I remember trying to scrape the money together to go to college. There always seemed to be a lot more bills then there were paychecks. I learned to make each penny account for itself and pay big dividends.
One of my biggest collateral expenses was transportation. I had to use my time as productively as I spent my money and our little town had no bus system. I had to have a fast way to get from school to work to home, and that meant buying a car. If they’d have had Online Degree Programs when I attended college I am sure I would have taken that route to my diploma.
I was in college when online classes were first introduced. They stirred up a huge controversy and popular opinion seemed to be against them. Today they are common place and there are online degree programs in almost every field. Even my alma mater has jumped on the band wagon despite our department head predicting “there would never be online degree programs in education, and even if there were, we would never offer them!”
Even though getting an education has become much more flexible time management wise, funding it hasn’t become any easier. Fortunately, the internet has brought about many changes. Students can now shop around for financial aid. One good source is the Federal Student Aid College Finder at http://studentaid2.ed.gov/gotocollege/collegefinder/advanced_find.asp.
If I had college to do all over again, I wouldn’t take out college loans. Finishing college with that huge debit hanging over one’s head is ominous. Whatever funding tactic you choose, weigh your choices carefully and know the pros and cons or you could come out of college with a debit burden higher than your income potential. (And that’s quite an education in itself!)
Have to say I didn’t go to college when I was young. It wasn’t that the fees were high, there weren’t any and you got a grant to study in those good old days. The problem was that nobody went to college where I lived. You left school at 15 or 16 and got a job to help out at home.
I did go to uni as a mature student and in those days it was still free & there were still grants to fund you. Most students now have to pay fees and get loans to cover their living costs, few parents can pay these. However in the UK the loans are interest free & you only start to pay them back once you earn over a certain amount so it’s not that bad. The problem is we’ve been used to having free higher ed and it’s a big shock to the system. Another thing is the change of lifestyle of students. You don’t see them all in jeans & baggy jumpers anymore and they certainly don’t stint themselves going out on the town for meals & to nightclubs! Not the style of my younger days.
Speaking as an ex careers adviser one of the main problems is that students don’t do enough long term career planning. Many have no idea about what sort of careers they would like. They often drift into their A levels and then onto courses without sufficient research about the institution they’re going to, the course content, the opportunities at the end of the course and so on. Many leave it until they’re finished their course to start looking for jobs. Sad really when there’s such a wealth of information, advice & guidance out there for them. Well there was until our new government took over but that’s another story Quilly!