"Free College" = Surrendering the liberty to choose

[CZfool68]

You bring up a great point, and one with which I am very familiar: educational debt. There is not a product in this country that has out-paced inflation and economic growth as the cost of college education. The cost is insane. People in BS majors with zero marketability graduate with massive debt. And because the lenders are happy to give it, colleges are happy to raise the prices in order to haul it in. Money laundering. I fully agree: eliminate all state-backed student loans (UNLESS: it's pay-for-service for teachers, nurses, physicians, etc.). Bad economics? Insanely stupid economics.

More low interest government loans or free money create distortions in the economics of the system. So people borrow more money and are willing to pay more for the education. If there were less or zero of these loans and grants available the costs would plummet to normal market levels. It is very simple. More dollars chasing a fixed amount of goods or services make prices rise. For every so-called good the government does there is a price to be paid somewhere.

 

[vaskeet]

I am just digging into all this crap as my 17 year old is starting the college research and application process. Right now if she had her choice she would go to UNC Chapel Hill. She wants to study biology or something similar and then go to med school. She has a 4.3 or some thing GPA taking mostly AP courses, and is in the NHS, Spanish NHS and Health Science Honor Society. She finished 2nd in NC for the Health Science Symposium and just went to Nationals. Can't remember exactly but her SAT's were sonewhere around 1350 or so. And the admissions people at UNC have told her she is borderline. Anyone want to take bets on how many out of state, foreign and pure dumb ass kids might get in that school instead of her? Frankly I just assume she go elsewhere, but the entire process, politics and economics of the university system are fubar. And it is mostly due to governemnt money, intervention and economic distortions. Fortunately she'll have options.

Can she throw a Football if she can the sat score could be 300 and she could get a full ride and never have to go to classes to get her degree

 

[CZfool68]

Can she throw a Football if she can the sat score could be 300 and she could get a full ride and never have to go to classes to get her degree

Yep, and she could probably take some of those made up classes they offered. But, hey, they are still an accredited university even after creating fake classes. with fake course work and fake grades. Just another sign of our phony banana republic I guess.

 

[LesBaer45]

I am just digging into all this crap as my 17 year old is starting the college research and application process. Right now if she had her choice she would go to UNC Chapel Hill. She wants to study biology or something similar and then go to med school. She has a 4.3 or some thing GPA taking mostly AP courses, and is in the NHS, Spanish NHS and Health Science Honor Society. She finished 2nd in NC for the Health Science Symposium and just went to Nationals. Can't remember exactly but her SAT's were sonewhere around 1350 or so. And the admissions people at UNC have told her she is borderline. Anyone want to take bets on how many out of state, foreign and pure dumb ass kids might get in that school instead of her? Frankly I just assume she go elsewhere, but the entire process, politics and economics of the university system are fubar. And it is mostly due to governemnt money, intervention and economic distortions. Fortunately she'll have options.

These days UNC = Univ. of North China. (Lame joke alert, I'm well aware not all Asians are Chinese, don't hate me bro, I was drinking early.)

UNC Board of Governors adopted policy 700.1.3, which capped out-of-state enrollment at no more than 18 percent of total enrollment. However, this cap applies only to the incoming freshman class, meaning transfer and exchange students are not included in the allotted 18 percent.

Take a campus visit. Look around carefully. I'd have to dig for the 'official' numbers but the out-of-state/out-of-country numbers have to be off the charts. (Take a look at all the out of state plates in the parking lots, I'm not just projecting it is a real thing.)

Real numbers. No idea of level of "fudging" that may have taken place.

Fall Class of 2017 stats.

40,918 applied
9,709 admitted (24% of all students applying; 46% of NC applicants; 14% of out-of-state applicants)
4,355 enrolled (45% of all students admitted; 61% of NC admits; 20% of out-of-state admits)

+ about 800 'transfer' students with no stats of in/out state status.

 

[Chuckman]

Can she throw a Football if she can the sat score could be 300 and she could get a full ride and never have to go to classes to get her degree

Obviously not all colleges follow NCAA or accreditation rules, but a lot do. Some do it right.

 

[Chuckman]

These days UNC = Univ. of North China. (Lame joke alert, I'm well aware not all Asians are Chinese, don't hate me bro, I was drinking early.)

Not sure if it is still the case but Duke has the highest ratio of Chinese per student than any other college. So much so, the CDC has Duke as an early warning detection site for SARS and avian flu. According to one professor in engineering, a handful of engineering "students" have not actually been "students," and have been outed for being Chinese intelligence.