College Tuition Mod?

[BlueSoup]

Nothing is really free in any country.  Someone previously said their Uni education was free, but if your taxes are like 50%, well then that's not really free, is it?

Canada doesn't have free healthcare, but it is inexpensive for basic healthcare, and most emplyers have pretty good healthplans (or at least the ones I've worked for).

[maxon]

Nothing is really free in any country.  Someone previously said their Uni education was free, but if your taxes are like 50%, well then that's not really free, is it?

Well, now that's true but I'd rather pay for it (education or healthcare) through my taxes and have everyone have equal access rather than a system where you get the care/education you can afford to pay for - or not.

[sintrinity]

Ahhh, I thought Canada had free clinics or something but heck even the US has free medical with welfare (at least for the kids, I don't think they do for adults anymore).

I just had some casual Canadian friends in an online community that talked like they had it much easier than in the US.  Wonderful women who left me with a certain overall respect for Canada.

I don't know on the taxes providing for everyone.  I don't think I like Bush deciding what to do with my money but I guess that is more because of our lousy politics here than anything else.  In theory it sounds good at least.

But - you would think that it would make sense that a country would want it's citizens educated.  I guess a lot of stuff sounds good but just can't really be done in practice.  Such is life.  In the meantime I guess we all just pay off our student loans for the rest of our lives 

[Renatus]

But - you would think that it would make sense that a country would want it's citizens educated.  I guess a lot of stuff sounds good but just can't really be done in practice.  Such is life.  In the meantime I guess we all just pay off our student loans for the rest of our lives 

Er... it seems to be working pretty well in Finland and some other European countries, as listed in comments above. So it can be done in practice.

[BlueSoup]

I speak only for BC, since that's my only realm of experience.

We do have a far more accessible healthplan than the US does.  There are free clinics, and if your income is lower than the minimum (which I'm not sure of exactly as I've been above the minimum for a number of years), then you don't have to pay for a doctor's visit.  I have no idea how prescriptions and everything works if you're below the minumim as I have been on employer health plans for a long time now.

[idtaminger]

A big part of it is that to do so is expensive, which is probably why they're trying to move in a diff. direction. In an ideal world, nobody would have to pay for college, but economics of the real world dictate that such programs aren't going to very sustainable, especially when on a large scale involving hundreds of millions of people.

It might work in Finland, but Finland has a national population of 5-6 million people, with annual growth of .16%, according to the CIA Factbook. So it follows that what works in Finland won't necessarily work in the U.S., w/ population of almost 300 million and 5 times the population growth rate. I mean, the population of NYC alone exceeds that of the entire country of Finland. With countries growing and natural economic shifts, a program that pays for free college might be too expensive for some countries to keep.

I mean, just look at GM and their employee pension problem. Back when GM was still the industry leader in America, it was fine and well to give out great pensions and benefits. But w/ foreign cars taking over the market and increased costs and what have you, they're in deep sh*t w/ this program. And while ideally employees would be able to reap all the benefits and still keep their jobs, right now, w/ the billions of dollars in losses GM has, there's no way they can keep this up without going under. Hence employee buy-outs and huge layoffs and overall, restructuring that will more than likely mean the end of benefit-packed pension plans for their employees.

And of course, pple aren't going to be happy when such changes occur, but such is the economic reality. I mean, if you look at France and the current riots - pple are downright pissed about the proposed changes. But when you think about it, France is suffering from a stagnant job market and other related social issues which most likely are a result of, or affected by, policies that make it difficult to fire at will. There was a great article in the NYTimes about it, and a lot of the points it made I think rings true. So while it's easy to say, the U.S. sucks b/c it doesn't provide us w/ this or that, it's really not as simple as that.

[TheCheat]

Public colleges in the US are not all that cheap either. I'm in New York, and the city/state schools are $2,000 a semester.

This is cheap compared to most decent colleges in other states. I'd say here in Missouri (where I live), the average per semester for the well-known universities probably hovers around $5000-$7000.

Bear in mind, I'm not talking about private college cost in NY, which is out-of-this-world.

The range I floated is what I gather from public colleges in Missouri. I wouldn't even waste my time looking at private ones.

[Ellatrue]

Yeah, it sure is insane how much uni costs in North America. I'm going to uni in Canada and I pay $2,500 (Canadian) per semester. And that's not including the books, which cost another $500! AND they're gonna make us pay $200 extra next year (bastards).
I can't even imagine how much it would cost if I had to live in a dorm... thankfully I can just take a bus there and live at home.

Dr.Beast - Back where I come from (Poland) Uni is free too for the state universities... ah, Europe.... But I've heard they're contemplating whether to make students pay in a few years.

