Confessions: "How I Paid for College"

Agree with that. But the way college costs are rising, most of these approaches won't work anymore. I'm sure that I could not earn enough in a summer now to make it through 3 quarters or 2 semesters of college, no matter what I did for part time work.

I think we have to seriously reconsider who really needs to go to college, and who can be much better helped by trade schools, etc.

College is not necessary for everyone.

I worked several cool jobs while in college in the early 80's: 1) part-time Houston FM radio disc jockey; 2) campus police student employee (dispatch, undercover, and patrol); and 3) student assistant teaching video and radio production (Jim Nantz was a senior in one class I assisted in).

One semester I worked as a security guard at high rise construction sites. I had a security post on the top floor of the tallest building in Houston as it was being built (Texas Commerce Tower).

I paid 100 percent of my college tuition - you could do that in the 1980's - working part-time.

Let's see. NY state Honorarium, weekend and summer work as a bartender and waiter, summer work as a NY State paleontologic assistant and one student loan got me through college; Wife working, GI bill, summer work as bartender and waiter, teaching and research assistantship the first 4 years got me through 4 years,then the kindness of friends, recycling aluminum cans and glass bottles, sleeping in a closet in the geology building, and $100 a month from my mom during my final year plus a visa card during the final two months got me through graduate school.

archer wrote:

Greenlady wrote: Golly, I was planning to pay for my kids - is that unusual?

I felt that paying for my kids to go to college was the best investment I could make in their, and my own, future. They are both gainfully employed, own homes, do not have mountains of student debt to deal with in this economy, and do not need any financial support from Mom. That makes life better for all of us.

It's a matter of what you consider appropriate or what you can do. My opinion is that kids ought to at least pay for a good chunk of their education early on. Anyone who is invested in what they want will appreciate it more. Then once they demonstrate they are serious, you help them out. But that is just me. There are too many kids that failed because they weren't invested and saw it only as a time to party.

On the flip side (as was with my parents) there was no money available to send anyone to university. There was barely enough to make ends meet most of the time. Not everyone is in a position where they can pay for their kid's education. If your parents did that consider yourself fortunate.

Rockdoc Franz wrote:
It's a matter of what you consider appropriate or what you can do. My opinion is that kids ought to at least pay for a good chunk of their education early on. Anyone who is invested in what they want will appreciate it more. Then once they demonstrate they are serious, you help them out. But that is just me. There are too many kids that failed because they weren't invested and saw it only as a time to party.

.

I reject that criticism Rockdoc...because my parents were invested in my education I took it VERY seriously. That's the way I was brought up...and the way my kids were also. One graduated magna cum laud, the other was on the deans list and honor society. They both understood that a college degree was both a priviledge and a gift. I'm disappointed you would judge them, and me, with so little knowledge of who they are.

I'm disappointed you would judge them, and me, with so little knowledge of who they are.

Come on archer, quit with the generalizations, OK? RD did not say 'everyone'!

jf1acai wrote:

I'm disappointed you would judge them, and me, with so little knowledge of who they are.

Come on archer, quit with the generalizations, OK? RD did not say 'everyone'!

Come on jf1... it was a response to me, my post, not to everyone.

:Whatever:

archer wrote:

Rockdoc Franz wrote:
It's a matter of what you consider appropriate or what you can do. My opinion is that kids ought to at least pay for a good chunk of their education early on. Anyone who is invested in what they want will appreciate it more. Then once they demonstrate they are serious, you help them out. But that is just me. There are too many kids that failed because they weren't invested and saw it only as a time to party.

.

I reject that criticism Rockdoc...because my parents were invested in my education I took it VERY seriously. That's the way I was brought up...and the way my kids were also. One graduated magna cum laud, the other was on the deans list and honor society. They both understood that a college degree was both a priviledge and a gift. I'm disappointed you would judge them, and me, with so little knowledge of who they are.

I'm sorry you felt criticized. It's not a criticism or judgement of what you did or they did, rather it is an opinion I hold. I think I'm entitled to that. If I were guilty of anything, it would be jealousy. I'd love to have been able to focus only on my studies. As with everything in life, there are notable exceptions. If we all thought the same way and supported the same thing, life would be boring. Each to his own. How you conduct your life is none of my business. I'm glad it all worked out for you.

jf1acai wrote: Agree with that. But the way college costs are rising, most of these approaches won't work anymore. I'm sure that I could not earn enough in a summer now to make it through 3 quarters or 2 semesters of college, no matter what I did for part time work.

I think we have to seriously reconsider who really needs to go to college, and who can be much better helped by trade schools, etc.

College is not necessary for everyone.

Tuition costs these days certainly are substantial. I imagine that college costs have gone up more than one's pay and that would put more stress on someone who could not afford to go to university without the need to work or borrow money. I worked a full time job as a bartender the first year of college. I got to live at home, but the commute was an hour each way. There were many days when I'd get home around 2 or 3 AM, try to put in an hour of study or get homework done and then try (and often failed) to make my 8 AM classes. It was simply too much. I left home, went to another SUNY college and borrowed 3000 to make a go of it. One year of borrowing was more than enough for me. Subsequently I worked every weekend to get the money needed to stay in school. I think many of us struggled to make it through college, if not financially then academically. My struggle was all financial. Given my motivation for a college education, I would think that if I had to do it today, I'd find a way to work my way through college one way or another. Certainly, today's student needs to look at exploiting any possibility for scholarships. At least that is my attitude. Today's reality may challenge such an approach entirely. Having said that, I still think that if one wants an education bad enough, nothing will stop you. It may take longer if for example you need to periodically take a year off to save money to continue your education, but one way or another, I know I'd get there.