D,
Free to change jobs? Perhaps. Free to go back to school, or free to go to school at all? Not a fucking chance pal. Do you have any idea what college costs these days? Your kid is still young, but wait until that child needs an advanced education. How do you plan on paying for it? For those of us fortunate enough to make a decent leaving, the logical choice is to start putting some money away early on. The other 55% of families living off of $45k a year have no such option. They're lucky enough to eat and keep a roof over their heads.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/ed...03college.html
I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want my kids having to work 60 hours a week and starve just to get an education. It doesn't have to be this hard, and it never used to be.
Here's some stats:"In 1990, 60 percent of all high school graduates went on to enter college. In addition, those aged 25 to 29 with Bachelor’s degrees rose from 23 percent to 29 percent.
Who goes to college depends greatly on the level of income of the family before college comes into the picture. Those who live in a low-income household are much less likely to go to college. Only six percent of low-income students earn a Bachelor’s degree by the time they are 24. In contrast, 51.3 percent of students from high-income homes go to college."
Why should an education be restriced to children from high-income homes? You don't find any elitism built in to this scenario? 55% may not seem unreasonable, but what about when that number becomes 75%? Things are not getting better.
So what are you saying D? Every college-age kid who wants an education should just marry your father and he'll pay their way? I don't think your father's going to be too thrilled with the idea. Those grants are not as much as you think, and I personally don't want either of my kids graduating college mired in debt they'll be paying back for the next 15-20 years of their lives.
You live in a dream world friend. I have two college age kids, neither one would have health insurance if not for my plan and my current ability through the latest healthcare legislation to put them on it. It will be years before either one of them have enough education under their belts in order to a. get a job that offers an affordable plan, and b. the ability to actually afford said plan. Affordable healthcare in this country should be a right, not a priviledge graced upon only those who can afford it.
Originally Posted by F-Sharp
The difference here is that you read articles in the NYT and take it for gospel and I deal in real life, not statistics. Your kids are going to college are they not? Okay, so you say that's because you saved up and you have an above average income. So you're an example of a well off family being able to afford to send their kids to college. Now, I gave you an example of a lower middle class family (my parents) that were able to afford late in my mother's life for her to go back to school. My dad was making around the $45,000 you claim isn't enough to afford college.
So I provided you with that example which you mock because it doesn't conveniently fit in your statistical data your touting from the NYT (really the source is immaterial to me since as I've mentioned, I give credence to real life experience not statistics).
I'm not sure where you're coming up with the age of my child but you got it wrong. I've raised one step-child that is currently IN college and my own child is 17. So I think I have a fairly good grasp on the current cost of college.
There's nothing wrong with starting off in Junior College, getting your core classes out of the way at a cheaper cost and then transferring to a University.
You say there's not that many grant and scholarship options out there? I'm not sure what planet you live on but almost everyone in my family has had the benefit of offsetting parts of their college tuition and book costs through various grants or scholarships. My step-child doesn't work 60 hours a week. She did get herself a job at a retail store ever since High School which she uses for expenses such as her car, clothes, etc. Her mother works a blue collar job and is a single parent and yet they're doing just fine.
I attended College and good old Uncle Sam paid for my tuition. That was in exchange for me serving in the active duty Army. Even a part time National Guard stint can help pay up to $50,000 dollars in college education.
Throw all the statistics you want out there, I've seen it with myself, my family and many of my friends, the large majority of whom hold blue collar jobs and none of them were unable to help their kids through college if the kids wanted to go. Like I said, yes, some may wind up with some debt but it wasn't unreasonable or nothing that couldn't be paid back in a reasonable amount of time. One of my friend's wife is a school teacher. She just finished her Masters and is working on her Doctorate now. That's on a middle class income!!
I've noticed that much of your anger seems to stem from all these statistics that you read. For every stat you throw out, I can provide you with a real life LIVING example of people that simply worked hard, used some common sense and motivation and achieved their goals in education. If anything, many of the grants are more readily available to LOW income families vs middle class families. I've seen that with my own eyes reviewing grant applications and the income limits listed on them.
No F-Sharp, you're not selling that can of goods here. Too many of us have personal experience on this topic. Too many of us have gone to school ourselves, have sent our children off to college and know the reality of the situation. No statistic from you is going to change that. I would have to say it's you that's spending too much time in your statistical dream world and not enough time dealing with real life experiences.