25 years old and deep in debt

[Brazen]

How are they going to become Morlocks without a solid STEM education?

As Wolf notes in The XX Factor, "Successful women don't like to marry down."

Or laterally.  At the end of the day, the only thing that might yet save humanity from its own horrible instincts is genetic engineering.  Though we have not yet seen it, we can dream, and it may be possible to create a type of human actually capable of love.

We'd probably murder it.

Without a standard measure, I don't think there's such thing as marrying exactly laterally, whether financially, intellectually, or career-wise, therefore 50% of all individuals who wed marry down.

[alfred russel]

People are weird about using drugs for anything but fighting disease.  I mean so what you use a drug to help your brain function better?  But it seems this is abuse for some reason.  I do not get that.

I somewhat feel this way because the body is something of a balanced machine and while taking a drug can have positive short term effects, there is a good chance the side effects are negative. See: steroids.

The problem with other people using such drugs is that either you let them have an advantage in a competition (mental or physical), or you expose yourself to the same dangers.

[Phillip V]

42% of Millennials blame colleges for rising student debt

'As student loan debt mounts, students and policymakers alike are trying to figure out who is to blame for the country's $1 trillion problem.

According to a study on Millennials released this week by the Harvard Institute of Politics, many young Americans seem to think colleges and universities are most responsible.

In the poll of 2,089 young adults between 18- and 29-years-old, 42% of respondents blamed colleges and universities for rising student debt, while 30% blamed the federal government.

The remaining vote was split between students (11%), state governments (8%), other (4%) and refused (5%).'

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/12/07/millennials-student-debt-blame/3896623/

[Ed Anger]

100% of Ed Anger blames Young People for being stupid.

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[garbon]

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[Ideologue]

 

[Zanza]

The last German state that still had them abolished tuition fees today, so university attendance in public universities is free all over the country again.

[Admiral Yi]

What % of Germans attend university?

[Zanza]

2,75% of Germans were university students at the end of 2012.

[DGuller]

The last German state that still had them abolished tuition fees today, so university attendance in public universities is free all over the country again.

I assume there is a limited number of spots in universities.  How are you going to allocate them in a socially efficient manner without the market forces?

[crazy canuck]

The last German state that still had them abolished tuition fees today, so university attendance in public universities is free all over the country again.

My impression is that Germany has some fairly effective methods of diversion to non university based training.  That probably makes this kind of program much more affordable than it would be in Canada and certainly the US.

[Jacob]

The last German state that still had them abolished tuition fees today, so university attendance in public universities is free all over the country again.

My impression is that Germany has some fairly effective methods of diversion to non university based training.  That probably makes this kind of program much more affordable than it would be in Canada and certainly the US.

While true, I expect (Zanza can you confirm?) that vocational training, apprenticeship programs, and other forms of non-university career preparation are similarly free to the students.

[crazy canuck]

The last German state that still had them abolished tuition fees today, so university attendance in public universities is free all over the country again.

My impression is that Germany has some fairly effective methods of diversion to non university based training.  That probably makes this kind of program much more affordable than it would be in Canada and certainly the US.

While true, I expect (Zanza can you confirm?) that vocational training, apprenticeship programs, and other forms of non-university career preparation are similarly free to the students.

Assuming that is true, and it probably is, apprenticeship programs are a lot less expensive than running university programs.  Which brings me back to the original point.

[Zanza]

I assume there is a limited number of spots in universities.  How are you going to allocate them in a socially efficient manner without the market forces?

The universities basically create three different rankings of all applicants:
1) 20% of the available places are assigned based purely on the final exam grades at high school, best applicants get a spot.
2) 20% of the available places are assigned based on how long you already had to wait because you didn't get a spot in your first attempt.
3) 60% of the available places are assigned based on final exam grades in high school, related work expertise, related specific notes from high school (e.g. if you excelled in just one subject and now want to study that), interviews, close proximity between your residence and university, social factors such as disabilities or combinations of these etc.

The exact criteria are set by the university administrations for each subject and checked by the ministry of education of the respective federal state.

[Zanza]

The last German state that still had them abolished tuition fees today, so university attendance in public universities is free all over the country again.

My impression is that Germany has some fairly effective methods of diversion to non university based training.  That probably makes this kind of program much more affordable than it would be in Canada and certainly the US.

While true, I expect (Zanza can you confirm?) that vocational training, apprenticeship programs, and other forms of non-university career preparation are similarly free to the students.

Assuming that is true, and it probably is, apprenticeship programs are a lot less expensive than running university programs.  Which brings me back to the original point.

Most apprenticeship programs are dual, meaning you work part-time in a normal company (or government institution) to learn the practical aspects of your trade and you attend a state school  part-time to learn the more theoretical aspects of your trade. The employer pays the apprentice a wage (about 500-1500 Euro/month), the state school is free. Most apprentices are between 15 and 22 years old. Afterwards you will most of the time get a job with the employer you worked with during your apprenticeship.