Personally I think it's a conspiracy... If they make education expensive then only the rich-elite will be able to go to uni. Then only the rich-elite will have the top jobs and leadership positions... And it will be much easier for them to manipulate the uneducated population..

Ok, rant over 

My tuition was just raised by $1000. It is a public school, but we still are not getting enough money from the state to meet expenses, apparently. Although I don't know where the money would come from. Virginia doesn't have a lot of extra cash floating around right now. Just a good bond rating (so far)... And yet it's still a pretty good deal compared to a lot of other schools. There are people here as out of state students because it is still cheaper for them than going in-state...

When I was in Germany, they were proposing to raise tuition from €50 per semester to €500. There were massive student protests. Hippies camping out in the main buildings, etc.  Bastards. It's like they never thought about the cost of a university education, I honestly don't understand how their system is able to pay for it. I mean, I pay something like $7,000 already, and that is still slightly less than half of what the state puts into the total cost of my education. It's not like they make a profit.

Do you know how many people I would KILL to pay a mere 500 euros?

At least three. If I thought it would do any good. :p

[Sagana]

I guess a lot of stuff sounds good but just can't really be done in practice.  Such is life.

Oh certainly it *could* be done. But we're living during a period (in the US - dunno about the rest of the world) where the emphasis is on the individual and the present rather than the society and the longterm. Anything that costs individually and presently (even if it gains societally and longterm) is unlikely to be implemented (imo, of course). Imagine if we didn't already have a societally-backed primary education system, trying to get one implemented for all children. I imagine it would be deemed too expensive, not viable, and not worthy - and what we do have is in danger in any case.

Um, I'm forgetting my own rules about discussing politics :)

So on another note, I'd like to thank you all for this thread. Whether there's a mod or not, I took a piece from your pie and am charging my sim families tuition - if the family is willing and able to pay it, I'm letting the kids keep some of their scholarships for spending money (I like having a couple start off with more and think it's kind of realistic) and if they can't or won't ('pends on the sim), I'm putting the teen-job money away for them in addition to scholarships (including letting them earn extra if they want) if they really want to go. Between this, a few other rules like this, and a bunch of buying lots and stuff for OFB (several times, we keep changing our sim-minds :) and not very profitable but fun businesses, my sims are actually scrambling a bit for money and having to think about which things they want. For now anyway. I love it. :) So I greatly appreciate the suggestion.

Along with the tuition thing, I don't suppose there's any way to have a mod that keeps family funds (teens or other adults living together) finances separate so I don't have to do it manually? (I always lose a bit here and there). Sounds impossible, but I can't resist asking :)

[Paperbladder]

The University that I'm planning on attending in the fall costs about 5k a year, but that's cheap compared to a one in a small town and the one on the other side of my town which is supposedly is supposed to be better.  Those cost 20k a year at least.  I also doubt those private schools have the major that I'm planning I'm going into anyway, since they're both Liberal Arts colleges.

As for the game, the parents should pay.  Especially if they're not attending a "Public" college.

[sintrinity]

sagana - I have the same problem keeping my funds separate but it is a little easier with Monique's computer.  It has a bank option that I use mostly just for keeping track of cash my teens are saving up but I also like the loan function so that my sims can afford bigger houses and what-not.  Kinda like a mortgage that charges them interest.  When they can't or don't pay I move them to this trashy Salvation Army shelter I have.

I don't have the link anymore but I got it from MTS2 if you haven't seen it.

[DrBeast]

sagana - I have the same problem keeping my funds separate but it is a little easier with Monique's computer.  It has a bank option that I use mostly just for keeping track of cash my teens are saving up but I also like the loan function so that my sims can afford bigger houses and what-not.  Kinda like a mortgage that charges them interest.  When they can't or don't pay I move them to this trashy Salvation Army shelter I have.

I don't have the link anymore but I got it from MTS2 if you haven't seen it.

Here -> http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=64137

[Sagana]

I'm using Monique's computer, but that's kinda how I'm losing a little here and there :). If my teen makes $125 for a day's work. I can deposit either $100 or $200, so I put in $100 determined that in 4 days I'll add the extra $100 but I forget :) Every once in awhile I'll add a bit as I know I'm cheating her, or sometimes I just figure she has to give her parents a bit for support or using it for spending money or something, but... and if you have 2 working adults living together and want to keep separate accounts for them, it gets even more complicated :)

[noname]

To keep funds seperate, you could try buying items equal to the money you want to seperate and storing them in that sim's inventory. I think the items retain their original value as long you you put them directly in.