Reply #27: Both of my sons passed on college.

[LWolf]

They are 25 and 27.

Why?

They watched me become the first person on either side of their extended family to earn a college degree, while I was raising them and working a day job to support them. They saw the long hours, the exhaustion, the having no life part. And they see me now, still paying student loans to pay for that opportunity.

My oldest son finished his AA at our local community college, and looked at transferring to a 4 year school. He didn't qualify for grants; even though he was 21 and didn't live at home any more, they still use my income to qualify him, not his own, and I made too much money. Not enough to pay his tuition AND make the payments on my own student loans, though.

So he looked at student loans, calculated what his end debt would be and how much he would have to make to pay it, and how long it would take, and compared that to what he was interested in getting a degree in. They didn't match. He could take a degree in something he wasn't interested in, and earn enough to pay off the cost of the degree. He could pursue his loves and interests, music and literature, and carry his educational debt the rest of his life. He did neither.

He got a job in the private sector, where, by the 3rd year, he was making as much money as I, on fewer hours, with no student loans.

If we really want to open the doors of opportunity to all, we need universal pre-school - college or trade school. The college or trade-school part doesn't have to be compulsory, but we ought to be making sure that all people have equal access to training and education.