Page 12 - Considering College

Chapter Nine: Considering College— it
Community colleges were founded and designed to be low cost, no frills, and open access. If
takes four years to get an associate degree with no debt, do that. Make sure courses transfer by
Pragmatism in the Texas Panhandle
contacting the university you plan to attend. Transfer to a place like West Texas A&M University

that appreciates community college graduates and their academic experience carrying a ledger
with little or no red ink.

and on the South Plains
Resist the faddish advice that a degree must take four or six years to complete. This preoccupation
by universities, ranking agencies, state bureaucracies and elected officials as a means to measure

perceived quality is over-valued for most institutions. In 1930 the average life expectancy of a U.S.
Citizen was 60; it is 80 now. If a single mom requires eight years to get a bachelor’s degree, is that a

loss for the state, the university or the individual? Certainly not if the graduate incurs little or no
debt.

Lastly, if someone must borrow at all, never borrow more than 60% of the anticipated starting
salary of the first job. Check the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. If you want to teach school in a

smaller community in Texas and the starting salary is $40,000, don’t borrow more than $24,000 to
attain your bachelor’s degree. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board appropriately

recommends this 60% rule.

Any leader in any walk of life who tells any potential student that borrowing without qualification
is okay displays ignorance and should not be trusted. Too many people in too many places for too
many purposes tell students and parents, “Whatever the cost of the degree, it is worth it. It will all

work out.” It’s a lie, and unless those individuals will cosign the note, it’s disingenuous.
Never borrow more than 60% of the anticipated starting salary of the first job. Check

the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. If you want to teach school in a smaller community

in Texas and the starting salary is $40,000, don’t borrow more than $24,000 to attain
your bachelor’s degree. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

appropriately recommends this 60% rule.

I have been called, “The Dave Ramsey of higher education.” I’ll own that. A degree attained with

little or no borrowing will have more value than any degree with a passel of promissory notes
draped around the graduate’s neck like a string of poison posies.

If you are interested in attending college and do not hear these admonitions on campus, leave

immediately. Do not attend orientation. Do not enroll in courses. Do not pass go. Do not collect
$200.

Be a pragmatist.