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.
I had to pay for college without grants. Your current income level should have no bearing on going to college. Why? Technically someone coming from a "poor background" can go to school and succeed just as someone from a "wealthier background" would. In the end, they should both gets jobs that can pay for the education.
If those from a poorer background think they should get a degree and not pay for it... what is the purpose of that piece of paper then? Yes, knowledge is important and all... but why go to college if not to be able to get a better job? There is a price in getting a better job.
The irony in your premise in that the middle class exploded in the 1950's and one of the reason why was the G.I. Bill allowed more people who would have NEVER been able to go to college to have that opporutnity. The thing happened in the 1960's and early 1970's. Say what you will the G.I. Bill was essentially a grant that allowed people that served in the miltary to go to college.
The reality is that income does matter when it comes to who goes to college and who does not. The country as whole benefits from having as many educated people as possible. Just about every major developed country on the planet offers some form needs based tutition or edicational assistance to people who attend college. In many cases the money and benefits offered far exceeds anything available in the United States.
Not educating people in the country will put us at an even greater competitive advantage in the future. We are already getting killed by countries that offer lower wage labor.
Last edited by JazzyTallGuy; 08-01-2011 at 06:52 PM..
They can go to work and earn the tuition/books (my, what a thought!) or borrow on personal loans.
What do you think people did BEFORE government interfered with their "welfare" handouts paid by taxpayers who actually work?
Actually the percentage of American with 4 year college degree was very low prior to that time. Wider access to education has allowed more Americans to attend college and is one of things that helped expand the middle class in the 1950's, 1960's 1970's. Overall the percentage of Americans that are four year graduates has increased.
Prior to 1960's less than 10% of the Americans over the age 25 had a four year college degrees. That figure is now about 30%.
The quote is very appropriate to the topic. I was responding to a post that gave some very glib responses to the book issue. I never heard of renting textbooks. Maybe you can tell me about a college that has such a service. Online "resources"? If the books were available online for free, everyone would do that. Share with a friend? A great way to have a soon-to-be ex-friend. Who gets the book the night of the big test? Who gets it first to do the homework? Sorry, "simple, elegant and absolutley wrong".
Last edited by CaseyB; 08-02-2011 at 07:48 AM..
Reason: off topic/rude
The quote is very appropriate to the topic. I was responding to a post that gave some very glib responses to the book issue. I never heard of renting textbooks. Maybe you can tell me about a college that has such a service. Online "resources"? If the books were available online for free, everyone would do that. Share with a friend? A great way to have a soon-to-be ex-friend. Who gets the book the night of the big test? Who gets it first to do the homework? Sorry, "simple, elegant and absolutley wrong".
Just b/c you have never heard of it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
As far as renting books, I hadn't heard of it before my last year at UCF. Do a google search for "textbook rental" and see how many sites pop up.
Even Barnes and Noble is in the textbook business, I got many of my books there over the years. You can also rent from them and find e-textbooks (which I never said were free...but there are other free online resources one can use if one cannot afford a hardback textbook). Textbooks | College Textbooks | Textbook Rentals - Barnes*&*Noble
You can share with a friend, yes, I've seen people do it. I personally don't use my book right before a test so that wouldn't have been a big deal to me if I was sharing. In many cases, there is no "homework" to do from textbooks, and in the cases that there is, you have more than one night to get it done.
Not to mention that most profs put a copy of their texts on reserve in the school's library. Free. Just have to plan when you want to use it since others take advantage of this, too and they're not always available when you need them.
See? Nothing WRONG about what I've said.
P.S. You can also sell back your books when you're done. I used B&N and another site to sell my books, I had to ship them but it was paid by them and I ended up with about $300 just to get rid of books that would otherwise go in the trash.
Last edited by CaseyB; 08-02-2011 at 07:48 AM..
Reason: off topic/rude
I sold about $300 worth of books back and got about $45. The college text book market is a huge scam. If this country didn't have more pressing issues it would be headline news.
I sold about $300 worth of books back and got about $45. The college text book market is a huge scam. If this country didn't have more pressing issues it would be headline news.
I certainly agree with you there. But, it's something, and if someone is struggling to pay for college, it's a viable option for fundraising. I actually shopped around to see where I would get the most money for selling back my books, and many were too old (I held onto a lot of them and only sold them b/c we were relocating) to sell back to the college bookstores, B&N, etc., so I put them on half.com and sold them there so I could get something for them.
Just saying, if someone really needs to get money to pay for college, there should be no options taken off the table, and selling books is indeed an option.
Your argument is just another one that strengthens my point that buying the textbook is not always the best choice.
I see some pretty snobby replies on this thread. A lot of "haves" vs the "have nots", and its obvious some here never knew what it is like to be truely poor.
That's why I don't feel too bad when I see unemployed college grads, the ones that are conditioned to believe that piece of paper guarantees a life of luxury.
Keep working Americans....Illegal Aliens in California are counting on your tax dollars so they can go to college for free.The Bill (http://www.californiadreamact.org/about/the-bill.html - broken link)
Who's dictating who can go to college and who can't? Certainly not anyone in the US.
It is YOU are saying people shouldn't have the right to an education. By saying poor people need to fork over 100% of the cost of education you are saying they don't have a right to it. You like to sugar coat your words by saying that you don't deny them education as long as they pay for it, but yet you support no social program that would allow someone who is poor to go to college. You are indirectly stating that you do not think the poor should have access to education. I suppose you think that higher education should only be accessible to the wealthy (note, those who can afford it, since college is not affordable for poor people) and their descendants.
No, by taking away Pell grants you are teaching self-sufficiency.
No, you are going to put people out on the street begging for money. At least in this economy you will. That might be self-sufficiency, but hardly something that would benefit society.
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.
