So, despite your comments your parents had a major say in where you went. Besides, Florida colleges??? Is that really equivalent to colleges in say North Carolina? Not from my experience.[/quote]

Yes, they are. FSU and UF have outstanding law and medical programs. FSU just produced a Rhodes Schollar recently, a high profile football player from their team to boot. Florida schools are very good in their own rite.

My parents never once prohibited me from going anywhere on their own accord. I could go where I want. If I wanted to use the florida pre-paid they got for me, by the rules of the program, it was honored only at public florida institutions. They didn't get it because they wanted me to go to florida schools. They got it because it was a cheap investment for college education at the time. They paid 5,000 over 18 years and it was good for 4 years tuition at any state school. Books, lab fees, etc were on my diime.

If I wanted to go else where, we had to look into other means. We never really got that far because I decided on the military. But had I decided to go out of state, or to a private school like Miami, they would either helped me if they could or I would have had to take a loan or earn a scholly.

They never once told me "you can't go here if we're paying."

As was their prerogative. Yet some parents don't have the same attitude. They're not comfortable paying for or supporting something that they know is not good for their children. As is their right.

I *almost* regret having my MSW. When I graduated with a BA in psychology, there were lots of positions in a new company that I would've been perfectly qualified - not social workish at all, but actually well suited to me. And the salary, while pretty low, was similar to the salary I ended up making when I entered the workforce with my MSW (in a job that I hated). Except then, I had to pay back college loans. So the only two years I ever worked "grown-up style," I spent my entire salary paying off my loans (while my dh supported us otherwise). And then I promptly started having babies. So not only did my 4 years of grad school and employment make it a complete financial wash (when I could've made 4 years of salary pre-babies instead and put that to good use when buying a house), but I discovered I was not well suited to that field. If I ever do end up back in the work force, it will likely be in a completely different sort of work, and even if it IS social work, my degree and experience will be so outdated that it won't mean all that much. I can't completely regret it, since I did gain valuable life experience, but my guess is you're better off as you are.

BA in Biology (minors in German, Physics and Education), MS in Biology (Mycology) and coursework towards an MA in Theology. Oh, I'll be 65 pretty soon.

I had trouble chosing which responses to use for the poll.

Exactly.

"Mom and Dad you must treat me like an adult! I can do it all myself! I'm independent! Oh, and I need you to pay for my college, car, car insurance, health insurance, a roof over my head..."

Dear Mom and Dad,

Things are going very good at college. Thank you for letting me choose my own college since I know better than you what is good for me. You may want to plan on an extra year or two of college expenses for me since these dumb old professors don't understand that it's just not "me" to do my homework on their silly timetable. But rest assured I hope to finish my degree in creative apartment living here at Who Flung U in no more than six years. PS: Please send money. I'm the only one that hasn't chipped in her fifth installment for the weekly keg-er.

Love,

Your independent child.

GKC,
I dropped out of Polytechnique (universities for real men and women). A labour government at some point after I left turned them into universities. I would never advise anyone ever to into higher education unless:
a) they are reasonably rich
or
b) they are studing for a profession (eg something like aircraft maintenance at Kingston University (currently the most over subscribed course in the UK), or dentistry etc).

Just get a job with your A levels.
why?
If you are clever enough to get A levels almost by definition you are clever enough to get a degree (A levels are the required entrance qualification). Not only will you save about £28,000 worth of fees but you will start work 3 years earlier. Thus three years into the future, you will probably would have saved or earned:

28,000 + 15,000 + 16,500 + 18,000 = 77,500 (or about $125,000 dollars)..... You will also probably end up doing a "graduate" job anyway (whatever that is)..... The AVERAGE graduate has to get $125,000 just to catch up with you. In all probability they will spend the rest of their life poorer than you but slightly more knowledgeable about some obscure subject that has little or no practical use.

