Comments on: 7 Countries Where Graduate School Is a Fraction of US Costs http://matadorabroad.com/7-countries-where-graduate-school-is-a-fraction-of-us-costs/ study abroad programs Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:37:07 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: pm http://matadorabroad.com/7-countries-where-graduate-school-is-a-fraction-of-us-costs/comment-page-2/#comment-4725 pm Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:58:16 +0000 http://matadorabroad.com/?p=53#comment-4725 US student loans are a terrible, terrible scam that are destroying the morale of whole generations of young Americans. Our federal government, which according to the constitution is supposed to lookout for the "general welfare" of the people of this country, instead allows banks to screw the middle class out of existence. Student loans for nearly worthless degrees at insanely inflated prices when there are no jobs (or slave jobs)? Credit cards for students with no income and massive student loan debt? Home loans with no down payment, no income verification, no credit check, etc.? ALL SCAMS! They KNOW people can't pay these loans, and they DON'T CARE, because if/when you default on your student loan the federal government pays the bank immediately; if you default on your credit cards, they know your parents are likely to help you out "to save your credit"; if/when you default on your home loan, they just take your house and sell it. In all cases, you will have "bad credit" for at least the next 7-10 years. AND THAT'S GOOD FOR THE BANKS, because then they can charge you MUCH HIGHER INTEREST RATES if you need another loan! Horrible. This kind of thing just didn't happen to American citizens 50 years ago. Back then college was cheap or free (yeah, yeah - I know - it was subsidized by taxes - but for good cause!). Credit cards were extremely hard to get. Home loans required a good job, good credit, and at least 20% down payment. Personal responsibility? NONSENSE! How 'bout the banks take some responsibility for making bad loans? They have no risk! Risk-free profits! This is capitalism? I don't think so! This is gangsterism. If students were allowed to discharge student loans in bankruptcy, banks would have to be more responsible in who they give student loans to, and for what purpose (engineering/nursing, etc. or liberal arts/basket weaving? Good school or bad? Good student or bad? Good job prospects or bad?) For them, it's win-win - for us, it's lose-lose. Banks make HUGE profits regardless of whether we pay our loans. If we can't pay, the government pays the banks and then raises taxes (and inflation) on us. The great American middle class is slaving away at horrible jobs trying to dutifully pay back these fraudulent loans while big bankers pay themselves HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS EVERY YEAR in salary and bonuses. Oh, that leaves plenty of money to bribe their cronies in congress to keep the horrible laws that let them screw us like this. US student loans are a terrible, terrible scam that are destroying the morale of whole generations of young Americans. Our federal government, which according to the constitution is supposed to lookout for the “general welfare” of the people of this country, instead allows banks to screw the middle class out of existence. Student loans for nearly worthless degrees at insanely inflated prices when there are no jobs (or slave jobs)? Credit cards for students with no income and massive student loan debt? Home loans with no down payment, no income verification, no credit check, etc.? ALL SCAMS! They KNOW people can’t pay these loans, and they DON’T CARE, because if/when you default on your student loan the federal government pays the bank immediately; if you default on your credit cards, they know your parents are likely to help you out “to save your credit”; if/when you default on your home loan, they just take your house and sell it. In all cases, you will have “bad credit” for at least the next 7-10 years. AND THAT’S GOOD FOR THE BANKS, because then they can charge you MUCH HIGHER INTEREST RATES if you need another loan!

Horrible. This kind of thing just didn’t happen to American citizens 50 years ago. Back then college was cheap or free (yeah, yeah – I know – it was subsidized by taxes – but for good cause!). Credit cards were extremely hard to get. Home loans required a good job, good credit, and at least 20% down payment.

Personal responsibility? NONSENSE! How ’bout the banks take some responsibility for making bad loans? They have no risk! Risk-free profits! This is capitalism? I don’t think so! This is gangsterism. If students were allowed to discharge student loans in bankruptcy, banks would have to be more responsible in who they give student loans to, and for what purpose (engineering/nursing, etc. or liberal arts/basket weaving? Good school or bad? Good student or bad? Good job prospects or bad?) For them, it’s win-win – for us, it’s lose-lose. Banks make HUGE profits regardless of whether we pay our loans. If we can’t pay, the government pays the banks and then raises taxes (and inflation) on us. The great American middle class is slaving away at horrible jobs trying to dutifully pay back these fraudulent loans while big bankers pay themselves HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS EVERY YEAR in salary and bonuses. Oh, that leaves plenty of money to bribe their cronies in congress to keep the horrible laws that let them screw us like this.

