How college loans exploit students for profit | Sajay Samuel 

Noam Chomsky: "Students who acquire large debts putting themselves through school are unlikely to think about changing society. When you trap people in a system of debt they can't afford the time to think. Tuition fee increases are a disciplinary technique, and, by the time students graduate, they are not only loaded with debt, but have also internalized the “disciplinarian culture.” This makes them efficient components of the consumer economy."

The more i learn about college the less i feel like i can handle it

The biggest problem is the financial aid system. With more financial aid, schools can charge more, and then, students need more financial aid which makes the schools want to charge yet more again.

If only people cared about this as much as they do for sports

I learned a lot more on youtube than I did in college, RU-vid is free college is not.

Make sure you choose a social justice course, that way you not only don't ever pay your loans back. But you also become actively unattractive to employers

Just like the mortgage crisis. The government decided to subsidize college costs. Once they started making it easy to take on massive amounts of debt as a student guess what happened? Tuition rates started jumping 15% a year for the past 2 decades.

It turns out that the entire point of a loan is to make profit. Otherwise what is the point of loaning someone money if there is no incentive?

This is so depressing because my parents made this mistake and then kept telling me to take out student loans. I had to lie and say I couldn't take out more after $42,000 because it was making me sick. I was young and didn't realize how serious this was. of course I was loaning them money... dont know how I could have been so stupid. I bought thrift store clothes and wouldn't buy a car. I had 2 jobs and walked alot....

I attended a public university in the mid 1980s. My first two years of school, the tuition + books were covered 100% by my PELL grant. In fact, I always got a refund check for the over payment of the difference - free money! In 1984, Ronald Reagan's education budget cuts eliminated my PELL grants, but I was able to get a College Work-Study grant with which I worked three hours every afternoon Monday - Friday in the university library. That College Work Study job completely paid my tuition and books for my remaining two years in school. I graduated in 1986 with my BA with zero debt. Damn, how times have changed for the worse.

I like the idea of tuition being based on expected earnings with a given degree, but I also think that self-teaching should be an option. People should be able to learn the material for a class, take the final exam for a cheap price, and get college credit if they pass. Education and healthcare are two very important things, and in the US so many people are in debt over these things or don't get them at all.

There was a Cuban dude on youtube, who commented and scoffed at a point I was making: Cuban students can get a masters or doctorate degree -- all paid for by their government (because they actually invest in their people). The state has a very high-level of medical education. He finally admitted the western/American system wasn't perfect. And it isn't. He emigrated from Cuba, and is now in the U.S. He simply jumped from what he thought was the frying pan, and hopped into the fire. Western countries no longer have to invest in their people -- because they simply cherry-pick and immigrate any kind of workers they want -- STEM workers, low-wage low-education, nurses, etc., like they are picking and choosing them off a restaurant menu. That's the new economy. It's ugly. It treats workers like disposable garbage. It destroys communities. It's focused on profit over ethics. It sees only borderless markets and quashes nations. Until our economy changes, nothing else will be changing either.

Sadly, it sounds like the best solution is to get educated overseas instead

Americas education program is terrible I hope someone fixes it

university is so expensive thats why im going to community college first

"because they bought a defective product" This is exactly how I retrospectively measure my college education, and I suspect most that have fallen to dilemma feel the same. It's not what I signed up for. Product and consumer were not discussed with my parents, or my high school counselor a decade ago. I signed up to build a life, but ended up buying one.

and here's why ive been worrying about tuition since the 7th grade

In Poland higer education is free but not everybody can go. People with worse score have to pay. I think it is a fair solution cause not only the rich can go but also talented kids from poor or not so wealthy families. It supports talent and dedication instead of $$$. That's why in Poland we have a huge amount of good engineers and scientists.

I knew this when I was 14. Honestly, this is why technical school and public school are the only real options.

One of the biggest scams with higher education is that online education is actually the same cost as the brick and mortar programs.

When will it change? How much longer can costs increase? How will the really expensive schools be able to adjust to the lower revenue and budgets? I feel like the only way is for the system to crash and start over.

I will be one of those engineering students that graduates with a large debt. :(

I like this guy. He's on our side.

In Sweden, higher education is completely free.

By the thumbnail I thought this was snoop dogg explaining why college was a scam 😂😂

Absolutely true. Going to college feels like some kinda military training where ur "trained" and not educated, to combat the corporate life. Nobody talks about new stuffs or new ideas.

