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I guess what irritates me the most is that in other countries tution is free or very low cost...in America we have to shell out $40K a year and start our lives off with a boat load of debt.
Where our family is from you test into University. If your grades are good enough you get in on the government dollar. If not, find a job or join the military. I'm from a communist country, so there was no studying religion or women't studies...whatever you were good at is where they placed you...math, science etc.
I just can't see paying so much money and at the same time, I don't want to put my kids to be worse off than their peers.
Other countries have tax rates that are much, much higher than the US. Basically everyone pays into college via taxes, whereas in the US you pay via tuition.
This is why America is so many trillions in debt- people want the government to provide all these services, yet no one wants to pay higher taxes. Eventually (aka now), the system breaks.
Also- you are incorrect to continue repeating "college is $40k per year." maybe 5% of schools cost that much?! Many states have multiple state universities that are under $10k per year.
Furthermore- and I know this comes off as rude, but I don't really care- if you don't like it here, go back to your communist country. Part of what freedom & democracy stands for is each indicidual's right to pursue his/her own life passions. What if the "test" told Steve Jobs he was best suited for being an attorney? We'd have no iPods, iPhones, and all the other cool technology he's brought to our society. What if the government had told Sam Walton or James Cash Penney or Al Neiman & Carrie Marcus or the Fishers (The Gap) to be marines? Think of all the hundreds of thousands employed by Wal-Mart, JCPenney, the gap/ old navy/ banana, Neiman Marcus, etc. Think of how much tha spending helps fuel our economy! What if the Vanderbilts had never built railroads and instead fufilled his government assessed aptitude as a "dairy farmer"? A lot of our infrastructure was and continues to be privately funded.
This is how we do thing in America- back to the 1700's when many colleges still around today were founded. You pay your own way. You become who you want to be. That's what millions of people are in the streets of the Arab world trying to secure for themselves- and here you are, basking in the glory of that priceless freedom, and you turn your nose up at it.
Last edited by TurtleCreek80; 02-17-2011 at 03:31 PM..
If a parent can afford it they should help if not then its up to the child to a) go to a community college/tech first b) go to a state college and forget the idea of going to a private institution c) get a student loan
My kids are not old enough for college yet, but my eldest intends to go to community college for two years, then transfer to a state university like I did. We will pay for that. It's also possible that she will get a scholarship in art, but she doesn't know if she wants to go to art school despite the free education. Our middle daughter will probably never go to college, and our son, the youngest, is only six. We intend to pay for his college path in the same fashion, but who knows what will happen between then and now.
My parents and grandparents paid for my college and my sister's. I don't see anything wrong with helping your kids in that way, as long as they are working toward becoming productive, self-reliant adults. Goofing off in school and getting bad grades would make me reconsider.
Sorry, but I find the bold shocking, unless your daughter is disabled.
Do not count on a lot of scholarships, etc. If your daughter is good at art and going to art school, she will be competing for the scholarship money with others that are the same caliber as her or better.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Houston_2010
They way my parents and my spouse's parents see it is that when they die, we're not going to get any money or inheritance, nothing. Instead, they will pay for our education and that could be an invaluable inheritance, tools for us to build our own future loan free. Not all schools are designed the same - that would be the difference between a job or a career. At the same time not having the most expensive education necessarily means you have the best of the best, not true either. Research the degree you want to reach and try to find the best school money can afford.
While DH and I never articulated it like that, we did feel that our kids shouldn't have to wait until we die to get our money. So we paid for their educations.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80
Also- you are incorrect to continue repeating "college is $40k per year." maybe 5% of schools cost that much?! Many states have multiple state universities that are under $10k per year.
Counting room and board, even state universities cost about $20K/yr. About half of that is R&B, the other half tutition. Many private colleges cost $30-40K in tuition.
