Assistance with tuition

[MossRoad]

Home Schooling can be quite a barrier to overcome... and not speaking academically.

There is a bias often found in the State Universities and Colleges against home schooled... at least here where Teacher Unions are trying to limit charter schools and make home schooling more difficult.

I've met quite a few great home schooled people. My kid met one at college and they're dating very seriously. Great young man. A+

And, of course, I've met quite a few that were socially awkward and religiously bent. Won't go into that in this forum.

We know another couple that has 5 kids, all home schooled by the mom. They win pretty much every spelling bee, geography bee, 4h fair projects, etc... go to regionals and usually win state. Got to nationals a few times. Really nice kids. Mom and dad made sure to socialize them. They're not having any problems getting into colleges of their choice.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

I would agree with your summation. Our experience is that to ensure that we are compliant and honest, our kids take standardized testing along with public school children, and that their report cards are submitted as well. Not mandatory, but definitely helpful. It also helps that we live in the South, where a lot of debatable subjects are still common sense..

We lived in SC for 25 years, raised our children there. Do they still offer Life Scholarships?; something to look into. Our 2 sons went to U of SC almost free. Our daughter got an academic scholarship to Clemson honors college that paid 100% except books. But she did finish second in her HS class. Back in the day, I used the Air Force Aid Society to borrow money for college, it was a great deal.

 

[USAFpj]

Do they still offer Life Scholarships?;

Yes sir, they sure do. That will definitely be an avenue. She has done well so far- as for her current High School Junior year, and next Senior year, she will have accumulated enough Community College hours to make her a Sophomore right out of school. Two items that the wife is concentrating on this year is higher ACT scores, and improving overall GPA.

Our kids get a lot of social activity through sports and academic Co-Op classes,but you are correct in that we wanted to avoid the 'awkwardness' of home schooling. What once was a major concern of ours has turned into wanting them to slow down a bit on the socialization:laughing: 17yr old girl interests are going to be the same no matter where they get schooled!

 

[buckeyefarmer]

The problem is or every Gates and Jobs there's 10,000 Kastanzas and Kramers....

And the fact those 2 were successful in marketing other peoples work....

 

[Sigarms]

We know another couple that has 5 kids, all home schooled by the mom. They win pretty much every spelling bee, geography bee, 4h fair projects, etc... go to regionals and usually win state. Got to nationals a few times. Really nice kids. Mom and dad made sure to socialize them. They're not having any problems getting into colleges of their choice.

I really wouldn't mind that life.

My one has been close to going to the local "hard knock school" for getting into fights at school, and the other is so quiet and "prim and propper", already found out he's blowing smoke up our butt from time to time. They aren't even in high school yet... For some reason, they seem to think we're stupid...

That said, I still remember my mother telling me "just wait, sooner or later you're going to get yours" (I wasn't the easiest well behaved teen to have in a house by far, and I did put my mom through a lot, God rest her soul). She was right though...I'm getting mine LOL

 

[downsizingnow48]

There are a lot of different ways to do this. My wife and I put ourselves through college, every penny, although I had the GI Bill which was a big help at the time.

For our two girls, we paid for their 4 year degree where they wanted to go, no payback. The costs these days are pretty high. We had the money and no misgivings about their commitment to schooling. After that they were on their own. Both went to graduate school (hydrology and public health) paying their own way, and both have good jobs in their chosen line of work. So it worked out fine although me and Mom were fretting quite a lot at times.

 

[aczlan]

I met a cashier at our grocery store. He is a senior in high school. Took vocational classes while in school. Welding. He said he has a job lined up that starts the week after he graduate from high school starting at $26 and hour.

That matches what a welder I was talking to recently said.

Home Schooling can be quite a barrier to overcome... and not speaking academically.

There is a bias often found in the State Universities and Colleges against home schooled... at least here where Teacher Unions are trying to limit charter schools and make home schooling more difficult.

Going to a community college and getting an AS degree (NOTE: Associates of Science, NOT an Applied Associates of Science as those are harder to transfer), then transferring into a 4 year school with get you past a lot of the admissions be that can trip up a home school student...

