Mom Concerned That Her ‘Gifted’ Son Is Taking Out Loans To Get A $280K College Degree To Play The Tuba — ‘Do I Tell Him To Change Dreams?’
"I fear for this young man's future."
Roman Zaiets | Shutterstock It’s difficult to deal with dreams and reality meeting each other. No one wants to give up on what they’ve always imagined themselves doing, even if it seems a tad illogical. But, sometimes, you don’t have a choice.
One mom was concerned about her son and how he would face this truth since there’s no way to pay for his college education to become a professional tuba player.
A young man wanted to take out loans to pay for a $280,000 degree in tuba playing.
A woman named Amy called into The Ramsey Show and spoke with finance guru Dave Ramsey himself to get some advice. A clip of the conversation was posted on Ramsey’s TikTok account.
“I have a son who’s 18-years-old,” Amy began. “He is a classical musician. He plays symphonic tuba. He has a gift.”
Amy said that her son had just started college. “He is at a private music school. He’s a freshman. While the private music schools are about $70,000, he received $25,000 in scholarships for each of the four years he’ll be going to the school,” she stated.
“Unfortunately, that doesn’t cover it. He took out a $38,000 loan, which is scary. But I don’t know how to encourage him going forward. I don’t see how he can do that for four years,” she continued.
Ramsey was shocked. “So, for four years, we’re gonna have $280,000 invested to be a gifted tuba player,” he said.
Amy and Ramsey discussed her son’s career options. Ramsey guessed he would make around $40,000 a year as an orchestra tuba player, which Amy didn’t disagree with.
“But he can’t get the training he needs at a public school,” she argued.
“My point is, though, that the training’s not worth it,” Ramsey countered.
“So, what do I tell him?” she asked. “To change dreams?”
“I would live my dream a different way because this dream is quickly becoming what’s known as a nightmare,” Ramsey replied. “And it’s not to say that the young man isn’t gifted. I’m not putting down tuba players, and I’m not putting down his gift.”
Ramsey even helped Amy with a script she could use when talking to her son to convey the seriousness of the situation while also not discounting his dream.
“I’m your mom. Nobody loves you more than that,” he said. “I’m standing on the sidelines watching a car wreck with my son in the car. I don’t wanna participate in this. I don’t want you to do this.”
“The 42-year-old version of him is going to hate you guys for not stopping this trainwreck,” Ramsey concluded.
It seemed that Amy had already resigned herself to this fact. “That is a beautiful way that I have now of presenting this, and that’s what I called for ‘cause I knew the answer. But thank you for helping me to put it into words for him,” she said.
A college degree that you can’t pay off is typically not worth it.
Nonprofit organization Third Way took a look at how many students are able to recoup what they spent on college.
“If no federal action is taken, these data show that hundreds of thousands of students — even those who have done everything right and completed their credential — may be left worse off after graduating from certain college programs.”
Of Third Way’s findings, The Hechinger Report said, “Based on students’ incomes and what they paid for college, it found that while about half will recoup their costs within five years, nearly a quarter will take 20 years or more. Of those, more than half will never make enough to cover what they spent.”
Looking at these findings, Amy’s son’s chances would not be great if he took the path of a high-cost degree to a low-paying job. He’s much better off trying something else professionally.
No one wants to hear that they need to give up their dreams, but in this case, perhaps private music school isn't the best option. While discouraging these loans, this mom can also encourage her son to explore affordable higher education that would still allow him to minor in music. If he's truly gifted, he will always have opportunities to play his favorite instrument.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news and human interest topics.