[quote=“X-49er, post:36, topic:27429”][quote=“TheShowDawg, post:35, topic:27429”]Some of my nieces and nephews are facing these type of decisions because of cost. Can not afford $20K a year for Intro. to Psych. and the college experience.
That’s going to be a reality for many families in the upcoming years, even for folks that make decent incomes. I’m putting the max into a 529 for my two kids, and unless it exceeds 7% earning between now and when they start, I’ll STILL have to take out a loan to finish paying for their educations. If you have two kids, you’re basically paying for 8 cars in 8 years. That’s absolutely ridiculous.[/quote]
I have a freshman in college right now and a freshman in HS…I will be broke for the rest of my life!
[quote=“NinerWupAss, post:39, topic:27429”][quote=“X-49er, post:36, topic:27429”][quote=“TheShowDawg, post:35, topic:27429”]Some of my nieces and nephews are facing these type of decisions because of cost. Can not afford $20K a year for Intro. to Psych. and the college experience.
That’s going to be a reality for many families in the upcoming years, even for folks that make decent incomes. I’m putting the max into a 529 for my two kids, and unless it exceeds 7% earning between now and when they start, I’ll STILL have to take out a loan to finish paying for their educations. If you have two kids, you’re basically paying for 8 cars in 8 years. That’s absolutely ridiculous.[/quote]
If my daughter doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life after she graduates HS she is going to a community college. Tuition is too high to do what I did, which was f*** around for 2 years. If she says I want to be an engineer - then go for it. If she says I have no idea what I want to do, here is a course schedule from CPCC. In addition with my wife as a teacher I will also not allow her to go into that field with 4 yrs of university bills, that will also get her 2 years at a community college.[/quote]
I agree with that, but with us having to do this there is a great likelihood that our kids aren’t going to have the great college experience we had. I knew what I wanted to major in before graduating high school and wound up doing exactly that, but most kids heading into college only have an idea of what field they want to get into. With the expense of college what it is nowadays and work wages for parents not much higher than what they were when I attended college, a lot more kids are going to be forced to do their general coursework at a community college and then transfer. Not just for convenience, but out of necessity.
[quote=“X-49er, post:42, topic:27429”][quote=“NinerWupAss, post:39, topic:27429”][quote=“X-49er, post:36, topic:27429”][quote=“TheShowDawg, post:35, topic:27429”]Some of my nieces and nephews are facing these type of decisions because of cost. Can not afford $20K a year for Intro. to Psych. and the college experience.
That’s going to be a reality for many families in the upcoming years, even for folks that make decent incomes. I’m putting the max into a 529 for my two kids, and unless it exceeds 7% earning between now and when they start, I’ll STILL have to take out a loan to finish paying for their educations. If you have two kids, you’re basically paying for 8 cars in 8 years. That’s absolutely ridiculous.[/quote]
If my daughter doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life after she graduates HS she is going to a community college. Tuition is too high to do what I did, which was f*** around for 2 years. If she says I want to be an engineer - then go for it. If she says I have no idea what I want to do, here is a course schedule from CPCC. In addition with my wife as a teacher I will also not allow her to go into that field with 4 yrs of university bills, that will also get her 2 years at a community college.[/quote]
I agree with that, but with us having to do this there is a great likelihood that our kids aren’t going to have the great college experience we had. I knew what I wanted to major in before graduating high school and wound up doing exactly that, but most kids heading into college only have an idea of what field they want to get into. With the expense of college what it is nowadays and work wages for parents not much higher than what they were when I attended college, a lot more kids are going to be forced to do their general coursework at a community college and then transfer. Not just for convenience, but out of necessity.[/quote]
Agreed. It sucks that they won’t have the experience we did, but the money is just too big unless you need all 4 years for a technical degree.
Those first 2 years were some of the best years of my life that I will never forget. Ill pay for my kids to get that same experience. You only live once.
If the student does what they are supposed to be doing then they should be ready to declare a major by Sophomore year. The problem is they usually don’t focus so that will happen. Sad truth.
