One of my favorite podcasts right now is Questions Kids Ask hosted by my friend Mary Wiley. In every episode Mary and her featured guest discuss a big question about faith that kids ask, like why do bad things happen, are heaven and hell real, why do we pray if God knows everything, and many more. This week, I had the pleasure of being on the show to answer a big question:
How do we know Jesus was a real person?
I hope you’ll check it out on iTunes or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
When I started down the road of going to seminary, I made a commitment to avoid student debt. It is something that, even if it meant taking 10 years to get a two year degree, I am committed to avoiding. I’d already made that mistake once. The first time I went to college, it was funded almost entirely with student loans. When I got out of school, I owed about $15,000, and eventually got a job that paid a whopping $12 an hour with which to pay it off. (I shared my story and experience in greater detail here).
I wasn’t alone, though. Most of my friends and classmates had tons of student debt, and a number of them are only now getting out from under it all, 13 years after we graduated. Entire generations have been crippled by college debt—to the point that it’s not assumed that if you go to college, you’re going to come out owing tens of thousands of dollars.
What I wish I’d known then was whether or not this could have been avoided. Could I have gone to school and not come out the other side drowning in student loan debt? Was there any way for me to eliminate it up front, or at least minimize it?
This is one of the reasons I’m looking forward to reading Alex Chediak’s forthcoming Beating the College Debt Trap (despite it being written based entirely from the perspective of the American college system). Recently, Alex agreed to answer a few questions about his new book. If you’re a student or parent figuring out how to pay for school, or a graduate looking to pay off your loans without living with 18 roommates, I hope you’ll find the discussion helpful.
You wrote a book for students a few years ago called Thriving at College. Your new one, Beating the College Debt Trap, is also for students. How do the two differ?
Thriving at College is about making the most of the college years, about using that season in life as a launching pad into all that’s associated with responsible Christian adulthood. But while I briefly addressed money management skills, the whole idea of paying for college is more or less assumed.
In the four years since I wrote Thriving at College, the economics of college have continued to evolve. In 2013, a majority of families (57 percent) reported a student living at home or with a relative, up from 43 percent in 2010.1 Online education is increasingly popular. “Non-traditional” college students (i.e., not 18-23 year olds enrolled full-time) have become increasingly numerous. And, of course, a greater percentage of college students are borrowing greater amounts of money each year, even though starting salaries for graduates have been virtually stagnant for a decade.
For many in our society, college seems maddeningly out of reach. But this is an illusion. The hopeful message of Beating the College Debt Trap is that Americans from all socioeconomic backgrounds can, armed with accurate information, and through the exercise of discernment, resourcefulness, and creativity, get the training they need to access a meaningful career without going broke in the process.
Is this a book for families with more challenging financial circumstances?
First generation students certainly face unique challenges with the college experience. It’s not just that their parents have a limited ability to guide them through the maze of standardized testing, college applications, and filling out the FAFSA. It’s that they don’t have the professional networks that many of us take for granted. I’m talking about the people who encouraged us to pursue specific majors and colleges and exposed us to countless opportunities for advancement. As I discuss in the book, first generation students tend to undermatch—they pick colleges that are below their academic abilities. Some of these colleges lack the financial means to give generous need-based tuition reductions, which means the very students most in need of assistance end up carrying higher than necessary debt loads.
But plenty of middle class families fall into the trap of borrowing obscene amounts of money so their children can attend “the college of their dreams”—as if the incremental value of a “prestigious” college is higher than the incremental value of a college degree. Provided you graduate, the research shows that where you go to college is less important than that you go to college. The other way this trap works—and I know I’m on sensitive ground here—is this notion that “my child must attend a Christian college, whatever the cost.” The nurturing environment of a distinctively Christian institution has its advantages, and I do think it’s often worth it if you have the money, but it’s not as if Christian students can’t be successful at secular universities. I’ve met graduates of Christian colleges with debt loads greater than twice their annual starting salary. They simply would have been better served going elsewhere, and that’s by no means intended as a critique of their institution.
What is the argument you make in Beating the College Debt Trap?
The central message of the book is that Americans from all socioeconomic backgrounds can, armed with accurate information, and through the exercise of discernment, resourcefulness, and creativity, get the training they need to access a meaningful career without going broke in the process. I unpack this in four sections which build on each another.
First, I examine some of the assumptions people make about the college process. There’s the perspective that just about everyone should aspire to earning a bachelor’s degree. This view fails to account for the diversity of talents and interests young adults have, not to mention the diversity of jobs in our economy. Associate degrees and trade schools, for example, can represent excellent paths to rewarding professions. Then I examine the assumption that college debt is fine because “it will all work out after graduation.” This is another variation of the “everyone is doing it” myth. The point of this section is that unmasking false assumptions is a prerequisite for smart, informed decision-making.
Second, I assess three crucial decisions: the choice of a college, the selection of a major, and deciding what to do about loan opportunities. With choosing a college, I address three common pitfalls that lead to students spending more than they should. With choosing a major, I stress the importance of assessing your skills/interests (looking inside) and learning about the prospective field (looking outside). I also discuss the differing financial prospects for different fields, the dangers of over-specializing, and how to take the right steps during college to best stand out to employers after college.