Aaron Z

 

[Tractor Seabee]

There is entirely too much emphasis placed on college educations. Started work in the family business at 12 (first credible year for SS) of sheetmetal and HVAC. While in HS became a journyman at 14 and a foreman at 16. Migrated into all aspects of refrigeration including large industrial plants. That lead to being a industrial pipefitter and welder. 26 years working for the Navy CS in Quality Assurance, facility planing. maintenance, and contracting. Concurrently spent 33 years in the Navy Reserve retiring as a W4. Toward the end of my working years worked as a Construction Project Manager and Quality Control Manager.

Never any college. Always made above average salaries and my wife did not have to work.

Raised 5 kids, only 2 went to college (their choice). All were offered bed and room, access to a car, and some $. All are doing above average financially, except one is a high achiever. He quit high school, followed the crowd till a serious accident (almost killed him) woke him up. Took a special exam at UW and qualifies as an incoming freshman. Several scholarships and PEL Grants kept him away from the loan sharks.
Degree in geology. Poor starting pay, applied for an entry level job for a high tech company. 30 years later he is making $250K/yr working for Intel as a supervising software engineer. No further college.

After Civil Service moved up in the construction world as a technical and business savvy manager until engineers and architects with only 3 years of work experience in construction became a requirement contractually for government contracts. That was considered by contractors as an entry level job with starting pay of $45-60K. I was making $130K and all of a sudden was out of work. Started a consulting business and did very well for 10 years helping those same contractors get through the morass of government contracts with project management and quality control assistance to their inept new college graduates they were forced to hire. We the tax payers are now paying more for that public work due to the degree featherbedding. Further, a lot of good technician level jobs went down the drain.

In closing, the construction trades are crying for help as the demographics of retirements are way and above exceeding the input of apprentices. Maybe good may be bad but now the drive is to more manufactured assemblies, automation, and other technical solutions. That then creates a shortage of technicians to install and repair the high tech solutions. More technical immigrants are going to be required (if congress gets off its duff) and a change in society over schooling.

Ron

 

[USAFpj]

My one has been close to going to the local "hard knock school" for getting into fights at school, and the other is so quiet and "prim and propper", already found out he's blowing smoke up our butt from time to time. They aren't even in high school yet... For some reason, they seem to think we're stupid...

SigArms- this was me through and through. Fights, getting expelled, sneaking out of the house, conduct issues, In school suspensions, etc. Had a high SAT score, but in order to graduate high school, had to take Geometry in summer school...

Thank goodness for the following: being raised a redneck kid who could swim well, shoot accurately, not be too affected by cold and heat (raised in a 90 year old house, using an outhouse until I was 15), and plenty of prayer from Grandma!

Keep working with your kids, and they won't forget it. Some of the best senior NCO's and management types within the Department of State were a lot like me! And I was shocked to find out that having 'been there and done that', we now use that earlier experience as a tool for patience and the ability to see workplace challenges before they occur.

Or you may simply be doomed as you somehow prefer Sig over Glock?

 

[TheMan419]

I think the first rule needs to be you don't put yourself in a financial bind to pay for your kids schooling.

If you can afford it, help them or even pay 100% of it. That is the best financial gift you can give them. Student loan debt can be crushing. It is not dischargeable in bankruptcy either if something does south.

Have a friend whose wife is an only child. Parents are well off and could have afforded to put her through college. They did not. She came out of college and post graduate school with over $100k in debt. That is a house payment. How are you ever supposed to pay that off, buy an actual house and save for retirement?

Of course make sure that college is right for them. A degree that is useful in getting a job. There is nothing wrong with learning a trade either if that is the route the kid wants to go. The building trades are screaming for workers.

 

[oosik]

I've often wondered. What are people thinking, when they send their children off to a college and incur tuition debts of 25K to 35K per year. I guess it's OK if you have the funds and don't need a loan. Otherwise - a very sad, stressful situation might be created.

 

[USAFpj]

What are people thinking, when they send their children off to a college and incur tuition debts of 25K to 35K per year

We, as a Nation, aren't really taught to think for ourselves, but how we compare to our surroundings. Isn't that why I even asked complete strangers on a website for their experiences?:laughing:

But to answer your rhetorical question- I think a majority of Americans assume that: (1)- That's just "the way it is and has always been", and (2)- It may cost XX amount for Child A to go to school, but over a lifetime, child A will recoup that loss eventually.