It all depends on your major, you shouldn’t go to college unless your entry salary can’t cover your entire tuition cost

Something truly has to be done about the cost of education. I have said and will continue to say education should be free in America. We pay taxes for everything else. The American dream is dead, especially as it relates to education. I'm just now making what I should have made 5yrs ago. Yes, I have a Master's degree, but the salaries most companies offer is laughable to say the least. People complain about the military, but if I joined as planned today I would be student loan debt free.

Great video and tips on College Debt, I'm very proud to be a college graduate but it's crazy that college tuition increases every year. College should be a great experience for all. I take responsibility for my debt and I will never regret going to college. One of the best decision that I have ever made and the beginning of my self education. Don't be scared to go but do your research kids.

Thank You so much for this important and needed information ... Yes, our education system has become a system driven by greed and it exploits many in a manner that is heartless and cold ... May we begin to stand up to this system and make the required changes ... Love & Peace to All

What a great way to frame the issue of the value and costs of higher education as opposed to simply pointing out the symptoms. I'm lucky enough to have gone to college at a time when a near-full time job paid enough to pay for my tuition and living expenses and therefore graduated with minimal debt. My how things have changed.

Is there a spread sheet to show if I paid blank for this month and blank for this month on how long it will take and how much I'm just paying interest rates on?

Had to drop college to take care of my dad who had Alzheimer's and my mom who had cancer now that they both past away I cant go back because of my withdrawals and I'm stuck with over 30 thousand in loans and no excuses.

Here's how I feel about the whole issue about college and debt because I feel that a lot of people my age (21-28) feel everything is unfair. A lot of people go to the most expensive colleges and get poor grades and don't apply themselves to their majors and on top of that choose majors that make very little money. For example you don't need to go to USC and pay 50k a year to get a communications degree. I'm not sure what people are expecting. It's not about where you go it's about what you do at school, I know kids that went to not so prestigious schools that were affordable and they are working for some of the top firms and company's in the country. Yes, UC Berkeley will get you more interviews but people will notice that you're smart regardless of what school you go to. Using me as an example, I had choices of schools to go to but I chose the one that was the most economical and had the best engineering program. Yes o had to work and a study at the same time, but it meant that I wouldn't be astronomically buried in debt. I graduated in summer 2015 got a job in my field shortly after and payed off all my loans by spring 2016. I get that school is expensive but no one is forcing anyone to go to the most expensive schools, choose majors that they are not interested in, make the least amount of money, and have a difficult job market.

America, you are free to pay us money for your contribution to the future. " *Land of the free* "

He makes a good point about the consumer/student not having a way to gauge the return on investment.. he says this is why tuition costs are skyrocketing out of control. Look at the parallel with healthcare.

Salaam (Peace)! This video was one of the best Ted Talks I've seen, mainly because of the subject matter. Debt enslaves the borrower to the lender... And most students, inclusive of myself, spend a lot of time and of course money trying to free ourselves. May the Creator provide us all the means, the opportunity, and the courage to pay our debts off, and take preventative measures to assure avoidance of such circumstances for ourselves, our families and our loved ones. Ameen. #debtfreeisthegoal

Not only loans, but universities charge ridiculous rates and tuition prices because they justify 5 digit cost for semester because its 'optional,' without taking into account that our society/employment pretty much looks down on people without diplomas and didn't go to college.

I constantly tell people who are thinking about going to college, "Don't go to college unless you know exactly what you want to do after it. If you don't need that degree to do that job, don't go to college." I have a friend who dropped out of college because he already had a job that pays him nicely and allows him to live a pretty comfortable life, and there's nothing he wants to do that requires him to go to college.

He speaks well and straightforward. Id love to have him as a professor

A groundbreaking and informative talk. Well done !

Almost 50% of recent graduates are employed in professions that don't need college degrees, See www.careerbuilder.com/share/aboutus/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?sd=10%2F9%2F2014&id=pr846&ed=10%2F9%2F2099. Why are we surprised that tuition is rising by at least 10% per year by the money hogging colleges. Oversupply results in overcharging. Politicians loves saying education matters, 50% of the college grads disagree. Europe and other countries' free tuition also works the same way, it just that instead of students paying for overcharging, tax payers overpay instead.

Finally great talk. This doesn't only relate to USA, but to a lot of Education system across the globe.

