(Economically) Stimulating Students
On Feb. 10, I watched President Obama speak in a town hall meeting in my home town (on TV, I wasn’t one of the few who could stand in line for 24 hours to get tickets) and my local newspaper reported on it. People are out of work and many are losing their homes in Southwest Florida. However, so far the government’s concerns seem to be banks that made poor investments, industries unwilling to change to meet the demands of the 21st century, and homeowners who bought more house than they could afford. What is missing is relief for those who are seeking to further their education.
Here’s how the stimulus affects education:
- Obama got on the record for saying there would be money for school construction, but the next day Congress cut it (Education Week, and Schools Matter)
- The tax credit, as mentioned in The River Reporter, is the American Opportunity Tax Credit, something we have yet to see the full details of, is for $4,000 and seems terribly complicated to verify the 100 hours of community service needed in order to qualify
- There are some minor reductions in rates for student loans over the next few years (as can be seen on FinAid.org), though this is not actually part of the stimulus package. They only affect undergraduates, and only subsidized Stafford loans.
What about graduate students? What about those of us who work in professional fields and are not interested in low-level vocational training.
Furthermore, has everyone forgotten the scandal that took place less than two years ago? The student loan scandal in which lenders were colluding with universities to urge students to take out bad loans due mainly to poor oversight by Margaret Spellings which she denied.
We’ve known for a long time that people with advanced degrees are likely to make more in their lifetime, something Jon at the Big Picture reminded us of recently. However, taking out huge loans to pay for that advanced degree may eat up a large portion of that new salary and even reduce the quality of life after a degree, as was recently discussed on Open Education. The New York Times also reported on how hard it can be to “shake” those student loans.
However, in the poor economy, it would seem to make sense for laid off workers unable to find new jobs to return to graduate school to improve their skills, or simply wait for the economy to get better. Student-run news sites at Cal Poly Pomona, and University of New Hampshire report on this effect.
Micael Kemp at UC-Santa Barbara wrote a great post on making the decision to return to grad school in a poor economy. “Mama PhD” who writes a blog on Inside Higher Ed, agrees that this should be a careful decision, when she wrote Don’t Rush to Grad School. Penelope Trunk’s Brazen Careerist also tell us “Don’t try to dodge the recession with grad school.”
For several days before the visit, the News-Press asked the question: What would you ask the President about your personal economic situation? I would ask how am I supposed to pay to get the education so that I can learn how to educate the nest generation better? If local yokel Julio Osegueda’s experience is any indicator the cure to one’s personal economic woes are simply getting to ask a question to the president, and it won’t even be necessary to finish school. He’s something for my town to proud of, I suppose.
Further Reading
- Daily Nexog >> Hiding From a Poor Economy in Graduate School
- Education Week >> Senate Cuts Education Aid in Stimulus
- Historical Data on Student Loan Interest Rates
- Mama PhD >> Career Coach: Don’t Rush to Grad School
- New York Times >> Report Details Deals in Student Loan Industry
- New York Times >> Spellings Rejects Criticism on Student Loan Scandal
- New York Times >> That Student Loan, So Hard to Shake
- News-Press >> Full Text of Obama’s Fort Myers Speech
- News-Press >> Obama Encourages Lee County Residents
- News-Press >> Town Hall: Julio Offered Work, Internship
- Open Education >> Higher Education – Potential Financial Disaster for Students?
- Schools Matter >> School Construction Funds Cut From Stimulus
- The Big Picture >> Education Pays
- The River Reporter >> Obama Has Plans for Easier Financial Aid
What do you think about people returning to graduate school, Jay?
I can barely stomach those self-congratulatory "career gurus" like Brazen Careerist. I want to get a tenured professorship and teach, go to conferences, and write articles and books. In insiderhighered and Brazen Careerist, they act like I should feel stupid or guilty about this. I'd be trying to go to graduate school bad economy or not.
Generally, I think returning to graduate school is a good idea, IF it will make you more happier. In my experience, the two biggest reason people cite for getting a graduate degree is 1) to make more money; 2) to get the mandatory qualifications for the job they want. These are valid reasons, and few people will continue their formal education simply for the love of learning. However, despite the costs of having to repay loans, and regardless of the economy I notice that many people who return to school after years of being in the workforce do so because they want to change careers and do what they have always wanted to do. If returning to graduate school will make someone happier in their career then I say by all means DO IT!
By the way – I have similar career goals, and I'm not letting the economy slow me down – I will be starting a doctoral program soon.
[...] I wanted to turn attention to two situations in my hometown (the same Fort Myers, FL that I mentioned a few days ago when Barack Obama came). The first involves a private high school student who has pleaded no [...]
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