are indoctrinated to hate gay people. Furthermore, colleges are supposed to be liberal - as in open-minded - institutions that allow students to make up their own damn minds. An institution can't claim that if they ban gay advocacy and gay students. Most importantly, there are a lot of religious gay people in this country - and they deserve the right to go to a religious college if that's their choice. Schools would do well to accept and encourage them, as they're just the same as straight people and have a desire to learn about religion, instead of alienating them. After all, turning away the sheep isn't a very good way to keep them in the flock. Kudos to Soulforce for being the change they want all across this country.