[Report] Brace Yourselves for This. Most BC Students Graduate Universities and Colleges DEBT FREE....

[Warhippy]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/no-debt-for-most-b-c-post-secondary-students-says-andrew-wilkinson-1.2967311

Seriously. I spit my drink all over my monitor reading this. What a load of pure unadulterated BS this is. Seriously...are they literally only speaking of students from Asia who by and large have their tuition paid in full?

Here's the story

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Very few students in B.C. graduate from post-secondary school with debt according to B.C.'s Minister of Advanced Education.

"We see that 70 per cent of students go through their higher education with no debt whatsoever," Wilkinson told The Early Edition's Rick Cluff.

"That's either through family means or from working part time. That's a very healthy figure."

He said those who do end school with debt have on average $10,000 debt for a college education, and about $20,000 debt for a university education.

Wilkinson was touting a new report from B.C.'s Ministry of Advanced Education that shows a post-secondary degree increases a person's earnings by an average of $827,000 over their lifetime.

• POINT OF VIEW Would free tuition work in B.C.?
• University tuition rising to record levels in Canada

Zachary Crispin with the Canadian Federation of Students' BC Branch said many people in B.C. still never have access to some of the programs with higher return.

"The fact of the matter is that the programs that have the highest return — the medicine programs, the law programs, those sorts of things — the tuition fees for those programs are significantly higher than most families can afford in this province," he said.

"There's no financial aid that truly assists people in going through these programs without incurring an immense amount of debt."

Wilkinson said the anecdotes about students going deep into debt don't match his numbers.

"We have this thesis out there that students are going $100,000 in debt to get an education. It's extremely rare that that happens."

To hear the full interview with B.C.'s Advanced Education Minister Andrew Wilkinson, click the audio labelled: Andrew Wilkinson says 70 per cent of post-secondary students graduate debt-free.

[WilliesStache14]

I didn't have any when I finished

[Drive-By Body Pierce]

I certainly did not finish without debt and JUST finished paying mine off, almost 9 full years after graduating.

[BananaMash]

I'm thinking of all the people I'm friends with at my university, and only one has had all his schooling completely paid for without loans. The rest all have some degree of debt, and will finish school in debt.

[Warhippy]

I didn't have any when I finished

I was lucky in that I worked three jobs and my trade position through university.

But by and large, this guy is out to lunch with those figures

[Where's Wellwood]

I think it really depends on how much you do. If you get a bachelor's degree and then stop, you'll have far less debt than someone who got (or attempted to get) their masters, doctorate, whatever.

[Down by the River]

Would love to know how they defined 'debt'. Would also love to know how they defined 'post-Secondary school'.

I think it really depends on how much you do. If you get a bachelor's degree and then stop, you'll have far less debt than someone who got (or attempted to get) their masters, doctorate, whatever.

A lot more funding available for grad students than undergrad students, IMO.

[TheRussianRocket.]

wut

[FallenCR7A]

A lot of my friends graduated without debt, to my knowledge. A combination of family contributions and getting paid through programs like co-op.

[Where's Wellwood]

Would love to know how they defined 'debt'. Would also love to know how they defined 'post-Secondary school'.

A lot more funding available for grad students than undergrad students, IMO.

But the tuition is so many times higher, I still think debt ends up being more, especially since the funding can be quite competitive and not everyone gets enough/any.

[Cackerot]

there is some truth to that. I finish my degree this semester and I have 0 debt. All my friends also have 0 debt. If you work while studying, I don't see how having debt can really be a problem unless you manage your money really poorly

[GLASSJAW]

But the tuition is so many times higher, I still think debt ends up being more, especially since the funding can be quite competitive and not everyone gets enough/any.

i am just finishing a graduate program, and i think only two or three people that i spoke to went into (more) debt, and that was probably only by about 5k, 10k at most. even me being a white male in the arts, i was able to find scholarships and have the school take off most of my tuition costs.

if you aren't a white male, there are loads and loads of scholarship opportunities to be grabbed. of course not everyone will get the big awards (like SHHRC), but there's still plenty to go around

[-SN-]

There's absolutely no way that's true, even including international students. Definite massaging of the numbers or some clever wording.

[Ronalds.Kenins41]

when I read that I thought of this quote

"90% of statistics are made up like this one"

[Down by the River]

when I read that I thought of this quote

"90% of statistics are made up like this one"

The average person has one testicle.

[Sir Lord Baltimore]

Even with help from us my daughters are still going to have debt when they finish college. The only people I know who don't have millionaire parents.

[Magikal]

No way in hell I believe these numbers to be true.

[Gstank29]

Cant speak for anyone else but i have a collage/university fund that would cover any undergrad program, and possibly some of a master program.

[Intoewsables]

Sounds like a good excuse to raise tuition.

[FramingDragon]

Paying off graduate tuition seems to be a matter of applying at the right time for all available grants with a proposal that's potentially lucrative enough for people to care. Being in a reputable lab, and being a visible minority woman helps a lot too. Overall, I've been told it's rare to have to pay out of pocket for more than just a fraction of the cost. It could just be my field though

Edit: I would prefer graduate tuition to stay unreasonably high without competitive outside funding. Weeds out the mediocrity and prevents inflation of the value of a PhD.