1026 replies to this topic

[spanky123]

I wonder if having our Mayor marching around with an anti-Trump sign might help us in this dispute?

 

http://www.timescolo...alyst-1.8930892

[tedward]

Presumably, to help fight on the side of justice in the upcoming American civil war - part II.

 

I think they will only let in Trump loyalists:
 

Montrealers bound for Trump inauguration turned away at border

'The first thing he asked us point blank is: are you anti- or pro-Trump?'

By Steve Rukavina, CBC News Posted: Jan 20, 2017 12:49 PM ET Last Updated: Jan 20, 2017 7:39 PM ET

 

 

[spanky123]

^ That is strange. Whenever I cross the border they usually only ask me about my religion and sexual orientation. Must have been a change in procedures. 

[Bingo]

Total student debt in Canada has risen by 6.2 per cent a year over the last 10 years to $42.9 billion, according to a new study by research company Strategic Insight.

A lot of that debt, the report says, can be blamed on parents who have spent so much money they don't have enough to save for their children's college or university fund.

http://www.cbc.ca/ne...nding-1.4172092

http://www.cbc.ca/ne...elief-1.3994268

http://www.cbc.ca/ne...rules-1.3830661

 

[lanforod]

^ I don't necessarily agree with it being the parent's job to save for college for their kids. I think kids will do better if they earn their way through. Mind you, that was possible when I went to school. It's getting harder due to rising costs.

[Bingo]

^ I don't necessarily agree with it being the parent's job to save for college for their kids. I think kids will do better if they earn their way through. Mind you, that was possible when I went to school. It's getting harder due to rising costs.

 

Kids don't leave home because they want you to cook for them and all their friends, and because they have BMW car payments and other toys.

[AllseeingEye]

^ I don't necessarily agree with it being the parent's job to save for college for their kids. I think kids will do better if they earn their way through. Mind you, that was possible when I went to school. It's getting harder due to rising costs.

Agree completely; but there are other ways in which parents can immeasurably aid their college-age kids.

 

When I went to UVic in the 80's my parents didn't offer up a cent to assist - but what they did do since we lived all of 150 meters from the campus, was give me 100% free room/rent/board for the first two years then charged me some ridiculously cheap price - I think it was $100/mo - for the last two years. When I trundled off to UBC in 1987 dad gave me a loan from the "Bank of Dad" (ok it was a 'non-repayable gift' , of $2000 so I could buy a car to get around Vancouver.

 

Otherwise I paid for all of my tuition for 4.5 years at UVic and two more at UBC, and I paid off in its entirety, down to the last penny, the almost $20K in student loans accumulated over that time, most of that for living expenses in Vancouver.

[lanforod]

Also, I don't know why kids don't get jobs these days. I was working from 14. At 15 was working after school and full time in the summer. I bought a brand new car with cash at 17, did a COOP term at university which helped pay the tuition bills. Commuted an hour from parents rather than stay on campus. Sacrifice a little, finish school with no debt and a resume showing continuous work for nearly 10 years plus a bachelors degree. And this is not in the 80s but rather in 2000s.
Every story is different but if you don't have that free ride and work hard to pay for it I think it's far better for you in the end.

[G-Man]

I did the same though I did get a small student loan for the last couple years. It took me six years to do my bachelor as I was working to pay rent and tuition at the same time. I think it is great if parents can help but getting kids to get job is a good way for them to feel some freedom in the world. I had a paper route from about twelve and started in restaurants at fifteen. I wanted to work though.

[Mattjvd]

It's increadibly hard to pay for all of your living expenses and tuition/books by yourself. The number of full-time students who also work has risen steadily for as long as statscan has kept track, while working for more than 20 hours/week hurts academic performance in most students. While I think it's reasonable to expect students to work part-time, or have seasonal employment if they don't take summer terms, I don't think it's reasonable to expect their income from that to cover their entire cost of living and schooling throughout their degree. 