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]]> By: WJB http://matadorabroad.com/7-countries-where-graduate-school-is-a-fraction-of-us-costs/comment-page-2/#comment-4684 WJB Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:56:47 +0000 http://matadorabroad.com/?p=53#comment-4684 Fantastic article! Thanks for all the great information, Sarah. Fantastic article! Thanks for all the great information, Sarah.

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]]> By: William Wallace http://matadorabroad.com/7-countries-where-graduate-school-is-a-fraction-of-us-costs/comment-page-2/#comment-3953 William Wallace Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:51:09 +0000 http://matadorabroad.com/?p=53#comment-3953 Fuck student loans avoid them for ever if you can, they are designed to screw the working classes. Fuck student loans avoid them for ever if you can, they are designed to screw the working classes.

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]]> By: Alex http://matadorabroad.com/7-countries-where-graduate-school-is-a-fraction-of-us-costs/comment-page-2/#comment-3608 Alex Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:20:31 +0000 http://matadorabroad.com/?p=53#comment-3608 I must say thank you for this wonderful post but what I really would like to say is for all the people who keep saying just pay off your loans its not so bad. I would like to comment on the person who said it took you 10 years to pay off your 17k dollar loans and it was not such a big deal. Well I have to pay back 125k dollars + interest. That would take you over a lifetime to pay dear sir. Is that not a big deal? unfortunately the problem with the educational system in the USA is that most people do not really get what they pay for. If you can get a good education for next to nothing in Europe or Asia, there is absolutely no reason why it should cost $20,000 for the same exact education in the USA. Another thing that I would like to say is to the people that think that the money just gets put back into the system for others to use. If there was no profit in giving student loans then believe me there would not be any student loans. These loans are made for profits more than anything else. I must say thank you for this wonderful post but what I really would like to say is for all the people who keep saying just pay off your loans its not so bad. I would like to comment on the person who said it took you 10 years to pay off your 17k dollar loans and it was not such a big deal. Well I have to pay back 125k dollars + interest. That would take you over a lifetime to pay dear sir. Is that not a big deal? unfortunately the problem with the educational system in the USA is that most people do not really get what they pay for. If you can get a good education for next to nothing in Europe or Asia, there is absolutely no reason why it should cost $20,000 for the same exact education in the USA. Another thing that I would like to say is to the people that think that the money just gets put back into the system for others to use. If there was no profit in giving student loans then believe me there would not be any student loans. These loans are made for profits more than anything else.

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]]> By: Carol http://matadorabroad.com/7-countries-where-graduate-school-is-a-fraction-of-us-costs/comment-page-2/#comment-3215 Carol Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:31:32 +0000 http://matadorabroad.com/?p=53#comment-3215 Thanks so much for the great resource! Although there are straight to the point websites out there, your blog is a great tap of reassurance. Im tired of paying for education in the US, I have been out of school for 6 years and am still only paying my interest back at $200 per month. Contrary to what people may think...its very hard to get into the top 100 schools here and incredibly expensive. Most of us do not end up going to a top 100 and still pay more than $40,000 for a program. Going to Spain or Sweden, you get a better education for a fraction of the cost, so its a much better value when you consider the academics. Now that there are no jobs here in the US and unemployment only keeps rising, its time for us to go abroad and receive a more well-rounded and global experience. On education in Sweden, I've read that they have extended free education for another year, is this true that you know of? Also, what are the requirements like to get into some of these schools? Thats one thing Im finding tough to research...I just want to know if Im a good candidate before I waste my time on applications, etc. I've tried emailing the schools directly with my questions but they must be on break as I have not heard back. What are some of you experiences on admissions or perhaps those of other posters? Any info would be really helpful. Thanks. Thanks so much for the great resource! Although there are straight to the point websites out there, your blog is a great tap of reassurance. Im tired of paying for education in the US, I have been out of school for 6 years and am still only paying my interest back at $200 per month. Contrary to what people may think…its very hard to get into the top 100 schools here and incredibly expensive. Most of us do not end up going to a top 100 and still pay more than $40,000 for a program. Going to Spain or Sweden, you get a better education for a fraction of the cost, so its a much better value when you consider the academics. Now that there are no jobs here in the US and unemployment only keeps rising, its time for us to go abroad and receive a more well-rounded and global experience.

On education in Sweden, I’ve read that they have extended free education for another year, is this true that you know of? Also, what are the requirements like to get into some of these schools? Thats one thing Im finding tough to research…I just want to know if Im a good candidate before I waste my time on applications, etc. I’ve tried emailing the schools directly with my questions but they must be on break as I have not heard back. What are some of you experiences on admissions or perhaps those of other posters? Any info would be really helpful. Thanks.

