Episode 20: "Game of Loans" - A Conversation About Student Loans and For-Profit Colleges

Summary: The United States is currently facing a student loan crisis. At almost $1.5 trillion, student loan debt is impacting the health, wealth, and happiness of millennials, especially black millennials who are more likely than their white counterparts to default on their student loans. Today’s episode addresses the various reasons black Americans are disproportionately impacted by the student loan crisis, including the lack of generational wealth (21:35), limited information about college admissions and financial aid (22:25), and the Great Recession coupled with job/wage discrimination (31:40). We also discuss the role of for-profit colleges in driving the loan and default crisis faced by black Americans (33:33). We provide insight into key differences between for-profit and traditional universities (41:50), discuss research on the job prospects and outcomes of for-profit college graduates (45:15), and highlight the predatory practices of for profit colleges (48:10). We then discuss solutions that current and future students should consider to limit student loan debt while also increasing their earning potential. Solutions include free or low-cost community colleges (52:35), high-paying trades that do not require a four-year degree (1:00:26), 529 college savings/investment plans (1:10:10), and the G.I. Bill (1:13:48). We close by discussing the factors that students should consider if they forego these solutions and, instead, pursue a for-profit college degree (1:15:00).   Other Topics Include: 00:30 - Catch up with Ty and Daphne 03:20 - BhD “Oh Lawd” News Segment 18:30 - The Student Loan Bubble 36:30 - Trump and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 1:17:50 - The Myth Behind Student Job "Placement" of For-Profit Colleges   Resources: The Student Loan Crisis: Congress and the Private Sector Must Go All In, Now - http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/education/384748-the-student-loan-crisis-congress-and-the-private-sector-must-go More Student are Taking on Crippling Debt They Can’t Repay-It’s Time for Higher Education to Share the Risks - https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2018/02/16/more-students-are-taking-on-crippling-debt-they-cant-repay-its-time-for-higher-education-to-share-the-risks/ New Federal Data Show a Student Loan Crisis for African American Borrowers - https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-postsecondary/news/2017/10/16/440711/new-federal-data-show-student-loan-crisis-african-american-borrowers/ Default Crisis for Black Student Borrowers - https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/10/17/half-black-student-loan-borrowers-default-new-federal-data-show The Empty Promises of For-Profit Colleges - https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/09/the-failure-of-for-profit-colleges/405301/ The 40 Highest-Paying Jobs You Can Get Without a Bachelor’s Degree - http://www.businessinsider.com/high-paying-jobs-dont-require-bachelors-degree-2015-10 529 College Savings Plan - https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/get-there/wp/2018/05/22/why-people-get-wrong-about-529-college-savings-plans/?utm_term=.6f9a2a775b37