 

At $10.85 per hour, 20 hours per week, one could probably cover their basic needs, if they are being prudently frugal. A dump of a 2 bedroom basement suit with a room mate could probably be had for >500 each? The rest pays a cell phone plan and food. A bus pass is included in the student fees, so transportation is covered. But that leaves nothing left over for tuition and school supplies. Even a (relatively) low cost school like Camosun can run upwards of $3000 per semester ($750 per month), including textbooks.

 

 

 

http://www.statcan.g...341-eng.htm#a1 

[lanforod]

It's increadibly hard to pay for all of your living expenses and tuition/books by yourself. The number of full-time students who also work has risen steadily for as long as statscan has kept track, while working for more than 20 hours/week hurts academic performance in most students. While I think it's reasonable to expect students to work part-time, or have seasonal employment if they don't take summer terms, I don't think it's reasonable to expect their income from that to cover their entire cost of living and schooling throughout their degree. 

 

At $10.85 per hour, 20 hours per week, one could probably cover their basic needs, if they are being prudently frugal. A dump of a 2 bedroom basement suit with a room mate could probably be had for >500 each? The rest pays a cell phone plan and food. A bus pass is included in the student fees, so transportation is covered. But that leaves nothing left over for tuition and school supplies. Even a (relatively) low cost school like Camosun can run upwards of $3000 per semester ($750 per month), including textbooks.

 

 

 

http://www.statcan.g...341-eng.htm#a1 

 

I don't disagree with much of that. Kids need to be saving earlier. Save money from gifts, don't spend it. Invest smartly. Start working at 15, not 19. Stick to a job - this one i can't stress enough - you won't stay at minimum wage if you're a good worker (other than a few shitty employers, leave those ones).

[VicHockeyFan]

I did the same though I did get a small student loan for the last couple years. It took me six years to do my bachelor as I was working to pay rent and tuition at the same time. I think it is great if parents can help but getting kids to get job is a good way for them to feel some freedom in the world. I had a paper route from about twelve and started in restaurants at fifteen. I wanted to work though.

 

Ya, I dropped out of UVic after year #2, but I paid my way with money from my paper routes.  But did not lave parents house until I had dropped out of school.

[Bingo]

I think that for many kids university is a waste of time.

Take a few trades courses and get out into the construction workforce that is booming, instead of frittering a few years away  at university.

[FirstTimeHomeCrier]

I honestly think the only reason why I'm (relatively) financially stable right now is because my father was able to help me with some of my educational expenses. I started with an amazing entrance scholarship of $4000/year for up to four years, but it required me to keep my GPA at 7.5/9 every year to renew it. During my first year, I had a serious mental health crisis and could only keep my grades at around 7.4 and was told the scholarship wouldn't be renewed. I appealed with a note from my psychiatrist and was able to get another year of funding. However, my grades kept slipping. I was studying a highly subjective subject that wasn't a good fit for me, and the instructors liked to play favourites (spoiler alert: I was not one of them).

 

I struggled to find work during the summer after my second year. I sent out many, many applications for fast food and retail positions, but I wasn't hearing anything. I finally got a job as a cashier in August for $9/hour (I believe minimum wage was $8.50 at the time). I kept working 20 hours a week and taking four courses during the first semester of my third year. But between not getting enough sleep, having little time for homework, and still struggling through depression, I was floundering. I often showed up to class late or fell asleep during lectures. I didn't try to get help from the disability resources because I didn't think mental illness counted. One of my instructors strongly disliked me for showing up late and because it was a subjective class, he was able to give me c-level grades. In another course, I struggled to finish the term paper even though I was doing well on all the exams. The prof offered to give me an N temporarily and let me write the essay over the winter break. I never finished the essay, which meant I now had a 0 bringing my gpa way down.

 

That January, I dropped all my courses except one. This one course was basically watching movies about the lives of writers and doing multiple choice quizzes. That course was enough to keep me as a part-time student so I wouldn't lose my bus pass or health benefits. That same semester, my first boyfriend broke up with me. He was in the same tight-knit department, and it was the last straw driving me out of that department. I applied to transfer to the writing department. I got in, but it meant going back to first-year level courses in what should have been my fourth year.

