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Yale, Michigan | No living expenses, huh? While I think it's great that your child has a great job and no debt after college (I mean that IS the goal, right?), to assume that everyone's parents help them out in college, have no living expenses, and really don't do anything but study is unrealistic. Your kid didn't even eat food? Or did s/he live in the dorms all 4 years and ate dorm food the whole time? Sometimes dorm food can be really good but I couldn't eat that stuff 3+ times a day for each year of college, guess it's just me.
My parents helped me out and I'm absolutely grateful for it. But they didn't pay for everything and I didn't want them to, I WANTED to have some of my own debt. I didn't want mommy and daddy to pay for everything for me but it is true that some kids receive this and shamelessly blow all kinds of money their parents give them - that never sat well with me. But maybe every so often I wanted to go to the bar with friends or take my girlfriend out, so what? You can be a good student and manage debt well and not be a total slave to school. I worked up to 4 odd jobs at a time towards the end of college, too but still wish I had done more things like join a professional fraternity or buy basketball student season tickets. I've told several high school seniors or current college students to work hard in school, network professionally, get internships, but you need to have some enjoyment out of your college years too. I took a study abroad to Australia that cost a lot of money ... did I need to for credits to graduate? - No but I'm not going to Australia again in my life (would love to though, the Aussies are great!), might as well do it when I'm young and it was a fantastic educational experience that I'll never receive again.
College is a means to an end, and yes it is an investment. It's not meant for everyone and that's ok. The jobs that I have had since graduation would not have hired me if it weren't for my degree. I would have graduated with very low debt until my student teaching internship after graduation. Year long internship working easily 100 hours a week for free and still paying Masters credits to do it ... Yeah my debt I think tripled in 1 year and I'm not even teaching now! Hope to be student loan-free in 2 years from now ... a mortgage and planning a wedding really slow those plans down!!!
My point is that there is more to college than just go to class, study, get good grades, graduate, get good job and I feel bad for those people that don't get to experience this as well. There's a fine line between goofing off in college and simply being a college student. Just my 2 cents. | |
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college as an investment