An exception to this general rule is probably learning languages.
Sales reps in insurance can earn fortunes if they know Chinese.
More or less any job gives you about 15% more money if you do the same thing as you are doing in England but instead do it in Germany or Holland. Its certainly true with computing. But even at 15% more its going to take decades to earn back that lost $125,000.

ps - I know that some graduate entry jobs give a lot more than £15K - eg you get between £20K and £50K but if you look at the small print of the higher paying ones they tend to be in the "professions" .... eg Aircraft Engineers (or £20K is the TAX FREE grant you GET to do a PhD).

Ya, I don't know that I would try to go back to SW either. I would want a Masters more for the prestige and bragging rights than anything else, which is not good. It makes me a bit sick to see people that did not do as well in school with more advanced degrees and nice jobs. However, this is the life I chose and I love it. I wouldn't want to be in the work force for anything in the world. Wonderful thing is with homeschooling is that I can pick different topics I want to learn about, so I can further my education all I want, free. Those things I wanted to do to help others I can do and teach my kids at the same time. Well, I cannot do the same exact things, but people need all kinds of help.

The point people are trying to get you to understand is this: You protest way too much on way too many issues. You present yourself as different from everyone else but when the surface is scratch there is virtually no difference except perhaps, that you perceive somehow that your parents did not care for your spiritual well-being. You may eventually discover that they cared more than you think...maybe not...but that their approach to the subject may or may not have been all that different from most other parents.

Anyway, the bottom line is this, you present yourself as if you are still in college. Perhaps you are. I did not look at your profile. You protest too damned much.

Netty,

I appreciate your rant. It's probably true that there isn't as much of a correlation between advanced education and earning ability. It certainly isn't true in my life. Still, I wouldn't trade those years of learning for much of anything. I love to learn.

CDL

Interesting outlook. I suspect more go to college than actually profit from it, at that.

But it is not always a cripplingly expensive proposition. I paid almost nothing for my undergrad/grad degrees. Scholarships, based on grades, some from private sources, one because of the military. My daughter paid nothing for her undergrad/grad work. All merit scholarships. It could be done, at least over here.

GKC

In MY TOWN, fewer than 50% own or use computers.

Listened to a radio interview yesterday with an author who was discussing the tragedy that people no longer attend college to become educated people, they do so to get a degree and get a job. Our universities have become nothing but trade schools.

Sad.

GKC
In the UK, its the reverse to your situation. The better grades you get normally the more you have to pay. This is because the better grades allow you into better colleges which are more expensive or better courses (like Medicine) that are also more expensive.

kage_ar,
You are not looking at like with like. 25 years ago hardly anyone went to university (only about 1 in 10). Nowadays its 50% of the population (and rising) - obviously the state can no longer afford to pay hence the money involved. The original 1 in 10 numbers who liked learning for learnings sake might still be at uni doing exactly what you described. You are not looking at like with like. The other 90% originally probably did evening classes to help them in their craft (perhaps motor mechanics or brick laying or plumbing). This 90% are now spending £28K and THREE YEARS on the hope (wishful thinking) that its all going to be worth it. I'm saying it isn't.

Professor Milt Rosenberg has been on this rant for decades. http://www.wgnradio.com/shows/ext720/

And what percentage have electricity?

I am talking about actual civilization here...come on

Yes, access to porn and all kinds of other garbage on demand. Civilization. Not.

Curious. In my locale, the schools, at the mid level, are competing for the quality student, and offer scholarships accordingly.


GKC

GKC,
Most kids in UK go to state schools with no selective entrance. The exceptions to this are Northern Ireland which still has the Grammar School system (still state education but the best schools go to the best students). The Grammar school system is not democratic and thus was phased out in most of the UK.

All universities in England charge students. There are no scholarships (as far as I know) for Engish based students. In Scotland univseristies are still free but only for people who went to school in Scotland (eg not for the English).

Private Schools do have scholarships for bright kids but gut feeling its a bit of a con - they give slight scholarships to most kids for most things (depending apon economic circumstances or what the other local private schools are doing). Since hardly anyone goes private people tend to ignore these schools in the stats.

Extreme atheists or religionists or politicals or others with extreme views also do home school ("extreme" in the sense as counter cultural and not willing to compromise).