Paying for College...

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Originally Posted By: bigmike
Most people that state college is expensive are probably choosing the wrong college to go to.

Choose the wiser financial move. A piece of paper from a cheaper university carries the same weight as a more "prestigious" one.


My experience is that for a "prestigious" college, the graduates get a head start for a few years because they find better jobs and have better "marketing" for the same effort and work performance.

After you work for a few years (about 5), it is about what you have done. Eventually employees settle into their career based on their performance.
 
I only have trade school and my wife has an assocoiates degree wich her job does not require . We are giving our 3 kids full rides to college, 2 are all done with good jobs and the last has only 1 year left.
The total expense is over 200k with zero debt. It is the only thing we have worked for over the last decade besides modest retirement savings. My kids understand and apreciate the sacrifice and I am very content knowing my kids will have it better than me.
The fafsfa aid is a joke, unless you are poor, dont count on much financial aid.
 
I'm amazed when I hear that anyone was able to finish college without any student loan debt. I went to college and grad school back when state's subsidized higher education at higher levels, worked almost full time, had a boat load of scholarships, active duty GI Bill, National Guard money, and still graduated with around $20k worth of debt as an undergrad and another $10k as a graduate student.
 
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm


AMEN! I agree completely! I had to work two jobs to pay my way through night school. It`s so pathetic when you have all these grown adults who`s daddys pay for everything and they have no sense of responsibility. I came from a well off family,but I still had to buy my own cars,pay my own rent,pay for my own fun,and pay for my college. It must be nice being a grown adult living on the nip. Once they turn 18,make them work and get accustomed to how the real world is going to treat them. Have them start building their credit and make them take on finacial responsibility. If they wanna party,make them pay for their own partying. If they want a nice new car,make them take out a car loan and buy one. The real world isn`t nice or fair,and if they`re not prepared for responsibility,they won`t know what to do to survive once daddy removes them from his payroll.


I think there's a balance to everything. I grew up very poor and essentially worked full time from the age of 14 up so my siblings could have electricity, heat, and a roof over our heads.

In the long run, it's lead to a very serious work ethic because I had no safety net in any way for most of my life. But looking back, I'm immeasurably jealous of those who grew up in typical middle class families, with stable utilities, heat in the winter, summer vacations, and things like the prom or summer camp.
 
For me I think that for one thing kids and parents thinking that they have to send their kid to a name school and going into debt at the cost of their own retirement is a large problem. If you have a decent university in the local area so they can live at home while getting their education it can save you a ton of money. I also firmly believe that the kid ought to be on the hook for a least a decent part of his education. If they aren't motivated enough to work some while going to school then they probably aren't going to be motivated for school. I have one son and a son in law that work full time while getting their degrees and you can bet that while it is work they certainly make sure that they don't screw off because mommy and daddy are picking up the tab. We helped pay for the schooling, but it was made clear that if he didn't do his part and keep his grades up then all bets were off. He also was expected to do chores around the house. Is it easy, heck no, but he has a lot of sweat equity in his education and appreciates it. A community college is a good option, but you have to be sure that the credits from it will transfer to the school you want to go to. My son found out that they don't all transfer. I'm planning on my retirement so that my kids can worry about their future and raising kids instead adding me to the mix.
 
Originally Posted By: kb01
I'm amazed when I hear that anyone was able to finish college without any student loan debt. I went to college and grad school back when state's subsidized higher education at higher levels, worked almost full time, had a boat load of scholarships, active duty GI Bill, National Guard money, and still graduated with around $20k worth of debt as an undergrad and another $10k as a graduate student.


I lived with my parents rent/food was free. I drove beaters. I worked part time and went to school full time. I graduated with no debt with two college degrees. I was almost 27 when I moved in with my g/f. but hey, no student loans! living at home that long did hurt me with the ladies, but I told my dad I SACRIFICED. he thinks he let me freeload when I was the one hurtin in the social scene.
lol.gif
 
I worked through school and paid for some of it. My parents picked up 1/2 and I got the rest.

If your really poor you can probably get aid, if not I recommend the military they will pay for college.
 
I agree about the military and school. It also helps motivate some lazy kids and open their eyes to the real world and not waste their time playing Xbox or watch TV.
 
I guess i got lucky, was never good studying the book's in H.S. although i graduated with no trouble, my dad didnt even try to get me to go to secondary school.. i spent 3 years after school doing factory/food/manual labor (honest but not well paying) I made my way into law enforcement and that led into a goverment work - law enforcement job.. Living in Indiana the cost of living is very low, and with a good goverment job my family lives comfortable, were average middle class, but as a 30-something guy in goverment work im starting to consider what to do when my earliest retirement time frame comes in 14 years from now, ive been considering going to school, but i have No clue what i would want to get into.. sure i could live on my retirement, but retireing at 50 doesnt sound like much of a life to me on a goverment pension... but its something.. so the kids are not the only ones..
 
My wife went the traditional route. Early graduation from HS and tons o' college at 3 different schools gave her a nice degree and a great job instantly.

I went the stupid way. Refused college and beat my head against the wall for years until I got lucky and decided to start my own biz.

The way it looks to me the college route was a lot easier. But my rewards are larger, and I don't have to work as much.
 
OP, if online school is an option for you, check this out...

There's something very unique about this online school, you pay your tuition and you can take as many classes as you want in a given amount of time. They charge a flat rate based on what degree you're going for.

http://www.wgu.edu/

http://www.wgu.edu/tuition_financial_aid/tuition

( I made a thread with this info, I'm just posting it here to make sure the OP sees it ).
 