Why would you find it shocking that someone's daughter might not ever go to college? College is a choice, not a requirement. No one has to go to college UNLESS they want to persue specific careers that require a college degree. If the daughter shows no interest in college, then there's no reason why she should go. Maybe she'd rather be a hairdresser and go to hairdressing school. Maybe she's absolutely brilliant, but really would just prefer to write novels and travel the world than spend 4 more years in school.
Not sure why you're shocked. There are a lot of reasons why people don't go to college, as evidenced by the fact that there are a lot of people who don't go.
Why would you find it shocking that someone's daughter might not ever go to college? College is a choice, not a requirement. No one has to go to college UNLESS they want to persue specific careers that require a college degree. If the daughter shows no interest in college, then there's no reason why she should go. Maybe she'd rather be a hairdresser and go to hairdressing school. Maybe she's absolutely brilliant, but really would just prefer to write novels and travel the world than spend 4 more years in school.
Not sure why you're shocked. There are a lot of reasons why people don't go to college, as evidenced by the fact that there are a lot of people who don't go.
This child is not of college age yet, in fact it sounds like she may not even be in high school. "Never" is a long time for someone that age. I can say that I, at age 61, will never go to grad school, but in the early teens I'd not make such a prediction about anyone.
I read the poster's word "probably" and interpreted it to mean that she felt her daughter was heading in an academic direction that excludes a higher education. I just don't understand why anyone would be shocked to hear that from someone's mother. It just seemed pretty odd that someone would post that kind of response - that they are shocked, when they know nothing about neither mother nor daughter.
"Probably" followed by "never". I'd never (no pun intended) make this kind of a prediction about a child not of college age. I've seen too much in my years on earth. People change, go back to school sometimes in their 60s.
My daughter didn't think she would go to college and I didn't either to be honest. She did not like school and would not apply herself, and she had an undiagnosed reading problem. I didn't go after HS but I got an AA degree in my 30's by going to night school after the kids were born. College just wasn't a big deal in my life so I didn't worry about my kids. Fast forward to her Jr year in high school. I definitely saw the benefit of a college education in todays world and I saw the benefit of getting her away from everything because of personal issues she had. She saw it also and managed to graduate with a respectful 3.0 which got her into a state school a couple hours away. We paid because we could afford to and knew it would be good for her. And it was.
Our son is a different story. He is happily living at home and going to community college but doesn't know what he will do after that.
TurtleCreek80, and others who might want to respond, too - I was wondering if you would share what your opinions are regarding students who use their school loans for life expenses?
What I mean is... I know several people who graduated with a 4-year degree with $40K+ debt in the form of school loans, but I know for a fact that these people used school loan money for things like furniture, rent, groceries, etc.
When I asked them about this, they responded that school loans were for anything they needed while in school... so they felt it was OK to use their school loans for "life expenses".
One person even used school loan money to pay for baby stuff when she became pregnant while in college. Now this person is out of school with a useless degree (photography) complaining about the amount of debt "college" cost her. She works retail and is thinking about going back to college - using more school loans to pay her way.
These people all attended state/public colleges.
So - if you must do the school loan option... are you supposed to also use them to pay for things other than tuition and books and school-related expenses? Why does the government allow this?
The loans are intended to help a student support himself financially while in school. The student signs the loan, and usually a relative has to co-sign it. This isn't a handout. It must be paid back, with interest. The loaning institution doesn't have the resources to check every single student to ensure that they didn't spend any of their money on McDonald's during the semester. It isn't cost-efficient, and it doesn't make much sense.
A kid has to eat while they're in school. A kid needs shelter, and clothing, and heat/hot water, etc. etc. If the loaning institution is willing to loan someone 40K for miscellaneous educational expenses, and the student is signing an agreement to pay it back, then it really doesn't matter what -that- money is spent on. I mean, I had loans, and I also worked while I was in school. So, when I got paid, and had to pay a bill, how do I know *which* set of money was going to pay the bill, and *which* set of money was buying me an ice cream cone? Does it really matter? As long as he's paying it back, he can gripe all he wants. He wanted money, someone lent it to him, he agreed to pay it back with interest.
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