OT — Article: “10 Reasons to Skip Expensive Colleges”

[temeculaguy]

I liked the article and I also have a high school senior so this has been on my mind lately. But I have BG’s rules, almost to the letter. They get to go to the CS or UC school of their choice that they are accepted into, nothing more. It’s not that I think other schools aren’t better, it’s just that I only budgeted for those schools and I can only send them to those schools without taking on debt. BTW, those estimates of 34k a year for UC or 27k for CS are using creative math. They calculate health insurance, vehicle expenses, toiletries, etc. etc. That’s fine and dandy of you give birth to an 18 year old, but for the rest of us parents it only matters what additional dollars I need comparing their senior year and their freshman college year. Tuition, books (used books didn’t kill me), room and board. That’s it, and even then I can deduct what I spend now to feed them and how much they use in utilities. I already pay for health insurance, car insurance, gas, vehicle maintenance, proms, dining out, vacations. It’s the same as comparing renting and owning, you only need to look at the differences, not the total, because you already have an electric bill, so only look at the differences. A CS school is just under 20k or thereabouts.

Walter, trash the lifetime community college idea, it sucks. College is 25% coursework, 25% macaroni and cheese/crappy part time jobs, 25% friends/fraternities/alcohol ad 25% the girls your mother warned you about. They have the rest of their lives to be practical and miserable. You think too much of the boy genius, and you should, and his mother doesn’t need to witness the testosterone era, let that happen somewhere else. He’s still a man and he needs to be around a few thousand 18-21 year old girls. There is no price tag for that.

In the end, it really doesn’t matter what that piece of paper says, or if you got your money’s worth. All that matters is that when you are sitting in the old folks home and someone asks you that if you could go back and relive one year of your life, what year would it be? I know my answer already, college, Junior year, hands down, every other year, no matter what happens from here on out is a bitter disappointment. Of course I beat the system, because I already did that year twice. And you thought the 5 year plan was because of impacted majors.

My kids think I’m slow, but I already factored in the 5th year from the time they were born. I may have only gone to SDSU, but momma didn’t raise no dummy.

I’m going to have to break out my DVD of OLD SCHOOL with Will Ferrell. It is to men what romantic comedies are to women, we know it’s not real but it makes the pain go away for two hours.

[CA renter]

[quote=AN][quote=CA renter]Not assuming that CSU/UC students don’t work, just that a student who is getting everything paid for is more likely to be at a four-year university/college vs. a CC-univ/college.

BTW, lots of people major in one thing, and then end up in something totally unrelated. My work experience had nothing at all to do with my major, but introduced me to an entirely different career option, which I really enjoyed.[/quote]
That, I agree with. Why go to a CC when you don’t have to worry about the cost of the college. But my initial assertion is that you might save some money up front, but you might end up not saving any or actually be losing money in the grand scheme of things. Also, as I mentioned, internship will open the door to the industry you’re trying to enter w/ your BS/BA. You can’t get internship at a CC AFAIK.

Yes, lots of people major in one thing and end up doing something unrelated. Those people would save a lot of money going to CC while they figure it out. A lot of people don’t need a BS/BA at all. There’s a number I heard where something like 27% of bartender have a BS/BA and something like 15% of taxi drivers have a BS/BA. Those people would have saved a lot of money not going to college. However, there are also just as many people who know exactly what they want to do and have been working toward that goal since HS. For example, it’s unlikely for you to get into med school doing to CC->UC/CSU route. You’ll be competing with kids who score great on SAT/CAT, high HS GPA, high UC/CSU GPA, many many hours of community service, graduate UC/CSU in 4 years while doing all of that. How are you going to stand out doing the CC->UC/CSU route when your competition did everything you did and graduate UC/CSU in 4 years w/ high GPA.

My main point is, if you don’t know what to do with your life, stay in CC and figure it out while save some money. If you know what you want to do/be, the money you save by going to CC first will more than offset by the lost of time. If you’re driven and know what you want to be, you’d already taking lots of AP classes and/or lots of CC classes while you’re in HS. I graduated HS with enough CC credits to almost clear a whole year worth of GE. That allow me to work 20-30 hours a week while still graduating in 4 years.[/quote]

As you know, we both agree about the fact that college degrees are oversold — we’d be much better off if we provided a top-notch vocational education system for those who don’t go to college.

You’re right about it being more difficult to get into medical school via the CC route, but not at all impossible.

Here’s a success story (one of many) of someone who did just that:

http://www.umassmed.edu/commencement/2010/archive/article/publiceducation.aspx

[CA renter]

[quote=AN][quote=CA renter]Not assuming that CSU/UC students don’t work, just that a student who is getting everything paid for is more likely to be at a four-year university/college vs. a CC-univ/college.

BTW, lots of people major in one thing, and then end up in something totally unrelated. My work experience had nothing at all to do with my major, but introduced me to an entirely different career option, which I really enjoyed.[/quote]
That, I agree with. Why go to a CC when you don’t have to worry about the cost of the college. But my initial assertion is that you might save some money up front, but you might end up not saving any or actually be losing money in the grand scheme of things. Also, as I mentioned, internship will open the door to the industry you’re trying to enter w/ your BS/BA. You can’t get internship at a CC AFAIK.

