this post was submitted on 26 Dec 2023
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I got talked into bankruptcy (by a bankruptcy lawyer, surprise surprise). It cleared $12k of credit cards and bank fees but not the then-$50k of student loans and the spending habits that were the real problem. Now I learned my lesson. No credit cards. Save up and pay. Have an emergency fund that can cover your expenses for months and months in the event you lose your job, or your most expensive unplanned repair. That's the real life saver.
In France after high school you pay 170€ the first 3 years the 243€ the next two, 100€ more each year if you don't have aides from the government. Some engineering schools (~600€) or private schools are more expensive.
That's a total of 1496€ for a 5y curriculum at most, if you don't have any aides. (810€ for a shorter 3y one)
For reference the monthly minimum wage is 1398.69€ (without tax).
So if you work two months at McDonald's you can literally pay your entire education with enough room to spare if you didn't pass some years.
(Engineering schools is more but it isn't crazy either)
That's without any help, but we have some cheap apartment specifically for students, help to pay the rent. And in addition to this you can get a sizable amount depending on the income of the parents, sometimes enough to live on.
So why in the hell would you pay 50k. That's 33 times as much, guys just come to France, or the EU and your set lol
The real cost is in living expenses though. A lot of kids still end up with 20-40k of loans after 3-5 years in school living on their own.
But we still have living expenses in the US too, on top of the outrageous tuition costs. My bachelor's degree cost $58,000 but during those 4 years I also worked two jobs just to pay for rent and food and keep my car working. I've been out of college for over 10 years btw and still owe $40k in student loans.