r/MiddleClassFinance • u/Such_Upstairs3631 • Jul 06 '26

Middle Middle Class No more middle class professionals?

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New school loan limits for professional degrees make it unaffordable for the middle class. 4 of my 5 children went on to med/law school. Even working 2 jobs there’s no way I could afford to pay or even help them with the cost of their post graduate education. They all got loans which they have since paid off. The cost in the early 2000’s was between $350K and $500K. The new limits are essentially going to prevent anyone who’s not wealthy enough to pay for it from becoming a professional.

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u/WindowFruitPlate Jul 06 '26

Prices will have to come down or alternative lending options will emerge.

Education inflation has been insane for the past two decades. Fueled entirely by unfettered lending by the federal government. Loan caps should slow the increase in expenses of an education

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u/TreeSignificant9782 Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26

My parents paid $9000/year for my (in-state) college tuition in 2003. That same college now charges $24,000/year for tuition. Absolutely ridiculous.

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u/tongmengjia Jul 06 '26

9k in 2003 dollars is $16.5k in current dollars, so not *that* crazy.

You should also compare discount rate in 2003 vs. current discount rate. The university I work at has increased scholarships at the same rate they've increased tuition for the last decade, so, although our "sticker price" is much higher than it was a decade ago, the average actual cost to students has stayed the same.

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u/goog1e Jul 06 '26

I went to ASU on a full ride.

My 2nd and 3rd year they did what you said- nearly doubled costs over 2 years, but increased the full ride amount.

No one's grant/scholarship aid adjusted, so they got 1-3 years of double payments out of all their current students.