No, we keep those benefits for ourselves.

America, sadly, has come to be judged by the 'tuition seeking' people who defend it.

Isnt it funny.

The only way your question makes any sense or has any meaning is if you make a comparison on a per capita basis considering the USA has almost 16 times the population of Australia.

Arnold is governor, everything will be better now. lol

774 Community Colleges where one can get an Associate Degree and/or complete the first two years of University requirements.

564 Universities.

Come on Joe name me one country that can top this?

Which makes my point, no other country in the world compares to America's education or opportunity for it. If you can share your so called foreign country knowledge with me, please direct to me a country that offers what America does to each and every person, born here or not. Thanks hon :)

So, as a non-American citizen you are telling me I can just arrive in the USA and get myself a free education, free healthcare, free food and free shelter?

:1orglaugh

You are the one that made the blanket statement...now back it up...on a per capita basis if you choose...maybe on a per capita basis you might just be right (though I doubt it)...but that of course was not the blanket statement you made.

I don't remember making a blanket statement. Perhaps you can refresh my memory.

University stats provided by the Univerity of Texas.

http://www.utexas.edu/world/univ/state/

Community College stats provided by the Univerity of Texas.

http://www.utexas.edu/world/comcol/state/

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Furious_Female
I will agree that some Americans are not the smartest or most educated, but overall America gives the OPPORTUNITY to be, more than any other country in the world.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Not true. Again you are making huge assumptions that stem from your lack of knowledge of the rest of the world.


Looks like a blanket statement to me...correct me if I am wrong.

All my statement implied is that there are other countries that provide EQUAL OPPORTUNITY for their citizens to become educated.

I stand by this.

Even number of universities and colleges isn't any help. You need to compare ACTUAL university places on a per capita basis and then factor in the comparative affordability of education.

I would think that the fact that many countries offer free higher education shows we don't have the best educational opportunities around. Education is a business here, even the schools will tell you that.

Body cavity searches are a historicaly validated tool in the struggle against terrorists, agent provocateurs, and liberal interlocutors.
http://www.carter-stephenson.freeserve.co.uk/vlad2.jpg

Correct

bro, sad as it is or may sound, the answer to this is basically, YES.

:glugglug

For a non-resident alien? You have to be joking.

Please direct me to the appropriate legislation.

Based upon certain qualifying income levels...the bottom line answer is pretty much yes.

The question is, do they offer this to people not born in their country? Will their country allow you to be born elsewhere, migrate there and then have the opportunity to receive an unlimited education? Free is not always the main objective. Anyone can get a student loan. So it is "free" during your learning process, is it too much to ask to pay it back? Don't forget the money the military gives for education, the umpteen scholarship funds, grants and donations given to just about anyone. If you can prove NEED, you will not be denied what a lot of countries can't even offer to their wealthiest citizens.

Anyone in the US that has an average IQ and the will to get a University Degree can...as well as a Graduate Degree. In some instances...probably most...instances...somewhere along the line you may end up with having to repay student loans...which are low interest and with a long term pay period...thus the payments are very low. There are ways to get a University Degree without owing any money.

If you have entered this country legally...then I am not joking...it is the case...and the Community Colleges and Universities have a large population of this class of student...from virtually every country on the earth.

Well..provide the number of Community Colleges and Universities in Australia and the population of Australia and we can do some extrapolation...as a start.

Sorry I was just promised a free university education in your country and now you are telling me I have to borrow money for it. The next thing you'll be telling me is that my "free" health care is going to cost me something too. Also, can I just arrive on a tourist visa and get all this free stuff or do I have to apply to stay permanently? Just wondering if I should bother with travel insurance for my next visit or whether I should just avail myself of some of this 'free'' health care. :1orglaugh

By the way, will your government pay me to live while I study like I was paid to study my degree in Film and Television Production here in Australia?

Also, you still haven't provided me with any evidence that the USA offers me more opportunity to be educated than Australia does.

This is a start: http://www.dest.gov.au/highered/ausunisalpha.htm#alpha

Unfortunately more information is required. We need details about actual university places. Only then can we make any real per capita comparison.

Yes, main campuses. Each university only gets one listing.

Also, I'm only counting universities that are fully accredited and where you can start AND complete degrees.

