Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion college plan

exactly! When I did my quick check into things last night, I realized that if our boys were to go to college now, if they went to my old University where I graduated, and had good grades and ranked among the top couple % of their graduating class (and ACT / SAT), they could very well go tuition-free. The main thing we'd have to figure out would be room and board, which over there wouldn't be as big of a deal as in a larger city.

I also think there are many alternative to school scholarships. DH went to Harvard in 1976. Tuition was $5000. He won a local Newcastle, PA scholarship that paid his tuition for 4 years. They were not expecting Harvard and capped it after he won it, because tuition disparity was different then, I guess.

And he won some other financial awards etc that he had 3 full years free. But he also worked construction during the summer as kids had whatever summer jobs you could get. And he had medical school to pay for after.

I do not know the work involved in getting alternative type of scholarships and aren't there websites where you can search for things that define qualifications and other parameters?

Besides the financial planning, I am also coming up with the plan. I know of MG kid who did really well but had legacy at Princeton and decent soccer skills got into Princeton with engineering. I think a great choice for a girl for entrance. Of course, just like in that Gladwell book, she found herself with all these HG+ kids and had a nervous breakdown in the first semester and took a year off.

The thing about being on this forum is that after the testing and hearing stories, you really know where your kid is at. I know DD's IQ since we had her tested for a gifted preschool, then all the NYC stuff and again for the Toronto gifted school. I know she can get the scores, I know she has the dance at the level Harvard likes, with National ballet school. And as mentioned, I have the U of Toronto as a back up and I have no doubts she will make it there unless she suddenly goes off and becomes a drug addict.

My comment, before I digressed, was that when DH went to Harvard, it wasn't based on parental income. Right now they have that huge endowment. We go into freefall on the market, maybe they won't offer financial aid for anyone accepted making under 65K per annum. Yale had the biggest endowment for a while in the mid decade and then the market blew them up. So counting on today's practices may not work so the whole Walmart greeter plan could go the way of 8 track music.

I remember a forum somewhere about college recently. It seems strange that you have to pay huge amounts for something that doesn't seem to qualify you for anything. Here your four years gets you qualified as a lawyer or an engineer or most of your unpaid medical training whereas over there you have to turn round and attend another school for law etc. I think that is what I understood. Is there any way if enough people complained an alternate system could be set up? Or a review of the current system instigated at government level?

As I understand it, the development of the current secondary and post-secondary educational system has been related to the economy. Part of the educational system is driven based on anticipated job growth, while part of it is based on keeping people busy during a shrinking economy of negative job growth.

During the "Great Depression" in the US, about 1929-1939*, as a means to keep unemployed persons busy there was a surge toward having more people attend high school.

An acquaintance from another country once shared that as the economy tanked, there was rampant degree inflation resulting in a highly educated populace: PhDs held jobs serving fast food, if they were fortunate.

*"It's a recession if your neighbor is unemployed and a depression if you are unemployed."

In the U.S., engineering is an undergrad degree. Many people get an additional master's (or master's-ish degree) that takes a year or two, generally two.

Law is three year degree after undergrad. You can practice immediately after that if you pass the bar exam even if you don't know anything. There is a severe oversupply of lawyers.

Medicine is a four year degree after undergrad, plus additional training that you are compensated for on a limited basis. Once you finish that, you can practice. There is not much of an oversupply of doctors, but it's a strange system.

None of these systems are going to change any time soon because nobody really feels like changing them.

There are a few exceptions, like for the joint law/medicine degree that takes you 6 years after undergrad.

There are also some joint undergrad/medicine degrees that take you six/seven years and you get the undergrad degree and the medical degree.

I personally have a degree in chemical engineering (five years) and a degree in law (three years).

And to this day, the only thing I really got out of either of those two programs was the ability to say that I was "college-educated" and the power to take the bar exam and practice law.

I think there are a few 5 year undergrad/medical degrees or used to be. Jefferson had one in PA and Canada had 6 spots per year in certain schools. Know of a few people who did them in Canada and Jeff.

But you have to be really outstanding to get in.

I posted this earlier. Perhaps it would address your concerns.

"Maximizing Your Aid Eligibility"
http://www.finaid.org/fafsa/maximize.phtml

One thing to keep in mind. If your child is younger some of rules might change before they go to college. It's not a good idea to depend on a strategy, like going back to school yourself.

Among other advice in the section called "Number of Family Members in College", is the suggestion to consider "having the younger child skip a year in school, to increase the overlap".

That does not seem a compelling or academically sound reason for whole-grade acceleration. Makes one wonder whether any parent has advocated that logic for acceleration to their child's teacher and principal?

Absolutely. The article makes that point in a few places.