Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You can go to college without owing large amounts of student loans, so that dilemma is a bit of a false dichotomy.
There are two paths you can take when making a decision about college. You can take the economical route, where reputation of school is not high on your priority list, thus you choose the cheapest route possible (usually community college, and then transfer to a cheaper 2nd- or 3rd tier uni). Or you can take the prestige route by choosing a program at the best school you can get into. As a 17 y/or kid faced with these significant life decisions, I fell into the latter mindset. That's why I ended up owing more in student loans. I had some scholarships and grants, not to mention a relatively decent-paying PT college job, but not nearly enough to cover all tuition, fees, books, and living expenses. The only thing I probably would have changed is how I managed my money back then. I may have focused more on saving up for each semester as opposed to being so open about taking out new student loans. I would not have changed the opportunity to graduate from the school that I went to, because that was very important to me (a major life accomplishment). Also, I think where you graduate from college matters to an extent.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,936 posts, read 36,974,024 times
Reputation: 40635
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lafleur
There are two paths you can take when making a decision about college. You can take the economical route, where reputation of school is not high on your priority list, thus you choose the cheapest route possible (usually community college, and then transfer to a cheaper 2nd- or 3rd tier uni). Or you can take the prestige route by choosing a program at the best school you can get into. As a 17 y/or kid faced with these significant life decisions, I fell into the latter mindset. That's why I ended up owing more in student loans. I had some scholarships and grants, not to mention a relatively decent-paying PT college job, but not nearly enough to cover all tuition, fees, books, and living expenses. The only thing I probably would have changed is how I managed my money back then. I may have focused more on saving up for each semester as opposed to being so open about taking out new student loans. I would not have changed the opportunity to graduate from the school that I went to, because that was very important to me (a major life accomplishment). Also, I think where you graduate from college matters to an extent.
Oh please. The are lots in in between routes. Again, stop with the false dichotomies.
I went to a top 10 (9-12 depending on the year) (for my program) school (UW Madison) and paid very little as I moved there, obtained residency working for a few years, then went. It can be done. There are lots of inexpensive top schools out there.
Was it the best I could get into? No. Was it the cheapest? No. Was it a good balance for me? Yes.
It's about balance. There are many more than two paths out there.
Oh please. The are lots in in between routes. Again, stop with the false dichotomies.
I went to a top 10 (9-12 depending on the year) (for my program) school (UW Madison) and paid very little as I moved there, obtained residency working for a few years, then went. It can be done. There are lots of inexpensive top schools out there.
Was it the best I could get into? No. Was it the cheapest? No. Was it a good balance for me? Yes.
It's about balance. There are many more than two paths out there.
I think you're confusing two different arguments. You say that I'm making claims of false dichotomies, but you didn't really say anything majorly contradicting what I wrote. I don't know what UW Madison cost per year, but it was about $14,000-$16,000 a year at the uni I went to. And that wasn't including books and living expenses. The living expenses were what hurt me the most, and I admitted already that I could have handled that better.
So to my point, you can choose the most economical route, or you can choose the prestige route. And I guess to your point, you can shoot for the middle ground, or in other words, the best bang for your buck. I was young, and getting into the school that I got into (considering my relatively poor upbringing) was a huge deal that I couldn't pass up, or so I told my 17 y/o self back then.
I regret it. I wanted to work in film production, which in hindsight wouldn't have required college. But all of the advice I got from the adults in my life when I was in high school was "you have to go to college!" I was not a person back then who questioned this. So now I have a useless degree in Theater, a ridiculous amount of student loan debt, and pretty much wasted six years of my life that I could have spent working my way up from a Production Assistant to whatever.
Neither was college an enjoyable experience - I had to work my way through it, so I had no time for any kind of a social life and felt like classes were getting in the way of working enough so that I could eat and pay rent.
After I graduated, I had no money to survive on while I freelanced for film jobs, and no network to speak of. I got a 9-5 to have a steady paycheck, stayed there way too long...I have worked on and off in production for a total of about 6 years, but had I just been able to jump into it straight out of school (or bypass the school part altogether) I would have been able to have more of a successful career.
If I could go back and do it over, I would have saved up a few months of living expenses, moved to L.A. and interned and worked my way up. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20 as they say. Can't change things now.
My younger brothers joined the Navy, which I think was very smart of them. One is working on submarines and the other is basically getting paid to go to medical school. They won't have student loan debt, they will get GI bill help if they do want to go to school later on, and they're gaining valuable job skills.
The whole "EVERYONE needs to go to college" attitude is outdated IMO.
No regrets at all. Loans are long ago paid for and i am fully reaping the benefits and will continue. When others couldn't find jobs, I had choices. Over the last few years i have reconnected with 6 people i went to HS with. Not one went to college. Not one has a secure future and most are making less than they did in the past, if working at all. Beyond the financial reward, College exposed me to literature and arts that I never would have known about otherwise. It exposed me to dealing with people from diverse backgrounds and learning how to get things done.
I agree college today is overpriced, but i think it will always be worth it. The price problem is another topic where we need states to start investing in higher education again.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