Are you speaking about main campuses? The list provided by the University of Texas only lists main campuses...and not branches. Some Community Colleges and Universities have branches...all of which you can aquire a degree from. The branches would greatly increase the numbers provided by the University of Texas.

I am not an expert on immigration and the process they use to determine your income and financial status. I never said that you are PROMISED a free education, but ALL K-12 grade children are given a free education regardless. And if you cannot afford higher education on your own, it's your right to persue one. America has services that make it available, be it free until you can pay it back, free scholarship that you never pay back, free grants... the possibilities are unlimited in this country. Heck you can even win the lottery.

I have seen college students get money to buy clothes with, that they didn't have to pay back. You have no idea, what can be given to you in America, no strings attached. I mean, if your goal is to live off of charity, that's not anything to be proud of... but the idea of financial aide, is to better yourself with it and contribute to society with your education and other amenities. I don't know ANY other country that provides this. Please enlighten me...

I think that is one of the biggest problems in this country, any quality education is a business. Our public educational system from first grade through high school is basically a joke. Having spent time in Switzerland in the 80's I realized just how an educational system should work. When people reach high school age they have already chosen a career and are trained in that area. By the time they are 18 they are ready for real jobs. I knew people there that were programmers, nurses, teachers, etc at the age of 17-18 years old making decent money. Their high school was comparable to a college here. It was very rare to find a Swiss citizen working in unskilled labor, those type of jobs were filled by immigrants. It makes complete sense, we spend 12 years in school and really what the hell do we learn that can't be taught in half that time.

Are you fucking kidding me? Low interest? Low payments? I dont know who the fuck you get your student loans from but I spent a better part of the entire 90s getting Stafford, Alaska, and Plus loans to the tune of around 90k USD. IF I would have payed it back according to their payment plan I would have payed off my loans by the age of 65 and payed back around 400k with the interest.

Student loans, although they got me through school, are nothing to play with. They are not favorable. You know what happens if you default on a loan to the government?

And they wont just give student loans to any American. I suspect you have never filled out an FFA. If your parents make any sort of decent money, you will be denied. My ex's family made roughly 80k a year, could not get a student loan to save her life.

Student loans are worse than mortgages, dont try and blow smoke up my ass.

Consider yourself enlightened.

http://www.centrelink.gov.au/interne...t_payments.htm

Maybe one day you'll learn a bit more about the rest of the world and realize that MANY other countries have it just as good, if not better, than the USA.

Free money from the government for school? I suspect neither you or the king went to college.

The ONLY free money you are going to get that does not need to be repaid are via grants. Pell grants for those who come from abject poverty to the tune of 1200 a year MAX. whoopee do. Or you can get grants if you are an uberstudent with a 4.0 or get it from private foundations. The latter requiring you to maintain an academic record nothing short of stellar.

You two make it sound like anyone can just wake up one day and decide to go to Stanford. Did either of you even go to college?

What was the interest rate...the last I was aware it was quite low...and yes the longer you take to pay off any loan the more interest that is paid.

Parents income only come into the picture if one is under age 22.

In my case I went to Community College on grants...and work study programs...which do not have to be paid back. When I attended University it was paid for by the college fund from the military...so I did not have any student loans to repay. I know many people that have had and currently have student loans...two of which are my brother and sister. My brothers undergraduate degree was paid for by the college fund from the military for the most part (he did not complete within the time frame for his military college fund) but before he completed he did have to take out a student loan and an additional student loan for his Masters. My sister currently has a student loan and is working on her Masters...and she has an income of $56,000 from her job...she is a WICK supervisor. My brother also took out a student loan for his Masters...he would have had his Masters in December...but he has to many irons in the fire so he dropped his classes for this semester.

Pell grants are like $1200 (or higher) per Semester which more than pays for books...and then you have 20 hour per week work study programs which pays minimum wage. None of which has to be paid back.

Dont remember the interest rate. I want to say it was banging around 12% but that seems high to me. First thing I did with porn money was pay off student loans.

I did workstudy. They do not take 100% of what you make and apply it to tuition I had them applying 50%.

Pell Grants are for the seriously seriously poor that manage to get into school. I have met very very few other people who got them, and none of them ever got the max amount available. I only got 600 a semester and I am pretty sure that was the max less than 10 years ago.

