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Just a little food for thought: In just about any other country besides the United States and Canada, it's not unusual to live at home well into your 20s. Those other 6.2 billion people turned out just fine, no?
I myself am 21 and still living at home. Even with gas prices the way they are, it would still be far more expensive for me to live in a dorm or apartment. As long as your parents aren't total douches, you shouldn't worry too much.
I thought about that too.
Also at the ceremony my high school had for academic awards, my counselor said that it's okay for us to be undecided about our college major (they were pretty much announcing where everyone was going to college and what they were majoring in) because we're only 18 and the world is asking us to decide what we want to do with the rest of our lives.
That got me thinking about Spain and how a lot of kids are well into their 20s living at home. We did some reading about this in Spanish.
The idea of adulthood differs from society to society or person to person. I'm pretty mature for an 18 year old, I know some people in their 30s who can't balance their money better than me.
Honestly, if that's what you want to do, then that's what you want to do. I don't understand the appeal and definitely notice a maturity difference between friends who stayed at home/close to home and friends who went away, but not everyone has that problem.
What have they been pray tell, based upon your experiences?
There are some people who go to college and flunk out because they are not mature enough just as there are people who live at home who can very well live by themselves but due to finances, they cannot.
The "appeal" in staying at home is that I don't graduate from college with more than 25,000 dollars worth of debt to my name. I could use that money for much better things.
As we should all well know, what works for one does not work for all.
Honestly, I'd love to live on campus, or in an apartment, or something, but that is just not an option. As far as living on campus, that would just end up being added to my tuition bill that I'll have to end up paying back when I'm done with school...and of course, add interest to that, and it ends up being a lot more than it was worth.
The sad thing is, the government hasn't given me any grants or anything up front. I've applied for scholarships and done my fair share of looking for things, but I come up with nothing. It makes me think: What are my tax dollars going to? What am I really losing like 25-30% of my paycheck on? I have yet to recieve my award letter for my upcoming year, but I have a feeling it will give me bad news, such as I'm not eligible to recieve a grant because my parents "make too much."
It's sad, because the financially not-well-off get a lot of grants, the rich (or upper middle class) [for the most part] pay for their kid's college, but the middle class ends up getting shafted. They say my parents make too much, but don't see how many bills they have.
Sorry, I kinda just had to rant there. =/
Exactly.
I was eligible for a government loan of 3,500 and that probably would have covered my room and board at the state college I was considering going to and probably the first semester's worth of fees and a little bit for my books.
Yeah, the government certainly is not a shining example of amazing things to do with OTHER people's money, which is exactly why they do the stupid things they do. I don't see why it can't be more like France where when people protest in the streets, the government listens. The government should be afraid of their people, not the other way around.
The government should certainly invest in the education of it's people. I would love it if the government paid my whole four years of college and if I didn't graduate, I would have to pay it back. I think that would be a great way to boost people going to college and you would have less people dropping out due to financial issues.
What have they been pray tell, based upon your experiences?
There are some people who go to college and flunk out because they are not mature enough just as there are people who live at home who can very well live by themselves but due to finances, they cannot.
The "appeal" in staying at home is that I don't graduate from college with more than 25,000 dollars worth of debt to my name. I could use that money for much better things.
As we should all well know, what works for one does not work for all.
Some people don't get along with their parents.
I noticed the maturity issue too. All of my friends lived at home after college, and although I have really smart friends who were all engineers and math majors, they could never...quite...grasp...how I had trouble making ends meet on $17,000 a year while living alone in a major city. Pretty simple concept, but apparently the idea of utilities + landlord + transportation + food + student loans > income eluded them. Until they moved out (6 or more years later!).
What have they been pray tell, based upon your experiences?
There are some people who go to college and flunk out because they are not mature enough just as there are people who live at home who can very well live by themselves but due to finances, they cannot.
The "appeal" in staying at home is that I don't graduate from college with more than 25,000 dollars worth of debt to my name. I could use that money for much better things.
As we should all well know, what works for one does not work for all.
I went to school 1000 miles away from home- most of my friends stayed within 2 hours (which I consider staying at home... most go home every weekend) with quite a few living at home and commuting to the local crappy state school. We don't have a community college here.
My friends who stayed either at home or close to home have yet to grow up. They're the ones who party their lives away, call mom and dad at every flat tire or cough, don't know how to do laundry or cook, and don't have any clue about finances and budgeting. Not all of them have all of these problems in their lives, but I can say that none of my friends who went away from home struggle with any of these. Heck, I've gone through hospital stays and severe medical problems all on my own at the age of 18 and without a car. Most of my friends who stayed home couldn't handle that.