I go to a Community College and my first year my Pell Grants paid for the first year. I go back in the Fall and they gave me a $1000 tuition scholarship because my G.P.A was good. So far, schools been free for me

I would like to hear Sajay speak more on the idea that high school graduates pay the ultimate cost. I feel it's a type of inflation effecting almost every level of work. Construction is my trade and the regulators love to come up with new licenses and categories and I suspect it devalues the old licenses and gives more power to the large corporations. If you have a very specialized degree or trade license you have a limited "usefulness" in the work place. This gives the leverage to the large corporations or regulating bodies. With leverage comes money. The people who make it all happen end up taking the hit. Thoughts? THanks for the talk Sajay, I have 5 young ones and their future is on my mind.

Very good speaker, simple and straight to the point while giving insight. A+

That was an excellent talk

Great speech! Finally someone called the way it is. Not a very popular subject specially for corporate America.

15% a slave

SMOKE WEEK EVERY DAY

This is exactly what's been going through my mind right now when thinking about transferring to university since I have psychology and philosophy A.A. degrees I'm worried about majoring in what I love because I will be taking on so much debt and thinking about where my future will be after obtaining debt.

great talk.

USA is better in many aspects than other countries but sometimes I'm glad that I'm Russian. University education is free here.

I’m in college again now at age 51 and this video is a required viewing for our class. Funny how I already knew this and am applying his knowledge to my own tuition. At least at my age I already know what I’m getting into.

My great uncle went to college, then to law school. He worked a part time job while he went to school. With that part time job, he was able to afford his tuition, his books, his housing, food, a car, gas, and everything else he needed. He graduated with $300 left to pay on his car and had that paid off within a month of graduating. That was back in the 1960s. He never even thought about getting a student loan. And he never had to take any social justice or diversity classes. He took classes that actually pertained to his chosen major.

I certainly hope somebody does as he suggested and develops an app which gives you an idea of the "best product" to buy college wise.

Like the talk, but hate the comments.

This hits home, 100k in student loan debt and making $12 an hour. I simply don't pay.

I didn't even finish my degree and still have a few thousand dollars of debt smh so stupid

great talk

PLEASE CONSIDER COMMUNITY COLLEGES AND TRADE SCHOOLS!

You can learn online more than you learn in college for 90 percent cheaper

I've made many stupid decisions in my life. But going into debt to attend college wasn't one of them!

Great speech, anyone else notice he looks kinda like Snoop Dogg?

Something to consider, do colleges actually know the potential earnings of jobs, if they do, will those jobs be available (lawyers)? What would make someone choose a degree with a higher tuition if rhere aren't gauranteed jobs in the field? Would a B.A. in food service be better than a B.A. in law? If so, what constitutes "better?" The questions are endless when trying to assign values to a broken system.

Great, now we've even out-sourced our friggin' TED Talks!

Some majors are overpriced relative to future incomes but on the flipside some may be underpriced - meaning get into computer science quick before anyone enacts a scaled pricing system!

Can confirm. Graduated 5 years ago. Still paying off my loans.

Following the laws of supply and demand, the increase in tuition fees is linked to the increase in population and lack of new higher education providers. You have two options: 1. Lower the demand by lowering the population. 2. Increase the number of colleges to satisfy the demand.

Education should be affordable...full stop. In Italy in public universities you'll pay between 1.000 to 2.000 euro at year. This amount can be payed easily by the parents or the students with a small part time job.

If only I had watched things like this before entering into crippling college debt that will be nearly impossible to pay off unless I get a MASSIVE pay raise (I'm in the medical field, it isn't what it is touted to be unless you are a doctor.)

How do you recognize that an institution is lending you money for profit? When you sign on the dotted line.

Very true

Any way you cut the slice, student loans are a rip-off. There are certain limited circumstances where it could be a good deal. For example, you're studying for a high salary earning degree and you just need to borrow 1K to pay for books to finish one semester. But if you depend 100% on student loans that means one thing: you cannot afford college, so accept the fact that college is NOT for you. End of story. Rough, yeah; but true. Of course, that's not how it should be, but that's how it is. Fight to change the system but don't be a willing victim to it. Protect yourself. Debt ruins lives beyond the power that any career has to save you. Interpret this situation accurately - "America" hates you if you're poor and loans are your only hope for college, in essence. Allow the pain to forge you into a stronger, tougher, more cunning individual and find another path in life. "You could be a meat eater, kid, and I mean people not their garbage." - A#1 (Lee Marvin), Emperor of the North.

graduated college with a advanced diploma in mech engineering no debt, thankfully from my parents, worked a bit saved some money, went to university for 1 year ended up dropping out due to depression and now im debt for about 10k and struggling to hold down a job cause my depression

I go to college just so the professors play RU-vid videos to teach me, and my classmates, but of course I won’t be able to find a decent job if I don’t have the Diploma that certifies that I’ve been watching RU-vid for four years.