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]]> By: Heather http://matadorabroad.com/7-countries-where-graduate-school-is-a-fraction-of-us-costs/comment-page-2/#comment-2937 Heather Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:53:37 +0000 http://matadorabroad.com/?p=53#comment-2937 McGill and Concordia both offer graduate programs in English - and Montreal is notoriously inexpensive as far as living expenses go. Apartments are frequently on $350/month. Ranked among the top Universities in the world, going to McGill offers an American a great education in an inexpensive city with highly reduced travel expenses - Amtrak lines and frequent buses make getting home a breeze. AND you have an opportunity to hone your French skills... but Montreal is very bilingual and nothing to be afraid of. McGill and Concordia both offer graduate programs in English – and Montreal is notoriously inexpensive as far as living expenses go. Apartments are frequently on $350/month. Ranked among the top Universities in the world, going to McGill offers an American a great education in an inexpensive city with highly reduced travel expenses – Amtrak lines and frequent buses make getting home a breeze.
AND you have an opportunity to hone your French skills… but Montreal is very bilingual and nothing to be afraid of.

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]]> By: Shubha http://matadorabroad.com/7-countries-where-graduate-school-is-a-fraction-of-us-costs/comment-page-2/#comment-2842 Shubha Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:07:25 +0000 http://matadorabroad.com/?p=53#comment-2842 i'm planning to do my masters degree in advertising. The best schools either lie in the US or UK. these are unbelivably expensive. could anyone suggest a more affordable country? The medium of my instruction has been english, so that automatically rules out France, Sweden, Germany, and many other countries where language is a barrier, and the medium is generally the national language. i’m planning to do my masters degree in advertising. The best schools either lie in the US or UK. these are unbelivably expensive. could anyone suggest a more affordable country? The medium of my instruction has been english, so that automatically rules out France, Sweden, Germany, and many other countries where language is a barrier, and the medium is generally the national language.

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]]> By: katie http://matadorabroad.com/7-countries-where-graduate-school-is-a-fraction-of-us-costs/comment-page-2/#comment-1931 katie Thu, 21 May 2009 22:18:25 +0000 http://matadorabroad.com/?p=53#comment-1931 College in France is VERY different than it is in the U.S., at least for now. Universities run on a five or six year schedule of courses, the first 3 being comparable to our undergrad, while continuing on is like going to grad school here, only you can stop at four years and it would still count as something. You don't really graduate university, you just finish the year and that counts, for example you could write bac + 2 if you completed high school, the baccalaureat plus two years at university. Ecoles are a totally different beast. The Grands Ecoles as they are known are kind of like super Ivy league schools here. You usually have to have a year of prep before you can apply and it is extremely difficult to win a place. Almost all of France's presidents went to the Ecole Administratif, for example. Saying to readers then that you can feasibly go to this Ecole is probably not great unless they are brilliant and want to prepare for a year ahead of time, you should recommend other univerisities in France, I went to Universite Montpellier III (a liberal arts university, while I and II are more for law and sciences) and there was only a registration fee of a few hundred euros and no books can legally be required of you to buy at French universities. College in France is VERY different than it is in the U.S., at least for now. Universities run on a five or six year schedule of courses, the first 3 being comparable to our undergrad, while continuing on is like going to grad school here, only you can stop at four years and it would still count as something. You don’t really graduate university, you just finish the year and that counts, for example you could write bac + 2 if you completed high school, the baccalaureat plus two years at university. Ecoles are a totally different beast. The Grands Ecoles as they are known are kind of like super Ivy league schools here. You usually have to have a year of prep before you can apply and it is extremely difficult to win a place. Almost all of France’s presidents went to the Ecole Administratif, for example. Saying to readers then that you can feasibly go to this Ecole is probably not great unless they are brilliant and want to prepare for a year ahead of time, you should recommend other univerisities in France, I went to Universite Montpellier III (a liberal arts university, while I and II are more for law and sciences) and there was only a registration fee of a few hundred euros and no books can legally be required of you to buy at French universities.

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]]> By: Scottish http://matadorabroad.com/7-countries-where-graduate-school-is-a-fraction-of-us-costs/comment-page-2/#comment-1615 Scottish Sun, 26 Apr 2009 09:19:10 +0000 http://matadorabroad.com/?p=53#comment-1615 There are no tuition fees in Scottish unis. Unless you're English. There are no tuition fees in Scottish unis. Unless you’re English.

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]]> By: Priscila http://matadorabroad.com/7-countries-where-graduate-school-is-a-fraction-of-us-costs/comment-page-2/#comment-1603 Priscila Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:58:37 +0000 http://matadorabroad.com/?p=53#comment-1603 you forgot Brazil. most of the best universities of the country are free. you forgot Brazil. most of the best universities of the country are free.

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