Going to Univer$ity...
I read this article on the New York Times website that talks about how parents are passing the burden of college tuition on to their children in what they call a new trend. A new trend?! Nearly everyone I know has student loan debt from their undergraduate and graduate educations, and I think it is about time that a lot of these priveleged kids, many of whom have families that were responsible and saved up money for their educations, take responsibility for their futures. The thing that irked me the most about the article were the kids who felt they needed to go to an expensive or private institution. '"The way I see it is, I only get to go to college once," Mr. Dillon said. "If I have to pay an extra $20,000 a year, that's what I have to do."' Someone needs to sit down with these young people, show them how much debt they will really have to incur to finance their dream colleges, and how much money they will have to make after graduation in order to begin to pay those loans. Here's my own story...
Having grown up in a modest, single-parent household (when I say household I mean a number of rented apartments, and duplexes around the area; between the ages of three and eighteen I moved seven times), I never saw myself as an ivy-leaguer. My mother struggled, even with child support from my father, to bring my brother and me up without us ever feeling we had less than other kids, and we never did. I hate to use the phrase "when I was a kid" because it doesn't seem like that long ago, but I do think the landscape has changed in ten years. When I was a kid, I think there was a more realistic atmosphere and tone in our society, at least where I was living about the various directions young people were expected to head after high school. Rich, smart kids and really smart middle class kids had a chance at ivy-leagues and private schools, most reasonably bright middle class kids selected from a number of very good state schools, and kids who didn't do as well in high school expected to go into a job, a training program or community college. This may sound like social darwinism, but it was the reality and there was no shame in it.
Yes, the lucky kids had mom and dad to pay for their school, but I knew from the onset that I was going to have to cover some of my own expenses. Of course, during the four years of college, receiving overage checks every semester that felt like winning the lottery, it didn't hit me that I would be paying back that money very soon. I accumulated about $20,000 in loans from my undergraduate education, which I consider a bargain when I think of all of the opportunites I took advantage of, including living abroad for a year. To be fair, my father and my grandmother did contribute a good chunk of change to my education. Without them I likely would have had $30-40k in debt from my bachelors degree. To them I am eternally grateful.
After college I took a little time to think about where I was headed. When I decided to go to grad school to become a teacher I hoped that I would get a fellowship or a scholarship to cover the cost. I didn't, so I had to make the tough choice to take an additional $18,500 in loans to pay for it. I chose a program at a state school (one that is nationally ranked for its teacher training program) that only took me one year to complete and I worked for half of that year to put some more money in my pocket. I also lived basically for free with my aunt, which was challenging at times but well worth it.
I just had to laugh to myself. I sat down to write a fire and brimstone post about how kids these days shouldn't see themselves as so self-important that they need an expensive education and that many of them are spoiled already. Then I realized how much financial help, both directly and indirectly, I got from my family and saw myself as the pot and "these kids" as the kettle. Though I made what I feel to be responsible choices in my education and career, I know I wouldn't be where I am without a lot of help. So, what's the point? Educate yourself and your kids about the real cost of college and how much they will have to pay each month when the kegs have gone dry and the graduation robe is gathering dust in a basement or an attic somewhere. Part of the experience, though, is living it.
Having grown up in a modest, single-parent household (when I say household I mean a number of rented apartments, and duplexes around the area; between the ages of three and eighteen I moved seven times), I never saw myself as an ivy-leaguer. My mother struggled, even with child support from my father, to bring my brother and me up without us ever feeling we had less than other kids, and we never did. I hate to use the phrase "when I was a kid" because it doesn't seem like that long ago, but I do think the landscape has changed in ten years. When I was a kid, I think there was a more realistic atmosphere and tone in our society, at least where I was living about the various directions young people were expected to head after high school. Rich, smart kids and really smart middle class kids had a chance at ivy-leagues and private schools, most reasonably bright middle class kids selected from a number of very good state schools, and kids who didn't do as well in high school expected to go into a job, a training program or community college. This may sound like social darwinism, but it was the reality and there was no shame in it.
Yes, the lucky kids had mom and dad to pay for their school, but I knew from the onset that I was going to have to cover some of my own expenses. Of course, during the four years of college, receiving overage checks every semester that felt like winning the lottery, it didn't hit me that I would be paying back that money very soon. I accumulated about $20,000 in loans from my undergraduate education, which I consider a bargain when I think of all of the opportunites I took advantage of, including living abroad for a year. To be fair, my father and my grandmother did contribute a good chunk of change to my education. Without them I likely would have had $30-40k in debt from my bachelors degree. To them I am eternally grateful.
After college I took a little time to think about where I was headed. When I decided to go to grad school to become a teacher I hoped that I would get a fellowship or a scholarship to cover the cost. I didn't, so I had to make the tough choice to take an additional $18,500 in loans to pay for it. I chose a program at a state school (one that is nationally ranked for its teacher training program) that only took me one year to complete and I worked for half of that year to put some more money in my pocket. I also lived basically for free with my aunt, which was challenging at times but well worth it.
I just had to laugh to myself. I sat down to write a fire and brimstone post about how kids these days shouldn't see themselves as so self-important that they need an expensive education and that many of them are spoiled already. Then I realized how much financial help, both directly and indirectly, I got from my family and saw myself as the pot and "these kids" as the kettle. Though I made what I feel to be responsible choices in my education and career, I know I wouldn't be where I am without a lot of help. So, what's the point? Educate yourself and your kids about the real cost of college and how much they will have to pay each month when the kegs have gone dry and the graduation robe is gathering dust in a basement or an attic somewhere. Part of the experience, though, is living it.
posted by Joel Stuart at
11:16 AM
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