Have you seen tuition costs these days? 1200 is almost an insult. Sure, any Joe Blow can get into a state school or community college, but if you want into what is considered a "good" school, tuition is sick sick sick.

truu. the ex is doing that. $40k a freaking year. thanks daddy.

and what do you get for that? a bunch of debt, no job, no job leads, and the satisfaction in knowing that daddy is paying $30k+ a year just to furnish you in a crappy apartment for your nothing life.


congratulations on going to college and making something of yourself. hope it works out for you in a few years.

US$40,000/year for a university degree? Are you shitting me?

That's outrageous.

That's how it is over here. Education is business. Even the people at the universities and the college board will tell you that. It's all about supply and demand. If you have the school name people want, you can charge whatever you want and people will pay it.

Basically you're either really smart and the universities want you to keep their academic reputation up, or you've got alot of money to keep their pockets lined.

I am SO disappointed.

I just had Furious_Female and theking promising me that upon my arrival in the USA as an illegal immigrant I would be entitled to free accomodation, free health care, a free university education and free food... all provided to me by your generous welfare system courtesy of the American taxpayer!

I think they were having me on! :1orglaugh

I think (I would not bet money on it) my brother and sisters interest is more like 5-6% on their student loans. Pell grants are paid by the number of units carried per semester. One has to carry a minimum of 12 units at all time throughout the Semester to receive the maximum grant and every one that I knew that qualified received a grant. I also did the work study program. I attended Community College and lived in the Dorms and got an Associate Degree. I spent 12 years in the military and was medically dischaged in '92 and I attented University via the Military College fund. My sister told me that tuition went up by 30% this semester. There was only one class available for this semester for her Masters program and it cost $750.00 to take the class books not included. My brother was doing his Masters via distant education which costs an arm and a leg...and his student loan did not cover the cost.

That is for a private University and not a state University and a prestigious private Univeristy to boot.

yup. and if it weren't for her father's willingness to spoil his family to no end, she'd be up shit creek without a paddle.

from what i hear, she's not really all that good at school, either.

but instead of planning ahead and using that college education and funds expended, it is currently going to waste.

the job market these days is harsh. you want a good job when you get out of college, you start looking a few years early, get something locked down before you leave.

but, she's better than me because she's going to college and seems to firmly believe that she will be handed a job when she graduates. and, she also believes that magically because of this education she will never be unemployed.

instead, daddy's going to buy her a nice apartment in nyc and fund her every whim. and probably start paying back the student loans she did take out.

and we won't start on mom or sis.

if someone came up to me and said "here's a $200k loan. you have 5 years to do something with it". well... the possibilities are endless, using that income and nothing else. and hell, even throw in the cost of living.

some people are raised correctly, to plan ahead, etc. but this country seems to breed a lot of "daddy buy-me's", who wouldn't last 10 minutes in the real world. it's unfortunate. what if something did happen to dad?

congratulations, you work at wal-mart for the rest of your life.

have to give props to that guy tho. he pretty much lives like ass because he gives everything to his family. not many out there that would do that.

where i started my college education, was about $4k/year, not including living expenses or books. i lived off campus.

it was a good school, with pretty high academic standards. but it is a state school.

I too attended State University...L.A. State...really not a great campus.

Name a country with higher tuitions :P

Bullshit.. United Nations worldwide statistics show that the United States, PER CAPITA, is about AVERAGE for educational opportunities and educational longevity for an industrialized country...

http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demograph.../education.htm

Spain, the UK, Norway, New Zealand, Italy, Ireland, Greece, France, Finland, Denmark, Canada and Australia all have either the same or BETTER educational longevity than the US, per capita. Sorry my dear, you are incorrect.

Yes, apparently they don't believe that Insurance and HMO's exist. In fact, they should tune in to CNN tonight.. They're doing a report on the DREADFUL state of health care in the United States. No wait, CNN MIGHT be a liberal news station. But wait, US news was supposed to be more FAIR than everyone else. Well, what a catch 22 THAT is!! ;)

Shhh you're just jealous cause USA ROCKS WE ARE SMART! :Graucho

And neither theking or miss Furious_Female have actually said whether or not they READ the Patriot act, the direct link to the act itself that I posted. I'm waiting for them to tell me what a wonderful idea it is!

Ok, shushing. I'm awed and amazed :P