I honestly think it is more of just thinking that 'you have to pay to play'...

 

[MossRoad]

Just for reference:
$100,000 debt @ 6% for 30 years is about $600 per month.
$600 per month X 12 months is $7200 per year.

 

[ultrarunner]

The problem is or every Gates and Jobs there's 10,000 Kastanzas and Kramers....

I have mixed thoughts on college degrees...

So many successful people I know have started with nothing and have built impressive businesses often employing 50 or more... no college and even little high school... most folks in the trades that came here with nothing but determination to make it... Mexico and Asians mostly but some wildly succesfull multimillion dollar home builders with 8th grade education from Ireland... really all American success stories.

Irish Tom hasn't owed anyone a dime in decades... he buys lots in downturns and builds spec homes... not even a contractor... owner builder... his homes average about 2 million now... he did put his daughter through Berkeley and she got a job with the phone company as an account rep but really didn't like it much and left after the first child was born... his two boys are doing what the old man does... they build and no college or contractor licenses... the old man built his first spec home back in the 1960's...

He and 4 other "Carpenters" from Ireland pooled their money and bought a lot and built a simple spec home working nights and weekends... they got suppliers from their day job to extend credit for materials... after a few homes they spit and Tom and his Brother went on their own and later just Tom and then Tom with his sons...

I'm thankful for my engineering degree but it is not make or break other than removing barriers... it was more like you have a degree... yes I do so now what can you do for me?

Of course if you want to be a Doc, a PA etc... it changes everything... but there are still lawyers that read for the bar and RN's that parlayed their corpsman military experience to challenge the board and become a RN...

What I do see is way to many taking the "Easy" money without regard to paying it back...

I manage an apartment where my 50 year old tenant just earned her master's degree... she has been working on it for 15 years... she is on Section 8 and partially disabled... her tuition included grants and student loans... but the loans are deferred... but being disabled and not working all I see is 60k in student debt... she did apply for a few jobs and balked when she was offered as much as 40k saying why would I do that and lose Housing? She was thinking more of a 100k with a Masters in Social Work...

 

[STERLING351]

My parents paid for my bachelors degree at a public university. While in school I lived like a poor person. I did not have a fancy apartment close to campus, I lived in a cheap duplex in the ghetto with 2 roommates and we each paid $250/mo for rent and bills. I also did not get a new car for college, I kept my only 7.3 f250 with a crap ton of miles. I have no regrets with how my parent helped me, they paid for school I worked with my roommate doing weekend welding jobs and flipping broken appliances to pay rent and have food money. I graduated debt free walked into a $80k/year job managed to have enough down payment for my land with in a year and bought a new tractor in cash. I still work full time working on my masters paying that in cash as well. My mom always feels guilty when I talk about my poor living situation in college wish I would have asked her for money so I could have had a better place but I couldn't do that because she already did so much for me.

 

[bunyip]

I paid my own way but the Government paid for my doctorate in forensic psychology as I had a good head start on anyone else, they wanted someone and I was it with a BA and MA in the field, daughters have both been through uni (college) and I have paid some but they have to pay back the rest, it is added to their tax bill but only when they achieve over $40k a year which is not hard to achieve in nursing.
I see some who spend a lot of time trying for a degree in some obscure fields then working in an unrelated field and wonder why as we as taxpayers are funding this because they will never pay it back.
Then there are some strange colleges like one here that offers a degree in Tarot Reading, I suppose the dark arts will be soon.

 

[USAFpj]

I suppose the dark arts will be soon

Yah, unlike Psychology.. :laughing:

Bunyip- I'm content with my current career path, but I still may very well further my education in Psychology. I enjoy working with such a diverse group of thinkers around me, and to see how the people I supervise overcome obstacles. The fascinating part is for me to attempt to tell them their suspected background on how they came up with a certain answer to a problem. Aggression, passiveness, confrontation, passive/aggressive, apathy, etc..

If you get it right, it's like looking through a window into their heart..

But I digress...

 

[bunyip]

I started life as an electronic tech in the RAAF.
Diverse enough?