Universities don’t want to keep your kid around more than 4 years, contrary to popular belief. Part of the USNWR top 25 ranking (as ridiculous as they can be) is 4 year retention – this consists of how many students you RETAIN as well as how many you graduate in a 4 years span. Universities are making changes to accommodate to this. For example, it used to be (and I believe still is at Charlotte) that 12 hours was “full-time” and that you paid for 12 hours in tuition, but everything above that you got for “free” with the exception of paying any extra course fees. As of this year, the University of Tennessee still says that 12 hours is full time, but they’re forcing you to pay for 15 hours either way. This will hopefully encourage students to take a full-15 hour course load, thus completing 1 more course a semester and graduating on time.
Why is this ok? Because if you’re only taking 12 hours and you’re not a graduate student or working FULL time then you’re probably spending way too much time having fun. That may offend some, but it’s the truth. This will make students think twice before “milking” their college experience. And I think it’s a good thing. It makes it more reasonable for the parents or students who are paying for the education.
And for the record - I think taking 2 years at CPCC is a great idea. Just make sure that your community college has a good relationship and understanding of what courses transfer and what don’t to the ultimate target 4-year institution. CPCC and Charlotte have a fantastic relationship in this regard.
[quote=“zerogeneticsdc, post:47, topic:27429”]If the student does what they are supposed to be doing then they should be ready to declare a major by Sophomore year. The problem is they usually don’t focus so that will happen. Sad truth.
Universities don’t want to keep your kid around more than 4 years, contrary to popular belief. Part of the USNWR top 25 ranking (as ridiculous as they can be) is 4 year retention – this consists of how many students you RETAIN as well as how many you graduate in a 4 years span. Universities are making changes to accommodate to this. For example, it used to be (and I believe still is at Charlotte) that 12 hours was “full-time” and that you paid for 12 hours in tuition, but everything above that you got for “free” with the exception of paying any extra course fees. As of this year, the University of Tennessee still says that 12 hours is full time, but they’re forcing you to pay for 15 hours either way. This will hopefully encourage students to take a full-15 hour course load, thus completing 1 more course a semester and graduating on time.
Why is this ok? Because if you’re only taking 12 hours and you’re not a graduate student or working FULL time then you’re probably spending way too much time having fun. That may offend some, but it’s the truth. This will make students think twice before “milking” their college experience. And I think it’s a good thing. It makes it more reasonable for the parents or students who are paying for the education.
And for the record - I think taking 2 years at CPCC is a great idea. Just make sure that your community college has a good relationship and understanding of what courses transfer and what don’t to the ultimate target 4-year institution. CPCC and Charlotte have a fantastic relationship in this regard.[/quote]
I think that’s BS - because I came in with 18 credit hours, and worked more than full time in college, and only needed to take 12 hours a semester for almost my entire college experience. I would not have been happy.
There are always special cases, and it sounds like you were one of them. The average college student isn’t working at (or in your case, more than) full time though. Those who come in with 18 hours, if they are fully transferable, are a semester ahead. Thus they can graduate earlier. Furthermore, the push for online classes is intended for the full time workers out there as well as to broaden the reach of the university. That would probably be the answer to your problems today – but this is where the “college experience” issue comes into play. You wouldn’t have had much of one.
[quote=“ninermike, post:40, topic:27429”]Whether you agree or disagree with McCrory, his comments regarding market forces shaping higher education are dead on. Private schools have already begun to slash tuition. Students are already spending less time on college campuses and more time in front of their computer remotely.[/quote] If you disagree with him, I doubt you’d regard his comments as dead on. As this entire thread demonstrates, there is some debate as to whether education should be shaped by market forces alone.
[quote=“stonecoldken, post:38, topic:27429”]Some lady wrote a Letter to the Editor bitching about how higher ed is it’s own purpose. Yeah, that doesn’t pay the bills, b****.[/quote] I guess Randy Peele was some liberal arts major, then.
I’m 35 years old with many years of engineering as well as owning my own business. I’m pursuing an MBA and I still don’t know what I want to do from time to time. Do you really expect a 19 year old to know?
