Would you live in your van

[nissangirl74]

...in order to avoid taking out a student loan?

By the time Ken Ilgunas was wrapping up his last year of undergraduate studies at the University of Buffalo in 2005, he had no idea what kind of debt hole he'd dug himself into...He had majored in the least marketable fields of study possible — English and History — and had zero job prospects after getting turned down for no fewer than 25 paid internships...."That was a wake-up call," he told Business Insider. "I had this huge $32,000 student debt and at the time I was pushing carts at Home Depot, making $8 an hour. I was just getting kind of frantic.".... I figured out two things on the road," he said. "That I was never going back into debt again, and that I was going back to school. I was just intellectually starved [living on the road for so long]. I recognized that I wasn't speaking as clearly and my writing wasn't as good. "...He was determined to find a liberal arts program affordable enough to pay his way as he went. He settled on Duke, which charged about $2,500/semester....He needed a cheap place to live, and he remembered a man he met back in Cold Foot. He'd been living out of his car year-round and seemed fine with it. "If he could do it in the Arctic, I could probably do it in North Carolina," Ken said....When he found an ad for a $1,500 1994 Ford Econoline on Craigslist, he knew he was home....By his final semester, Ken had nearly made it. But he had just over $300 left to his name and still needed enough to last him a few months. So he turned himself into a lab rat for hire, volunteering in at least two dozen medical studies that paid $10 to $20 an hour for him to undergo cognitive tests, take experimental pills, and have his brains scanned in MRI machines.

Link to the full article http://finance.yahoo.com/news/duke-grad ... tml?page=2

Question: would you go this far to avoid student loan debt? Why or why not?

[Bubba1]

...

Question: would you go this far to avoid student loan debt? Why or why not?

Me taking a loan to finish school? Yes, if necessary. Live in a van, uh...no way. Of course my personal situation was very different than the article's subject. Everyone has a unique situation and everyone has choices. As far as living expenses, for example, instead of living in an old van, I chose to go after and land a job as an RA (house manager) which provided a free room.

[Dattebayo]

First of all, the guy was clearly not going after the right kind of jobs. He could have landed a job in another aspect of the fields he majored in (or in another area), he was just being choosy and probably insane enough to live in a van down by the river...

Being an RA is not a sure deal, I tried that route when I went, and it was too sought after to really get any hope of being one.

Depending on who did the build, those Econoline vans can have a sleeper, table with four captain's chairs and a decent entertainment stack in them. I could see living in one short-term, but not for years...

[Bubba1]

Being an RA is not a sure deal, I tried that route when I went, and it was too sought after to really get any hope of being one.

...

Back at my school, and given the house I lived in was an "animal house", no one wanted that RA job, so your experience does not necessarily mean it's that way for everyone. But that was just an example. My point was that there are many opportunities while in college to make money if you're motivated. Another example is working for the food/cafeteria service, most of which offer free meals in addition to a stipend. I think his living long term in that van was nothing more than a personal choice, and avoidable if he was motivated.

[Dattebayo]

I think his living long term in that van was nothing more than a personal choice, and avoidable if he was motivated.

I agree. He just wanted to be that guy.

[nissangirl74]

What's wrong with just going to work - multiple jobs if necessary- and saving up the money and pay for it with cash?

[WDRacing]

Tip.
If you don't want to live in a van, don't get a degree that isn't worth a pot to piss in.

[OriginalWheelman]

This guy doesn't seem all that bright. UB is a Med / Engineering school. If he wanted to do English/ History he should have done it 15 miles away at Buff State which is a liberal arts school, and it would have been a better program for less $. And why the hell did he want ANOTHER Liberal arts degree when he had two useless ones? This guy had options, he just can't see them.

[frapjap]

...in order to avoid taking out a student loan?

By the time Ken Ilgunas was wrapping up his last year of undergraduate studies at the University of Buffalo in 2005, he had no idea what kind of debt hole he'd dug himself into...He had majored in the least marketable fields of study possible — English and History — and had zero job prospects after getting turned down for no fewer than 25 paid internships...."