Different tuition for different majors could be a dangerous proposition. It could keep students from picking up hard majors due to risk of default. Also most freshman dont know what they want to become when they first enroll, which is what I believe college is there to foster. I agree that tuition system needs review, but its an dangerous game to play because it could negatively affect the job market.

i have a lot of debt. thanks for sharing

PragerU has a good piece on this, comparing the housing bubble to the student loan bubble.

Brilliant

Thumbnail looks like Snoop Dog is giving a talk.

When you go to college or university you are paying to gain knowledge, to gain wisdom, to become more educated. You are not paying for a potential job that you may get after graduating. That is not what educational institutions are responsible for. They're only responsible for educating you, nothing else. You need to have more insight and knowledge than others' in your interview panel to get a job. The university has nothing to do with that. I hope you can understand.

Very thankful for my GI Bill i'm using now. The daunting cost of school is what lead me to chose to join up.

wow....powerful

And let's not forget the problem of ''degree inflation''... Every single degree issued is worth less than the previous ones, and people recieving them are less qualified in general. It's in fact also important to note that the degree count of a university is somehow a matter of its prestige, so it's more likely they would rather promote an incompetent student instead of loosing a place in the ranking. Of course universities still are places of culture where most of the non- private industry- based, intellectual developement happens, and not all of them(i'm talking about the the most prestious ones, with safe places) are subject to the problem. So it's not entirely a matter of course divide but also institute divide. The best solution would be reducing the need for universities to care about the most practical and not- innovative matters. (ex. a division in engineering- one for qualified civil construction workers with a professional course outside of the university and an advanced study on technologies with an aim on innovation and developement held by universities. this would probably reduce the stress on the universities in a big way). It would reduce the number of proper ''universities'' and provide half- qualfied people with the title they deserve. All in benefit of our societies.

I'm aiming to become a doctor but the loans I'm going to have to take for med school look painful. I am already taking classes at a community college to save some money and I worked hard to get an Honors scholarship for high GPA and academic outstanding. I'm going to finish my time here in the Community College with 0$ debt. The thing that scares me though is Universities and Medschool, what can I do to minimize the cost? Anybody have any tips or advice? Please, anything would help! I still have time to avoid falling into this system and not owing $500,000 dollars.

Wonderful video, but I do have one question: Wouldn't IBT leave the departments of less lucrative majors underfunded?

"College" is big business. If you don't understand that or the terms of a loan you are not college material. And NO, I am not interested in paying for YOUR Liberal Arts degree after paying as I went to gain marketable skills.

so who built the app?

the exorbitant price schools charge is also a problem. a uni should not charge 40k-50k per student per year.

Income based tuition would further income inequality nationwide by keeping high paying majors out of the reach of the less privileged. In theory it makes sense, in practice it destroys the American dream that it would be meant to protect

this is great

truth

He’s got a good point

I wonder how he would answer the point that when one finds the right, affordable, most effective college, that one cannot purchase it unless the product lets you in. Many students don't have the choice to buy the BEST degree, the one that will give them the highest return. They don't get in. Or they can't afford it. Overall, though, this was insightful as I approach my next degree.

How come that this is a phenomenon peculiar to anglophone countries? In continental Europe and most of Asia the best colleges are public and education either cheap or free. I am genuinely curious to know how this situation came to be.

I once heard of an American student who decided to study in Germany instead of pay for in-state tuition state-side. After 4 years of living and studying in Germany she spent several thousand dollars less than she would have state-side for the same degree.

Brilliant , education is Now a consumer product! Income based tuition , dang it that would be the best app

Sooooo who wants to help me get started on this app lol, I wish more millennials would stop getting comfortable in uncomfortable situations and actually take a stand. I understand that we are young but we can make a change happen if we unite... Professor Sanjay is truly on to something.

Real talk alert!!!