But... I thought taking English classes and reading literature was supposed to provide one with critical thinking skills? How many years of "critical thinking" does one need to take before realizing that $200K on 6% variable interest is a whole lot of loans to take for no job prospects? How poignant and vivid should one's description of poverty be (parents crying over a yearbook purchase) before actually thinking about their own responsibilities?
I feel really sorry for the author and the author's parents. I know so many people who spent so much time and money on degrees like English literature, history, arts, sociology, etc. Today, most of them cannot find a job in any related field. In fact, I only know a single person who managed to make a good career out of studying a subject like that.<p>As a teenager, I was close to choosing this type of major myself. Almost nobody tried to talk me out of it. Instead, there were many people around me who encouraged me to choose something I found interesting and let the rest take care of itself. Reading articles like this, it reinforces my belief that this is almost always terrible advice and those who say things like that to young people should feel ashamed.
I think this system would be greatly improved if the universities sponsoring this debt (and profiting from it) had some skin in the game. If the universities suffered financially when their former students did, they would get much wiser about how they encourage students to take on debt, and they would stop inflating their costs to match all the subsidies we provide.<p>I think the modern university business model is predatory and needs to be regulated.
These articles pop up every now and then and I'm struck by how many include a similar line to "a B.A. and an M.A. in English literature, with more than $100,000 of debt..." If your goal is an MA in English, to be a writer, why would you go anywhere even approaching $10k a year? This notion that you must attend an expensive school is a huge fallacy that people need to understand.
I feel bad for the author's parents, thankfully he got his dad taken off as a cosigner. I also think the author should be willing to accept 100% blame for the debt, which it seems like they aren't.
>My debt was the result, in equal measure, of a chain of rotten luck and a system that is an abject failure by design.<p>Bad luck and the "system"? No. The author and his parents are also responsible. They should have sat down and discussed majors, schools, and how to pay for them. NYU is not the only school with English Literature programs; so, he could have chosen a cheaper school. They could have discussed what sort of job he wanted. If he wanted to study English Literature because he liked it, make it a minor and/or study it throughout your life.<p>You can blame luck and the system all you want; but, you bear some of the responsibility yourself.
This person really tries to absolve him and his family for anything. For one, don’t get how it’s valid to complain that banks were willing to give him loans. It’s his choice whether take them. In addition, this is exactly what people in the past campaigned for: loans for low income people to go to college.<p>Second he blames society for selling dream that any education was an uncontested pathway to success. Which, once again, is up to him and his parents whether or not they buy that lie
I find it deeply ironic that our legislators find that 17 and 18 year olds are too young and irresponsible to drink alcohol. That experience is reserved for the 21 and older crowd. Signing up for 4 year plan at 17 and 18 years old that gives the young person $100,000 dollars inexpugnable debt by the time the young person turns 21, no problems with this at all.<p>This whole system is headed for a major reckoning.
You spent over $100k on an MA in English from a private school in the most expensive city in the United States to live. Sorry, but that's on you. There's no math in the world to make that a good decision.
"My debt was the result, in equal measure, of a chain of rotten luck and a system that is an abject failure by design."<p>No. The author chose to go to school out of state and also decided to pursue a master's degree with added debt.<p>College is not free. Debt compounds. Unwise decisions have consequences.<p>We need to start basic financial education, fast.
What is the expected career path for an English Lit major? I know there are lots of fields related to writing like copywriting, editing, news reporting, etc but is there a job that's a more direct application of the degree (besides English Lit professor)?
The fact that you cannot discharge student loan debt is what encourages risky loan behavior. I can say that I got myself into a terrible loan because I was told that the prospects of a career were far better than they were,unfortunately this information was significantly harder to find back in that time. I didn't even know community colleges existed and thought I'd have it paid off in no time. As it is, I don't know how long it will take me to pay off, but it's going to be years.