Third, I look at the nuts and bolts of earning and spending during the college years. What can college students do to earn more and spend less? I give a bunch of ideas while explaining the importance of living frugally. The possibilities for professional development during the college years are also discussed. And I warn of the danger that credit card dependency represents for college students.
In the fourth and final section of the book, I look beyond the college years. New graduates face big hurdles in what’s become a slow-growth economy. First-job wages for college graduates have been stagnant for about a decade, even as debt loads at graduation continue to explode. In March 2014, a reputable survey found that only one in five 2012 & 2013 graduates was earning over $40,000 per year. Graduates need to jettison the entitlement mentality, roll up their sleeves, and prove themselves in the marketplace.
Underemployment is a common phenomenon for young graduates, but not all underemployment is bad. Graduates have to distinguish between jobs that have long-term potential and those that don’t. And if they job-hop, they need to do it in a way that will make sense to future employers—in a way that lets them build on their existing skills and that contributes to the narrative arc of a nascent yet discernible career trajectory. That’s how financial and professional advancement are earned, and that’s ultimately how twentysomethings can kick their student debt to the curb once and for all.
Beating the College Debt Trap is currently available for pre-order. Zondervan and Alex have also put together a great pre-order special: when you pre-order the book, you’ll receive a free parent-child discussion guide as well as discounts on Alex’s other books. Learn more about the pre-order special here, and consider pre-ordering a copy today.
photo credit: Owned. via photopin (license)
Meet Barnabas Piper, a writer, team member of Ministry Grid, and a contributor to multiple blogs and publications (including WorldMag.com, Leadership Journal, Tabletalk Magazine, Relevant.com, The Gospel Coalition blog, and DesiringGod.org). Barnabas is also a PK—a pastor’s kid, and  the son of a Christian-famous one, at that. In anticipation of the release of his new book, The Pastor’s Kid: Finding Your Own Faith and Identity (look for a review soon), Barnabas took a few minutes to chat (via email) about the book, the life of a PK and how parents can keep their kids from hating ministry.
I promised I wouldn’t ask you the standard “why’d you write this book” question, and I’m sticking to that. (After all, it’s pretty obvious why you did.)Â So, here’s the real first question: what impressed me when reading the book is how you managed to keep the tone as positive as you did. How challenging was it maintain this without sugarcoating the real difficulties that come with being a PK?
So much of what passes for “authentic” or “honest” writing these days is simply the lancing of emotional boils all over one’s readers. So my challenge was to be genuinely honest but also tasteful. As I wrote I kept the words “honor your father and mother” at the forefront of my mind to help me be thoughtful and conscientious. At the same time I needed to expose and explain certain realities and do so with clarity. I hope that as I tried to negotiate between honoring my parents and being bluntly forthright I was forceful without being a drag.
One of the things you mentioned in the book is that your theology differs in some respects from your dad’s. What were some of the ways he helped give you space to work out what you believe and how might other pastors do likewise for their kids?
Much of my differing came after I moved away from home. We’ve had some pointed conversations about our differences and have come to an understanding that some topics are best not argued about. To be clear, my dad did not make me believe anything growing up, but for anyone who’s ever listened to him preach or read his writings he leaves little room to disagree. So, for me, it was space that led to my opportunity to think in a different direction. And since then, I have worked to be respectful of his views, not pick needless arguments, and center on those things we do agree on—the essentials of the Christian faith.
While much of your experience is similar to that of the average PK, you’ve also got the added crazy of having a Christian-famous dad. How have you managed to handle the extra-wide bubble and not lose your mind?
Who’s to say I haven’t lost my mind?
Just kidding. Much of it had to do with the fact that the fame for him came gradually as I grew up and didn’t become more pronounced until I was in late high school and then in college. That meant I was a little bit more ready to roll with it and figure it out at a (somewhat) mature level. I haven’t always handled it well. At times I have resented people for how they treated me or gushed over my dad. It’s hard to meet people and for them to have expectations of what I’ll be like because of my last name.
But at some point I realized I could either be annoyed all the time or just roll with it. People aren’t trying to be invasive or to put expectations on me. Many genuinely love my dad, and although that can be weird, it’s generally a kind of nice weird. The bottom line is that I have been shown a lot of grace, and I would be an ingrate not to show some to others, especially when they have good intentions.
My kids aren’t PKs, but they are caught in the bubble due to my day job and extra curricular activities. What advice do you have to help parents like me protect our kids from hating everything about ministry in all its forms?
Help them see that you love them more than ministry and help them see what you love about the ministry. If your kids know you’d drop ministry in a second for them they won’t feel like it’s an imposition. If they see that, while you love ministry, you find greater happiness with them they won’t feel like it’s a rival. If they see that you enjoy it and that it is meaningful to you it will be seen as a positive thing over all, something to be part of rather than fled from.
The Pastor’s Kid is now available from your favorite resellers (and Amazon, too). Connect with Barnabas on Twitter (@BarnabasPiper), Facebook and at his blog.