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Costs have skyrocketed for a couple simple reasons.  Colleges and universities exist outside the free market largely.  They have had access to huge amounts of federal aid that students get easy access to.  Why lower prices when the government will give out loans for whatever amount is required?  There is very little way to "shop" schools.  Tuition and fees are largely hidden until a student is accepted.  Most don't have the time to comparison shop all costs.  By the time they are done, the schools are "full" and the student loses their spot.  Finally colleges have a chokehold on the industry.  Innovative new ways of education are unable to get through the government accreditation process, a process largely based on facilities and number of faculty.  It is impossible for an entity to break into the industry and offer better education at a lower price and hold the market down.  When you combine government subsidies, zero competition, and no real final cost for students you have a perfect recipe for running up costs way more than a degree will ever be worth.  

 

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I think there is a lot of competition and it will only increase. There are fewer college applications due to population changes and an increase in attractive trade schools such as Ranken Tech. Fontbonne is gone. Webster is struggling. Maryville is cutting .Economics 101. Supply and Demand. There are only 40 or 50 schools where reputation guarantees applicants. 

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11 minutes ago, willie said:

I think there is a lot of competition and it will only increase. There are fewer college applications due to population changes and an increase in attractive trade schools such as Ranken Tech. Fontbonne is gone. Webster is struggling. Maryville is cutting .Economics 101. Supply and Demand. There are only 40 or 50 schools where reputation guarantees applicants. 

Willie the kids coming from St. Louis may wind up going to school far away and kids from far away may come to St. Louis, it is not only a matter of academic reputation and standards. Some kids going to small high schools may choose very large schools and vice versa choosing a place to go to college is a complicated issue and kids may have strong ideas about what kind of school they want to go to. It is not a matter of money either, not as far as the kids are concerned. Young kids are largely ignorant about the burdens of debt.

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14 hours ago, thetorch said:

Costs have skyrocketed for a couple simple reasons.  Colleges and universities exist outside the free market largely.  They have had access to huge amounts of federal aid that students get easy access to.  Why lower prices when the government will give out loans for whatever amount is required?  There is very little way to "shop" schools.  Tuition and fees are largely hidden until a student is accepted.  Most don't have the time to comparison shop all costs.  By the time they are done, the schools are "full" and the student loses their spot.  Finally colleges have a chokehold on the industry.  Innovative new ways of education are unable to get through the government accreditation process, a process largely based on facilities and number of faculty.  It is impossible for an entity to break into the industry and offer better education at a lower price and hold the market down.  When you combine government subsidies, zero competition, and no real final cost for students you have a perfect recipe for running up costs way more than a degree will ever be worth.  

 

This might be the best post I've ever seen on here. Well done. 

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15 hours ago, thetorch said:

Costs have skyrocketed for a couple simple reasons.  Colleges and universities exist outside the free market largely.  They have had access to huge amounts of federal aid that students get easy access to.  Why lower prices when the government will give out loans for whatever amount is required?  There is very little way to "shop" schools.  Tuition and fees are largely hidden until a student is accepted.  Most don't have the time to comparison shop all costs.  By the time they are done, the schools are "full" and the student loses their spot.  Finally colleges have a chokehold on the industry.  Innovative new ways of education are unable to get through the government accreditation process, a process largely based on facilities and number of faculty.  It is impossible for an entity to break into the industry and offer better education at a lower price and hold the market down.  When you combine government subsidies, zero competition, and no real final cost for students you have a perfect recipe for running up costs way more than a degree will ever be worth.  

 

The expansion of the student loan program did nothing to control costs, if anything it allowed the universities to just keep spending without limits, which just resulted in higher tuitions, which led to even higher loans being guaranteed, which kept costs spinning higher and higher.

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A large amount of debt after graduation from college increased by grad school debt is a very large burden upon anyone. If you can obtain grants, scholarships or signing bonuses to lower the level of debt you should do it.

For example, MDs joining the active military services used to get a $100,000 signing bonus (I have no idea what  the bonus is now). Most of these MDs went to line units, not military hospitals. If you are choking on your debt level, maybe you should consider the military services as an option.

Remember that there are very limited spots for MDs in Navy ships, but lots of spots are generally available in the Marine  line units. If you choose the Air Force they will drag you through a lengthy security clearance investigation since MDs in the AF have access to highly secure locations and need a high level security clearance. I have no idea what the deal is with the Coast Guard, but during Nam they manned the boats patrolling the Mekong River. The Uniformed Public Health Services (UPHS)provides medical services, among other things, to icebreakers and weather ships (not sure the weather ships are still in operation). If you have any desire to visit Thule in Greenland or the adventurous spirit to desire a tour of duty to the South Pole, also covered by this service, this may well be the service for you. Please remember, in the South Pole you have no place to spend your salary and are probably paid extra for hazardous duty. The UPHS provides many other opportunities for MDs. By the way, I served in the Army, as an MD in an infantry division, not a hospital or MASH unit.

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