Interest rates, as the tv hucksters constantly remind us, are near historic lows. So now is an excellent time to refinance your mortgage–maybe take out some equity to upgrade the bathrooms, take a little vacation, or purchase a home entertainment center. Or maybe it’s time to buy a new vehicle–perhaps a premium class crew-cab pickup, … Read more
If you are thinking about enrolling in a pricey Ivy League graduate program, read a recent Wall Street Journal article titled “Financially Hobbled for Life’: The Elite Master’s Degrees That Don’t Pay Off.” Reporters Melissa Korn and Andrea Fuller report on a WSJ analysis of student debt owed by people who graduated from prestigious schools … Read more
I occasionally see television and print advertisements for weight-loss programs. Invariably, these ads show a slim, young, attractive woman with perfect teeth or a handsome young man with great hair and six-pack abs. We are encouraged to believe that these beautiful people were once fat. But we know better. We know that no matter what … Read more
Almost every day, I see a television ad for an investment firm that targets retirees. “Don’t just retire,” the tv spokesperson says. “Retire well.” Of course, everyone wants to retire well. For most of us, that means retiring with our debts paid and enough income to cover our bills and travel occasionally. But many Americans … Read more
About 40 million student borrowers got some relief last year when the Department of Education allowed student debtors to temporarily skip their loan payments due to the COVID crisis. Even better, DOE did not charge interest on student loans during the forbearance period. But DOE’s relief program ends on September 30, and the feds expect … Read more
By Richard Fossey In a recent Wall Street Journal essay, R. R. Reno, Editor of First Things, wrote that he had stopped hiring graduates from elite colleges. He noted that he had watched a Zoom meeting of students at Haverford College (Reno’s alma mater), where students displayed “a stunning combination of thin-skinned narcissism and naked … Read more
Looking back over half a century on my college years, I remember absolutely nothing about the courses I took–130 vacuous credit hours. I can’t say it was my college’s fault. I had no clear idea about what I wanted to do for a living. I changed majors twice and took courses almost at random. I … Read more
Judson College, a Baptist school for women, announced that it will close its doors in July and file for bankruptcy. Only 12 new students enrolled at Judson for the 2021 fall semester, and only 80 current students committed to returning in the fall. As a Baptist news story commented, “Operating a college for fewer than … Read more
Elon Musk says MBA degrees are overrated, and he should know. Musk doesn’t have an MBA, and he’s worth $166 billion. Here is what Musk said in a recent interview: “The path to leadership should not be through an MBA business school situation. It should be kind of work your way up and do useful … Read more
In 2018, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos hired Jeff Courtney, a former JP Morgan executive, to do a forensic analysis of the federal student loan program. DeVos suspected the program was generating huge losses. In fact, in November 2018, DeVos said publicly that only one in four student borrowers were paying down both principal and interest … Read more
In olden times, college students took classes in the ivy-covered halls of universities. Male professors showed up for class wearing professorial togs: corduroy pants or rumpled khakis, a blue L.L. Bean oxford-cloth shirt, a knit tie, and a baggy sports coat with elbow patches. (At least that’s how I dressed.) Female professors had a different … Read more
President Biden has asked Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to prepare a memo on the president’s legal authority to cancel up to $50,000 in student debt. If he did that, the experts tell us, President Biden would forgive all college-loan debt for 36 million people–about 80 percent of all borrowers. Is that a good idea? Sort … Read more
In Goodvin v. Educational Credit Management Corporation, Judge Dale Somers, a Kansas bankruptcy judge, began his opinion with these words: “This student loan case fits the definition of insanity.” Judge Somers went on to chronicle the story of Jeffrey Goodvin. Mr. Goodvin attended Wichita State University for four years (1982-1986) but did not obtain a … Read more
In 2019, a group of student-loan debtors filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Claiming to represent more than 100,000 student-loan borrowers, the plaintiffs accused DOE of issuing “blanket refusal[s]” when students tried to have their student loans forgiven based on claims they had been defrauded by the … Read more
As reported in Inside Higher Ed, Becker College is on the brink of closure. Located in Worchester, Massachusetts (no garden spot), Becker’s enrollments have drifted downward in recent years, and it now enrolls only about 1,500 students. The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education says the school’s financial situation is uncertain, and Becker and the Department … Read more