Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion The price is too high!

Val.


It's possible to pay for college with a summer job [barely].

$7.25 (Notes on why not your $6.53 below) x 40 hours x 21 weeks of summer = $6,090. In-state tuition in my county is $2,375. When I attended 2 years ago, I didn't bother buying textbooks, just a math access code for about $100.

Average rent in that town is $308/month for one bedroom. Get one close enough to everything that you can walk or bike instead of driving. Shack up with a roommate or significant other and share that rent for $150/month. That's $1,800/year for housing plus maybe some utilities, depending on the lease.

12 months housing plus 2 semesters of school and we're at $4,175. Which leaves $1,915 for food, utilities, misc expenses. That's tight, but who says impossible?

If the student doesn't have assets or is a non-traditional student so parent income doesn't count on financial aid, then grants are likely to pay for all of the tuition anyway. If not, the tuition is a deduction on taxable income, even for those who do not itemize. And furthermore, single adults with income under $10K don't have to file a tax return, except if they need to get their withholding back.

The other in-state university, 2 counties over, with $8,900 tuition/fees, is in an area with higher wages and more student housing, so higher income ($9 is expected there) without a higher cost of living can be expected. It's not quite enough to cover tuition. But there are other ways to fill the gap. Like, IDK, working two jobs in the summer? Scholarships? Grants? Study on your own and test out of classes with the CLEP exams? Working on the weekends? Work study? Wait 4 years to be a nontraditional student? Move to a lower cost in-state institution? All of the above?

The big picture is there are OPTIONS. I personally know of people who have solved the problem unconventionally. That means unconventional solutions *do exist*. There are solutions. I never claimed they are easy. But they exist for those who are willing.

So far the arguments that this is not a problem center around personal anecdata as evidence that it's possible to graduate from college without mountains of debt. Nobody is arguing against possibility. But it's also possible:

- To drive cross-country on three hours' sleep
- Try cigarettes several times without becoming addicted
- Land a 1080 fakie-grab cleanly your first time on a snowboard

However, whether something is possible, and whether something is likely to produce positive results in most cases, are completely different questions.

The responses are also quite myopic, since they're focused primarily on individual outcomes, and completely ignore the big picture - if a country is squandering intellectual capital by constantly raising the bar for success, it can expect to find itself a global trailer in innovation, economy, and military capability in very short order.

But we'll have really great plumbing.

Also, all of the anecdata includes information on how those success stories relied primarily on support from other folks, which is why this quote from the article should surprise nobody:

Yes!! Exactly!!

Even with some incorrect assumptions, you still weren't able to make the numbers work, because $1915 for an entire year's worth of food, utilities, and ancillaries isn't going to cut it. It might barely cover utilities if they're being shared by two people.

Faulty assumptions:

- That minimum-wage workers get to retain 100% of their earnings. You're thinking strictly about federal income tax, but SSI and Medicare taxes are non-optional and non-refundable. State income tax rules vary.

- That the average apartment rental is near enough to any college to walk or bike. They are in high demand, because college students.

Thanks Dude.

As I mentioned, when debating without having to pay attention to reality, it’s easy to keep going. Points a, b, and c get refuted. Ergo, create points d, e, and f: make summer almost 5 months long. Assume a full-time job is waiting on day 1 of summer break. Assume federal payroll and state taxes do not exist. Assume the existence of family help, grants, and no other expenses. Assume you can get through 4 years of college without buying textbooks. Well. The Pirate Bay might make that last one work, but lawsuits have a way of eating at savings (and job prospects).

Most importantly: assume that other people are irresponsible and that all the homelessness and food insecurity are due to $200 a month phone plans and expensive vacations.

And while we're at it, let's address the notion that a cell phone is an optional expense, which is sooooo 20th century.

The primary modes of communication from faculty to students outside of a classroom today (nevermind college, I'm already seeing this in middle school):

- Email
- Mass text message
- Web portals

And let's not forget that the internet has now replaced the library as the primary research tool. Books are terribly inefficient by comparison.

In order to access these things in a timely manner, a wireless connection and at least one of the following devices is required: smart phone, tablet, laptop. And of those, the only one that can access them almost anywhere is the smart phone.

I’m taking a physics class right now and can confirm that the primary method of communication is via a web portal (with email notifications).

I’ve talked to other students, and the approach to learning uses:

* Youtube videos

* Written information from all over the web

* Extra textbooks available for download or purchased online and assorted random books purchased online or downloaded

You need an internet connection for this class, and restricting yourself to school computers during library hours would make getting a decent grade very difficult. Especially if you had to work during library hours and especially because intern other students are using the computers.


The first two are the most important for most students. For me and a few others, all three are equally important.

Some may disagree with an assertion that use of personal anecdotes is a sign of not caring and/or not thinking things through. Some may see the sharing of personal anecdotes as a generosity of spirit, and in keeping with the goals of the HOPE Lab [color:#999999]mentioned upthread[/color], as HOPE Lab contributed to the research on which the OP's article is based.

Some of us may have been brought up with a similar view - loving one's neighbor as one's self (a faith-based view), and may have begun being our brother's keeper at an early age.

For many, the American Dream consists in the potential for upward mobility, and for most people this takes considerable effort and sacrifice. For many families it has taken generations of coordinated effort and sacrifice to become upwardly mobile. Knowing that one's life path differs from others, one can still be cognizant of their work ethic and sacrifice improving their life, and that of future generations.

What, specifically, is the ready solution at hand?