Funny, the financial services offices do give you a TON of paperwork on your obligations and responsibilities. Of which he probably ignored and didn't bother to read and now is a victim claiming, "I HAD NO IDEA." He also had to have had the slightest inkling that the jobs available for an English and history major weren't worth a damn. Even psychology is more useful. And 25 internships? p****. 25 applied internships in 8 years is 3 per year. This whiney loser obviously didn't try very hard to get those internships. Even if we give him the benefit of the doubt and he applied for 7-10 per year during his last semester in school and the year after (and this article doesn't say so), I'll have to start resisting the urge to smack this douche in the back of the head. The amount of internships and scholarships that monetarily challenged, but motivated individuals apply for is WAY higher than his measly 25.
Idiot.

That was a wake-up call," he told Business Insider. "I had this huge $32,000 student debt and at the time I was pushing carts at Home Depot, making $8 an hour. I was just getting kind of frantic.".... I figured out two things on the road," he said. "That I was never going back into debt again, and that I was going back to school.

Ha.hahaha.hahahahahahahahahahahahha.hahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahaaaa. 32k!? THATS IT?!?!! Let me reiterate, hahahahahahahahhaahahahahhahahaahahahahhahahah that's seriously nothing in comparison to the average student loan debt. I owed a bit more than double that number and worked 2-3 jobs (in and out of my scope of my degree) during and out of school, volunteered for every event and club at my disposal and a times, lived on a friends couch (of which I searched the cushions regularly for spare change) in order to keep climbing to stay afloat in life. A Nissan Maxima costs 32k for f*** sake. 32k is attainable. Its $3,200 a year- on a typical 10 year repayment plan. Assuming you can market yourself, try hard, and get a job...

I was just intellectually starved [living on the road for so long]. I recognized that I wasn't speaking as clearly and my writing wasn't as good. "

STFU. Talking to people and reading regularly will keep your writing "skills" up. Does this guy think he's going to become the next big NY Times Best Seller author? Judging by his lack of motivation, I'd wager on no.

...He was determined to find a liberal arts program affordable enough to pay his way as he went. He settled on Duke, which charged about $2,500/semester....He needed a cheap place to live, and he remembered a man he met back in Cold Foot. He'd been living out of his car year-round and seemed fine with it. "If he could do it in the Arctic, I could probably do it in North Carolina," Ken said....When he found an ad for a $1,500 1994 Ford Econoline on Craigslist, he knew he was home....By his final semester, Ken had nearly made it. But he had just over $300 left to his name and still needed enough to last him a few months. So he turned himself into a lab rat for hire, volunteering in at least two dozen medical studies that paid $10 to $20 an hour for him to undergo cognitive tests, take experimental pills, and have his brains scanned in MRI machines.

Oh, good. So Cinderella here has a happy ending at the expense of some experimental drugs and radiation. He followed in the footsteps of a guy who did what he had to do in the arctic because he HAD to for SURVIVAL, not because he was a loser who couldn't manage to get himself a job or other means of making a wage. I sold blood plasma for extra money in college, and worked a ton of jobs, ate at two of said jobs, drove whatever car, bike, or rode whatever bus I could get my hands on, and kicked my a** in school for the internships and career I have now. Should I get a story written about me? Hell no, I'm just "one of those guys who it all worked out for."
I'm not suggesting that I should get a parade for how my life worked out, but this guy certainly seems to think he deserves one for living life the way he CHOSE to.

This stupid prick sounds like he feels he is entitled to everything because of his education. s***. Newsflash, you're not entitled to anything and if you have it, you haven't earned it. If your goal hasn't come yet, keep working harder. Quit being a b**** and instead of throwing in the towel and living in a van, get off your a** and take whatever money comes your way while you search for the career you want.
Seriously, whats next after homeboy here gets another liberal arts degree? Hes going to complain that he STILL can't find a job with a particularly useless degree and the next article will be about how he lives in the tent colony under the bridge by the gas station working the night shift?
f*** off. I hope this guy contracts malaria and rabies at the same time the last remaining fumes of gasoline in the van he is living in is lit on fire by a real homeless person with real problems.