 

That summer, I had an ill-advised fling with a coworker that turned out very badly. Around the time it ended, the store was also going through renovations and a couple of staff were let go at the end of their probationary periods. One day, I was working alone in my department from 8:00 am to 12:00pm because they fired the other employee at the beginning of her shift. I had been working four hours without a break when the next employee got in. I told this to one of the managers and went upstairs to take lunch. She phoned me in the break room and berated me for saying what I did in front of customers. After she hung up, I had a panic attack. When I had finally recovered, I went back to work. I was looking up a product for a customer and the guy I had dated decided it was a good time to let me know he was seeing someone else. I went home that night and wrote my resignation letter.

 

I didn't work for the rest of my fourth/first year, and struggled again to find a job in the summer. I got hired as a door-to-door fundraiser but was fired one week later because I was absolutely horrible at it. I think I got one $20 donation over 30 hours of work. I was jobless for the rest of the summer. In September, I was able to get a casual job on campus. It paid well above minimum wage, but it would normally be only four or five shifts a month. That was actually the perfect balance for my academics and my mental health. I stuck with it for the remainder of my 6.5 year academic career, also doing some temporary jobs over the summers. When I graduated, I had excellent references from my on-campus employers, and was able to start working admin jobs on campus, which eventually led to a full-time, decently salaried job with the provincial government.

 

At no point in my academic career was I able to pay for all my expenses, despite living cheaply. I was in an illegal one-bedroom basement suite with no lease for several years. I got along with the owner and she never raised my rent (I was paying $600/month including heat, hot water, and electricity) over the years I lived there (five years, I think). My last year and a half of studies, I was sharing a place with my then-boyfriend and paying $550/month. I hardly ate at restaurants or drank alcohol. Nevertheless, I relied on support from my father. As part of my parents' divorce settlement, he agreed to pay child support through up to five years of University. It was enough to pay rent and basic groceries. He continued to pay it even after the five years, and when I was short on tuition during my last couple of semesters, he paid the balance. 

 

Getting through University without student loans was a lifesaver for me. I got to start my career debt-free. Most of my friends and classmates did not have that same privilege. They may never be able to buy a home because they are paying off tens of thousands of dollars in loans and living paycheque to paycheque.

 

This doesn't mean I think that all parents should be on the hook for education expenses. Not every parent is making a six-figure salary and living in a double-income household like my father was. My mother was single and barely making enough to get by. She was an amazing emotional support, but she couldn't help with money. What I do think is that tuition needs to be lower, and the government needs to provide better financial supports for students. It's ridiculous to expect teenagers to be making enough for rent, tuition, and groceries while also attending school full time. And if you don't allow lower-income youth to attend post-secondary school, they may never have the social mobility to make a better life for themselves.

[Nparker]

...Getting through University without student loans was a lifesaver for me. I got to start my career debt-free. Most of my friends and classmates did not have that same privilege...

Because I lived at my parents' home while attending UVic, I too graduated without any student loan debt, but this was back in the dark ages when tuition for a semester was a fraction of what it is today. Quite frankly, I don't know how anyone graduates without the spectre of debt hanging over their heads these days.

[VicHockeyFan]

^^ TMI?  

[Matt R.]

You are entitled to a half hour unpaid break after five hours.

Matt.

[AllseeingEye]

Because I lived at my parents' home while attending UVic, I too graduated without any student loan debt, but this was back in the dark ages when tuition for a semester was a fraction of what it is today. Quite frankly, I don't know how anyone graduates without the spectre of debt hanging over their heads these days.

As I recall my first year at UVic - all education expenses in - cost me $1500 including "Athletic fees" and such. Far cry from today for sure. For comparison sake at that time (1980-1) a close buddy got into Stanford which at the time cost $50K USD/year. Today I believe its closer to $80K per annum.....

[LJ]

My son went to Rottman to get his MBA, that was $100k just for the schooling. He worked on weekends and days off to pay for his living expenses.

[Nparker]

...Stanford which at the time cost $50K USD/year. Today I believe its closer to $80K per annum.....

So Stanford costs 60% more than it did in 1981 and UVic costs 500% more. Something's not right with this picture.