Support Groups for Unemployed MBA Grads

Interesting article here from BW. As a trained psychologist, I'm encouraged to see support groups spring up to help people. However, it's also depressing to think that, due to the economic crisis, our country might be be turning into "Support Group Nation."

Jobless Gen Ys Turn to Grad School

Great new article here from Forbes.

I'd like to remind you that grad school is often a much more dangerous investment than college, because it requires more years of unpaid study, more costs, more debt, with no firm promise of good jobs, especially in this economy.

Angry Grad from "New York Law School"

If you are thinking of attending any law school, especially New York Law School, take a look at this angry letter from a grad who can't get his career off the ground.

"The College Degree is a Lottery Ticket"

Some interesting comments from Barbara Ehrenreich:

Q: What does that trend mean for higher education in the United States?

A: I do a lot of speaking on college campuses. A few weeks ago at Tennessee Tech, a young man said at the Q&A, "I am one of those poor people."

He works part-time at Wendy's, lives in a house crowded with other people. The only thing he could see doing is the Peace Corps because there is nothing else. It's not because he's altruistic, it's because there's nothing else.

There are a lot of highly educated dog walkers in big cities today. They've been horribly exploited.

Q: Do you think the economic downturn and high youth unemployment will change how young people think about taking on college debt?

A: It creates a scary crisis for higher education. We have created a system where that credential -- the college degree -- supposedly is your ticket to a decent job and a middle class lifestyle.

It's not a ticket, it's only a lottery ticket. You come out of college with tens of thousands worth of debt and absolutely no guarantee of any kind of job.

Weighing the Value of That College Diploma

Nice new article here from the Wall Street Journal. The only thing I have to add is that I wish reporters would stop quoting the College Board (a biased and inaccurate source) about the value of a college degree.

And, contrary to the article, I would suggest that students try to keep their debt much lower than their expected starting salaries, if possible. I typically recommend that total debt should be between one-third and one-half of a student's expected starting salary, if possible. That would keep an extra $100-150 in your pocket each month, which might be helpful when you are just starting out.

Shame on New York University

The New York Post reports that, out of all of the colleges in New York State, both public and private, the school whose students leave with the highest debt is NYU: $34,850. Fordham University is #2 with an average of $31,300. And don't forget that large interest fees get added onto that. And I bet many of their graduates don't even have jobs. In fact, I happen to know one of those NYU May 2009 grads who's still looking for a job. Shame on these schools.

Recent College Grads Face Record Debt and Unemployment

From The Project on Student Debt: For 2008 college grads, loans are up to an average of $23,200, and unemployment has risen from 7.6% at the end of 2008 to 10.6% in 2009.

A "Lemon Law" for Colleges?

Michael Dannenberg of the New America Foundation has written a great article about why students should look for value in college, and why there should be a lemon law for colleges. Of course, a lemon law would be challenging, because specific costs and benefits are different for every student at every school. But clearly, students need more information about schools. Dannenberg suggests this potential kind of disclaimer for each school:

"Warning: One in three Acme College borrowers defaults on a student loan within three years of separation from Acme College. Acme graduates earn an average starting salary of $22,000 a year. Be careful before assuming substantial student loan debt to attend Acme College."

Another good point from the article:

Consider SUNY Binghamton and Niagara University, for example, both in upstate New York. From a purely financial standpoint, Binghamton is a great deal. Its sticker price is approximately $17,000 a year, and graduates earn a median income of $52,000 within five years of separation, according to Payscale.com.

In contrast, Niagara's sticker price is $35,000 a year, and graduates earn a median starting income of less than $38,000 within five years of separation.

Tuition Protests at UCLA

There were some large protests this week at UCLA regarding proposed tuition increases. Article here.

Med Schools Quizzed on Ghostwriting

New article here from the New York Times. I wrote about this a bit in the book. I have yet to hear a legitimate and ethical reason for this improper behavior by prominent professors. Schools that are potentially implicated include: Harvard, Johns Hopkins, the University of Pennsylvania, Washington University in St. Louis, University of California, San Francisco, Duke, Stanford, the University of Washington, Yale and Columbia.