*note, this rant isn't to say that I don't believe higher education is unjustifiably expensive, but more that if you want something bad enough, you have to have the balls to change your life and do anything to get there in order to reach your goal. There are plenty of folks out there busting their asses- and loads more without education- who are making it happen. This guy is a tool bag.

[WDRacing]

This dude is definitely a Democrat....just sayin.

[Bubba1]

This dude is definitely a Democrat....just sayin.

Just curious, why is that?

[Dattebayo]

This dude probably doesn't vote, actually. So it doesn't matter. I'm sure you could get him to offer up that he does, but he lied.

[Jesda]

32k really isn't that bad.

Even Dave Ramsey thinks living in your car is stupid.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I would say he's most likely going to be a victim of Darwinism before he's a victim of "the system".

P.S.- golf clap for Ray's rant.

[nissangirl74]

I've had student loans before. They suck but they aren't the end of the world. I worked 70 hours / week to keep them at bay but I thought it was the right thing for me to do at the time. They're gone now and I'm currently working to cash flow the next part of my education. End goal is an associates degree, an RN license, and a Bachelor's and a Master's in Nursing with ZERO debt. as of right now, I'm on track to accomplish that goal. I don't really care if it's a wash, just as long as I don't have to write a check to a loan company when it's all over.

[WDRacing]

This dude is definitely a Democrat....just sayin.

Just curious, why is that?

I was just scewin around. But if I had to be serious I'd say something like, most people with a liberal arts degree, seeking additional liberal arts degrees are probably Democrats.

[Bubba1]

I was just scewin around. But if I had to be serious I'd say something like, most people with a liberal arts degree, seeking additional liberal arts degrees are probably Democrats.

That reminds me of the old joke, "how do you get a Liberal Arts graduate off your front porch? Pay for the Pizza."

[WDRacing]

HAHA, that's funny right there.

[MinisterofDOOM]

No, I wouldn't. Why? Lots of reasons:

1: I quit wasting my money on school years ago.
2: I would never get myself into a loan like that if I was not able to repay it with a big safety margin. The only debt I have, on my car, was a TINY loan and something I could comfortably pay off. I also owe far less than the car is worth. Your education's "worth" is highly debateable, but at the end of the day you can neither sell it, just hang onto it as a "paid for" toy. It's something you sunk money into and the only way to get that money back is to stop being a lazyass and EARN IT THE @#$% BACK.
3: I can actually GET A JOB so refer to number 2.
4: I would buy a hearse if I needed a car to sleep in.
5: I'm not an idiot slacker idealist entitled self-impressed hippie jackass moron.
6: I'm one of those people without education Ray mentioned who has busted his a** to EARN my s***. Instead of asking why nobody will give me a job, I got an effing job and starting showing people why I should KEEP it.

What's wrong with just going to work - multiple jobs if necessary- and saving up the money and pay for it with cash?

THIS.
I have some student friends who are going to school full time, and working AT LEAST ONE full time job to boot. On their down semesters, they get more jobs to fill in the hours that school was taking up before. And they're rocking hard at ALL of those things. Because item #5 above applies to them as well. And these kids aren't just saving up to pay for school without loans. They're paying for a place to live, food, and having fun on the weekends. This dude needs to quit his bitching.

[AZ89two4Tsx]

I think the real question is, what school charges only $2500 a semester? Haha.

But really though, seems like it was his own stupidity that got him there. Student loans aren't a bad thing if you can pay them back. I'm racking them up like crazy. But I'm not really too concerned, especially since I'm not doubling in History and English.

...If you're going to major in something like that you better have a plan/know what you're doing.