Originally Posted By: hate2work
OP, if online school is an option for you, check this out...

There's something very unique about this online school, you pay your tuition and you can take as many classes as you want in a given amount of time. They charge a flat rate based on what degree you're going for.

http://www.wgu.edu/

http://www.wgu.edu/tuition_financial_aid/tuition

( I made a thread with this info, I'm just posting it here to make sure the OP sees it ).


Watch those schools. Take a community college or a state school, see what accreditation it has, then see what accreditation this online school has. There are tons of accreditation out there, when you go to apply for a federal job or another job you will learn that your degree is not worth anything. Same happened to me with ITT Tech, the accreditation they hold is not as good as a state school, and credits to not transfer anywhere.
 
Originally Posted By: JustinH


Watch those schools. Take a community college or a state school, see what accreditation it has, then see what accreditation this online school has. There are tons of accreditation out there, when you go to apply for a federal job or another job you will learn that your degree is not worth anything. Same happened to me with ITT Tech, the accreditation they hold is not as good as a state school, and credits to not transfer anywhere.


Good point, although it looks like they are accredited by the same place as many of the schools you mentioned...

===============================================================

Nationally and Regionally Accredited
Western Governors University is nationally accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). WGU is also regionally accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, one of the major accrediting commissions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

Regional accreditation is the highest form of accreditation. The Northwest Commission is also responsible for the accreditation of other major institutions, including the University of Washington, University of Oregon, University of Utah, and Brigham Young University, to name just a few.
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8


The way it looks to me the college route was a lot easier. But my rewards are larger, and I don't have to work as much.


I have to wonder how true this is on average across the board. How many 12+ hour days did you put in at the start? > 40 hr weeks at the start? How much risk, sweat equity and whatnot?

Its kind of like a few years back when everyone was saying how great of an investment real estate was. So they went out buying new homes and flipping old ones. Some made profit and it was good and the percentages showed up nicely. But yet after the drops and after the taxes and interest and everything else, the average return on real estate for most is pretty poor all things considered.

IMO it is the same way with self employment. Nothing wrong with it, in fact, it is a great way to earn a living and likely better influence others' lives than some college degree with corporation desk job forever. But the real return, overall, all things considered Ill have to bet isnt really that great compared to anything else (besides maybe 1-5% at the top of their game, which is the anomaly outlier just like anyplace/anything else).
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
The way it looks to me the college route was a lot easier. But my rewards are larger, and I don't have to work as much.


I have to wonder how true this is on average across the board. How many 12+ hour days did you put in at the start? > 40 hr weeks at the start? How much risk, sweat equity and whatnot?

Its kind of like a few years back when everyone was saying how great of an investment real estate was. So they went out buying new homes and flipping old ones. Some made profit and it was good and the percentages showed up nicely. But yet after the drops and after the taxes and interest and everything else, the average return on real estate for most is pretty poor all things considered.

IMO it is the same way with self employment. Nothing wrong with it, in fact, it is a great way to earn a living and likely better influence others' lives than some college degree with corporation desk job forever. But the real return, overall, all things considered Ill have to bet isnt really that great compared to anything else (besides maybe 1-5% at the top of their game, which is the anomaly outlier just like anyplace/anything else).


Actually my previous post should have said "today". At the start I worked long hours, included evenings and weekends. At the time i was also a single parent with three small kids. I pretty much had to risk everything I had to secure a small loan to get things started. Now, many years later, I have been rewarded with excellent employees and a profitable biz that pays a LOT of taxes. And with any luck it will continue to pay me long after I retire.

THAT'S the real benefit. Passive income is the bomb.

Everyone I know who flipped homes got caught in their last one and are crying. And what money they made is all spent.
 
^ yes but there are plenty of folks who mortgaged their homes and lived off of credit cards to build their business, and failed...

Its not all success and passive income for life for all.
 
I have been paying for my entire education… I have been at my college for over five years now, with over two to go… I have been very active with the Co-Op curriculum to help pay my way through. I first had an academic scholarship which paid for half my bill, leaving me with about $5,000 per year to owe (not including books and such). Now I am responsible for my entire bill as that has ended, but have been working to make the money. I will owe about $5,000 per semester now, just over 10K a year. I have been taking semesters off to do the Co-Op program and get experience in the field. I got paid $15/hr for my first two jobs and my most recent one I am at (my second 7 month rotation) making just under $23/hr with 401K matching, benefits, etc… Pretty crazy for just being an intern/co-op.

Graduation is taking longer to get to because of working, but I am completely debt free, have money to buy my expensive toys (camera gear), vacations and get a break from studies. It has been great. Plus, I basically have a job right when I graduate already with 2 years or more of in-field experience. At worst, I am looking at under 10K in loans when I get done depending if I can come back here for summer or find other places to work at.

My degree will be in Mechanical Engineering. So far I have had the pleasure to work in the medical field on CT/MRI/PET machines and in military/commercial aviation working with a company that develops and manufactures airfoils for jet engines and currently a company that is rebuilding the largest aluminum forging press in the country, which will also be used for military and commercial aviation. My ultimate goal is to work for Boeing, Airbus or an airline in aircraft maintenance. So I feel like I am going in the right direction.

I do wish it were cheaper though! I could not imagine going to a school that costs 20K or more per year. Insanity.
 
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