 

[riptides]

Interesting subject that covers a wide range of social norms.

For us, my family, I wanted to give all the best opportunity to achieve their goals. What my parents did not, or could not do, I wanted to do.

I footed the entire summation of their colleges expenses through Federal and Private loans. Our 529 ran out on the first kid in year 2. We, the girls and I, looked hard at Grants and Scholarships. Grants were not forthcoming in amounts that would make a difference in the time spent trying to process them. My salary, did not help either. Scholarships were also few and far between. Although two out of three managed to snags some tens of thousands. Sounds like a lot? Not really, my number for three girls and 5 degrees is well over 200k.

It did not help that one changed majors and schools. It did not help that one pursued multiple degrees. See second sentence.

I guess for me, I look at this as, I have the last laugh. My girls have no excuses. They have paper, they have skills, they have networks of people, some all over the world. Yeah, one studied abroad. More $$$.

I am glad to have made a difference in some lives, maybe even yours. Two of my girls are in DoD services, and another is expanding her education in Health Care.

That's really all a parent can do, right,? Give an opportunity to make a difference. College can do that. It's just not about a paper degree, it's expanding people skills and networks and learning systems and what not.

Good luck in your decision.

 

[MossRoad]

I have mixed thoughts on college degrees...

So many successful people I know have started with nothing and have built impressive businesses often employing 50 or more... no college and even little high school... most folks in the trades that came here with nothing but determination to make it... Mexico and Asians mostly but some wildly succesfull multimillion dollar home builders with 8th grade education from Ireland... really all American success stories.

Irish Tom hasn't owed anyone a dime in decades... he buys lots in downturns and builds spec homes... not even a contractor... owner builder... his homes average about 2 million now... he did put his daughter through Berkeley and she got a job with the phone company as an account rep but really didn't like it much and left after the first child was born... his two boys are doing what the old man does... they build and no college or contractor licenses... the old man built his first spec home back in the 1960's...

He and 4 other "Carpenters" from Ireland pooled their money and bought a lot and built a simple spec home working nights and weekends... they got suppliers from their day job to extend credit for materials... after a few homes they spit and Tom and his Brother went on their own and later just Tom and then Tom with his sons...

I'm thankful for my engineering degree but it is not make or break other than removing barriers... it was more like you have a degree... yes I do so now what can you do for me?

Of course if you want to be a Doc, a PA etc... it changes everything... but there are still lawyers that read for the bar and RN's that parlayed their corpsman military experience to challenge the board and become a RN...

What I do see is way to many taking the "Easy" money without regard to paying it back...

I manage an apartment where my 50 year old tenant just earned her master's degree... she has been working on it for 15 years... she is on Section 8 and partially disabled... her tuition included grants and student loans... but the loans are deferred... but being disabled and not working all I see is 60k in student debt... she did apply for a few jobs and balked when she was offered as much as 40k saying why would I do that and lose Housing? She was thinking more of a 100k with a Masters in Social Work...

My father's parents never went to high school. When I met them (when I was born in the early 60's), grandpa was grandpa was 73 and grandma was 65. They owned three houses with two apartments in each house, and lived upstairs in one of them. Grandpa had a barber shop in the garage behind one of the houses. They owned a cottage on an island in a lake in Michigan that requires a car ferry ride to get to. And they owned a trailer home in Lakeland, FL. Not to bad on 25 cent haircuts!!! :thumbsup: But they had help from my dad... see below.

My dad wanted to be an architect, so that required a college degree. He put himself through Notre Dame for 2 years, and as I mentioned before, got drafted during WWII, and finished ND on the GI bill after the war. He was working for the government down in Kentucky and Tennessee on power plants and munitions factories, living in Cincinnati and sending money home to his parents. He actually got them financially solvent and floated them the loan to by the first house that they converted to two apartments and a barber shop. That's where he met my mom, who was also living in Cincinnati, but with her parents. She had recently graduated from college with a teaching degree. She taught biology in high school, and art. So that required a college degree as well.

Later in life, my mom got her masters when she went back to teaching after all of us kids were able to fend for ourselves after school.

So yes, there are many times you don't need a college degree. And many times you do. But you should know what you want to do before you go to college. Same thing with before you go into the trades.