I’m 35 years old with many years of engineering as well as owning my own business. I’m pursuing an MBA and I still don’t know what I want to do from time to time. Do you really expect a 19 year old to know?[/quote]
Many won’t, but spending $19K+ while they try to figure it out isn’t a very wise decision. They at least need to have some idea of what they want to do before the parent drops that kind of money or has to take out a loan. Not so long ago, a four-year degree from a state school didn’t cost much more than that. You could let the kid “find themselves” at college moreso back then. Not now.
I’m 35 years old with many years of engineering as well as owning my own business. I’m pursuing an MBA and I still don’t know what I want to do from time to time. Do you really expect a 19 year old to know?[/quote]
Many won’t, but spending $19K+ while they try to figure it out isn’t a very wise decision. They at least need to have some idea of what they want to do before the parent drops that kind of money or has to take out a loan. Not so long ago, a four-year degree from a state school didn’t cost much more than that. You could let the kid “find themselves” at college moreso back then. Not now.[/quote]
See you got the wrong plan. My kids take out their own loans while they find their direction or community college is not a bad option in NC for the first two years. That is the route that I took for about 10% the cost of the the first 2 years at Charlotte.
What I would recommend is spending as little as possible on an undergraduate degree and putting in the time and work to get excellent grades and then going to a private university for graduate school. If you did well enough in undergrad you can get the schools to compete for your enrollment which can drastically reduce the cost of the graduate degree.
As a strong believer in State Schools, I have seen the light and the connections / networks made available to good to excellent private schools doesn’t even compare. It is hard for me to admit, but it is true. The average private school student gets put in a much better position than many above average public school students. The private schools do a much better job of connecting their students and alumni.
The top level public schools (UofM, Cal-Berkley, UVa, etc.) present similar connections to their graduate level students, but even their undergrad connections can be lacking compared to similar academic-level private institutions.
[quote=“Charlotte2002, post:56, topic:27429”]What I would recommend is spending as little as possible on an undergraduate degree and putting in the time and work to get excellent grades and then going to a private university for graduate school. If you did well enough in undergrad you can get the schools to compete for your enrollment which can drastically reduce the cost of the graduate degree.
As a strong believer in State Schools, I have seen the light and the connections / networks made available to good to excellent private schools doesn’t even compare. It is hard for me to admit, but it is true. The average private school student gets put in a much better position than many above average public school students. The private schools do a much better job of connecting their students and alumni.
The top level public schools (UofM, Cal-Berkley, UVa, etc.) present similar connections to their graduate level students, but even their undergrad connections can be lacking compared to similar academic-level private institutions.[/quote]
It also helps that many of those families that can afford to attend the excellent private schools already can provide their children with a leg up on everyone else through connections and networking.
College cost me about 20k and i was able to pay it off less that a decade after graduation. Sucks that can’t be the norm and is only going to get worse.
It is all about return on investment. If you spend $30k for an MBA and you get a new position that pays an extra $15k per year then your ROI is 2 years. Pretty much a no brainer. However, if you spend $50k on a degree and you take a position that pays you the same as if you didn’t have a degree it would be much tougher to justify.
I’m 35 years old with many years of engineering as well as owning my own business. I’m pursuing an MBA and I still don’t know what I want to do from time to time. Do you really expect a 19 year old to know?[/quote]
Many won’t, but spending $19K+ while they try to figure it out isn’t a very wise decision. They at least need to have some idea of what they want to do before the parent drops that kind of money or has to take out a loan. Not so long ago, a four-year degree from a state school didn’t cost much more than that. You could let the kid “find themselves” at college moreso back then. Not now.[/quote]
See you got the wrong plan. My kids take out their own loans while they find their direction or community college is not a bad option in NC for the first two years. That is the route that I took for about 10% the cost of the the first 2 years at Charlotte.[/quote]
My kids won’t be “finding themselves” either at a rate of $19K+ per year, but I’ll gladly pay their fees to the community college so they can knock out some prereq’s. If they know what they want to major in and it will be a good career path, then I’ll gladly figure out a way to pay for their admission to a state school. My parents did it for me, so I think it’s only right to provide that for my kids.