I also spent the past 2 months abroad in Iceland. There was a very distinct pattern there. Most kids went to colleges across the country from their families. The closer kids lived to home, the more miserable and homesick they got. It was a group of 18 that eventually split into the people who went away for college and the people who went within an hour of home- those of us who went away couldn't deal with the whining and the cluelessness of those who stayed close to home! The 3 of them went home every weekend.
Again, everyone who stays at home or close to home doesn't end up stunted, just like everyone who goes away to school doesn't end up more mature. However, in general, it seems like the closer you stay to home or at home, the less independent you are at a young age.
Then again, it's much cheaper for me to go to my private, out of state college than to be weighed down with car payments and gas at an in state school. I applied to a dozen schools just to ensure that I got the most merit aid possible just for that reason- and none closer than 700 miles away.
The "appeal" in staying at home is that I don't graduate from college with more than 25,000 dollars worth of debt to my name. I could use that money for much better things.... As we should all well know, what works for one does not work for all.
I agree. Half of my son's friends have that much debt and more after college....it'll take them a long time to pay it off. I can't imagine beginning a new job just out of school with that type of burden on a young person's shoulders. You're smart to avoid that.
I noticed the maturity issue too. All of my friends lived at home after college, and although I have really smart friends who were all engineers and math majors, they could never...quite...grasp...how I had trouble making ends meet on $17,000 a year while living alone in a major city. Pretty simple concept, but apparently the idea of utilities + landlord + transportation + food + student loans > income eluded them. Until they moved out (6 or more years later!).
Yeah, I understand some people don't get along with their parents.
I have a great relationship with my mom, if I didn't, I probably might have taken on the great debt load but I'm glad I didn't "have" to make that choice.
I'm living at home and I can certainly grasp how hard it would be to make ends meet on $17,000 a year while living alone in a major city. $17,000 doesn't even sound like a lot if you're living out in the middle of nowhere.
I'm just trying to make a point that just because the people in your experiences in those situations didn't understand doesn't mean EVERYONE in that situation is naive.
I can see staying home if you can't afford it, but I see more to going to college then the classes. When you live among other people that have been brought up differently and in different states, even countries, it gives you a broader view of life.
My daughter went to college 13 hours away where 92% of the student body was from out of the state. In a years time she went to Peru (study abroad), England (visit friends doing study abroads themselves) and Kenya to stay with a college friend over Winter break. The England and Kenya trip was one trip with a week lay-over in England, not seperate trips. Her college paid for all but $200 for the study abroad and she paid for her other flights and traveling expenses by working on campus and summer jobs. Simply living with very different people changed her life. It also gave her the confidence to decide to live and work in China for a year after College graduation.
Like I said, if there's a huge savings or if one simply can't afford to live on-campus (ideally at a college a day's drive or more away from home) that's understandable but to stay at home because it's easier seems to a little too easy.
Well, I got accepted to Arizona State University, and I eventually want to live in Arizona one day...But I saw how expensive it was. Trust me, I know how good it would be to get away, but financially, it isn't possible. Like, I explained before, I don't get anything from grants or anything. But I had a whole spiel lined up on moving there, and working there, etc. I make about $550 a month during the fall and winter months if I'm lucky. I need $550 to support all my bills that I have (Car payment, Insurance, Cell Phone, Gas, Laptop Payment, and misc stuff) each month. Even then I struggle sometimes. I really wish I could go there, it would really be my dream to go there, but...I can't. So, really, it isn't possible. =/
However, in general, it seems like the closer you stay to home or at home, .the less independent you are at a young age
Staying at home causes you to be less independent, or being less independent causes you to stay at home?
Acrylic- I'm assuming you listed the school you want to go to on your FAFSA, but have you contacted the financial aid office directly at this school and asked for assistance? They may be able to help you work something out, may even be able to help you find scholarships specific to your situation. There are a lot of unique little scholarships out there.
For instance, my son is applying for a scholarship based on his Italian heritage, one based on the major he is enrolled in, one offered by a fraternity at his school, one offered by the company I work for, one is foreign language based, etc. He may or may not get any of these, but my point is that there is money to be had, if you know where to look (and don't mind writing a bunch of essays). They don't pay much individually, but if you can get a couple of them they could make a difference.
As for your original question as to whether or not people will look down on you for living at home? I think if they look down on you for for something like that, then they have just proved that they are not very smart themselves. I wouldn't worry about it.
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So which came first, the chicken or the egg?
