Comment Don't go to college? Huh? (Score 1) 616
I'm rather surprised that this would be offered as a suggestion. As a friend of mine recently found out, a lot of jobs are requiring a minimum of a bachelor's degree. Relying solely on your experience (in his case, 5 years as a manager) doesn't quite cut it, as there are people with that same experience and the degree out there.
But it's not impossible to do this without racking up debt. I work for a state university, and tuition here is dirt cheap: right around $1,500 for the semester.
I spent two years at a private school studying math and ended up with $60k in college loans, just for tuition. When I changed to music and went this state school where I currently am employed, I spent another six and a half years (four on undergrad, two and a half on a masters) and took out $40k over those six and a half years, working part time and covering my tuition, books and most of my rent.
I went to private high school on a scholarship, and they drilled it into my head that I needed to go to a "fancy" college. Now that I work as an administrator in academic, I can see how pointless that was. Also, many state schools can provide an excellent education -- we take pride in being labeled a "tough" school. Our teachers don't make lots of money, so you can bet that they probably teach because it's something they love to do.
A lot of states also have tuition assistance programs if the high school graduate goes to a state school. In Louisiana they have the TOPS program -- as long as the student had a relatively good GPA, their tuition was covered. If their GPA is higher, they received additional funds for books, etc.
I'm not in the best of situations with my loans and wish I had taken advantage of some programs like these when I had graduated. With $100k in debt, I can't afford the monthly payments ($750 a month!) so I'm working on another degree (that my employer pays for, thankfully) just to defer payments. Meanwhile, interest is accumulating. I think a book like this -- despite its negative message -- is good for students and their parents.
But it's not impossible to do this without racking up debt. I work for a state university, and tuition here is dirt cheap: right around $1,500 for the semester.
I spent two years at a private school studying math and ended up with $60k in college loans, just for tuition. When I changed to music and went this state school where I currently am employed, I spent another six and a half years (four on undergrad, two and a half on a masters) and took out $40k over those six and a half years, working part time and covering my tuition, books and most of my rent.
I went to private high school on a scholarship, and they drilled it into my head that I needed to go to a "fancy" college. Now that I work as an administrator in academic, I can see how pointless that was. Also, many state schools can provide an excellent education -- we take pride in being labeled a "tough" school. Our teachers don't make lots of money, so you can bet that they probably teach because it's something they love to do.
A lot of states also have tuition assistance programs if the high school graduate goes to a state school. In Louisiana they have the TOPS program -- as long as the student had a relatively good GPA, their tuition was covered. If their GPA is higher, they received additional funds for books, etc.
I'm not in the best of situations with my loans and wish I had taken advantage of some programs like these when I had graduated. With $100k in debt, I can't afford the monthly payments ($750 a month!) so I'm working on another degree (that my employer pays for, thankfully) just to defer payments. Meanwhile, interest is accumulating. I think a book like this -- despite its negative message -- is good for students and their parents.