Yes, lots of people major in one thing and end up doing something unrelated. Those people would save a lot of money going to CC while they figure it out. A lot of people don’t need a BS/BA at all. There’s a number I heard where something like 27% of bartender have a BS/BA and something like 15% of taxi drivers have a BS/BA. Those people would have saved a lot of money not going to college. However, there are also just as many people who know exactly what they want to do and have been working toward that goal since HS. For example, it’s unlikely for you to get into med school doing to CC->UC/CSU route. You’ll be competing with kids who score great on SAT/CAT, high HS GPA, high UC/CSU GPA, many many hours of community service, graduate UC/CSU in 4 years while doing all of that. How are you going to stand out doing the CC->UC/CSU route when your competition did everything you did and graduate UC/CSU in 4 years w/ high GPA.

My main point is, if you don’t know what to do with your life, stay in CC and figure it out while save some money. If you know what you want to do/be, the money you save by going to CC first will more than offset by the lost of time. If you’re driven and know what you want to be, you’d already taking lots of AP classes and/or lots of CC classes while you’re in HS. I graduated HS with enough CC credits to almost clear a whole year worth of GE. That allow me to work 20-30 hours a week while still graduating in 4 years.[/quote]

As you know, we both agree about the fact that college degrees are oversold — we’d be much better off if we provided a top-notch vocational education system for those who don’t go to college.

You’re right about it being more difficult to get into medical school via the CC route, but not at all impossible.

Here’s a success story (one of many) of someone who did just that:

http://www.umassmed.edu/commencement/2010/archive/article/publiceducation.aspx

[CA renter]

[quote=AN][quote=CA renter]Not assuming that CSU/UC students don’t work, just that a student who is getting everything paid for is more likely to be at a four-year university/college vs. a CC-univ/college.

BTW, lots of people major in one thing, and then end up in something totally unrelated. My work experience had nothing at all to do with my major, but introduced me to an entirely different career option, which I really enjoyed.[/quote]
That, I agree with. Why go to a CC when you don’t have to worry about the cost of the college. But my initial assertion is that you might save some money up front, but you might end up not saving any or actually be losing money in the grand scheme of things. Also, as I mentioned, internship will open the door to the industry you’re trying to enter w/ your BS/BA. You can’t get internship at a CC AFAIK.

Yes, lots of people major in one thing and end up doing something unrelated. Those people would save a lot of money going to CC while they figure it out. A lot of people don’t need a BS/BA at all. There’s a number I heard where something like 27% of bartender have a BS/BA and something like 15% of taxi drivers have a BS/BA. Those people would have saved a lot of money not going to college. However, there are also just as many people who know exactly what they want to do and have been working toward that goal since HS. For example, it’s unlikely for you to get into med school doing to CC->UC/CSU route. You’ll be competing with kids who score great on SAT/CAT, high HS GPA, high UC/CSU GPA, many many hours of community service, graduate UC/CSU in 4 years while doing all of that. How are you going to stand out doing the CC->UC/CSU route when your competition did everything you did and graduate UC/CSU in 4 years w/ high GPA.

My main point is, if you don’t know what to do with your life, stay in CC and figure it out while save some money. If you know what you want to do/be, the money you save by going to CC first will more than offset by the lost of time. If you’re driven and know what you want to be, you’d already taking lots of AP classes and/or lots of CC classes while you’re in HS. I graduated HS with enough CC credits to almost clear a whole year worth of GE. That allow me to work 20-30 hours a week while still graduating in 4 years.[/quote]

As you know, we both agree about the fact that college degrees are oversold — we’d be much better off if we provided a top-notch vocational education system for those who don’t go to college.

You’re right about it being more difficult to get into medical school via the CC route, but not at all impossible.

Here’s a success story (one of many) of someone who did just that:

http://www.umassmed.edu/commencement/2010/archive/article/publiceducation.aspx

[CA renter]

[quote=AN][quote=CA renter]Not assuming that CSU/UC students don’t work, just that a student who is getting everything paid for is more likely to be at a four-year university/college vs. a CC-univ/college.

BTW, lots of people major in one thing, and then end up in something totally unrelated. My work experience had nothing at all to do with my major, but introduced me to an entirely different career option, which I really enjoyed.[/quote]
That, I agree with. Why go to a CC when you don’t have to worry about the cost of the college. But my initial assertion is that you might save some money up front, but you might end up not saving any or actually be losing money in the grand scheme of things. Also, as I mentioned, internship will open the door to the industry you’re trying to enter w/ your BS/BA. You can’t get internship at a CC AFAIK.

Yes, lots of people major in one thing and end up doing something unrelated. Those people would save a lot of money going to CC while they figure it out. A lot of people don’t need a BS/BA at all. There’s a number I heard where something like 27% of bartender have a BS/BA and something like 15% of taxi drivers have a BS/BA. Those people would have saved a lot of money not going to college. However, there are also just as many people who know exactly what they want to do and have been working toward that goal since HS. For example, it’s unlikely for you to get into med school doing to CC->UC/CSU route. You’ll be competing with kids who score great on SAT/CAT, high HS GPA, high UC/CSU GPA, many many hours of community service, graduate UC/CSU in 4 years while doing all of that. How are you going to stand out doing the CC->UC/CSU route when your competition did everything you did and graduate UC/CSU in 4 years w/ high GPA.

My main point is, if you don’t know what to do with your life, stay in CC and figure it out while save some money. If you know what you want to do/be, the money you save by going to CC first will more than offset by the lost of time. If you’re driven and know what you want to be, you’d already taking lots of AP classes and/or lots of CC classes while you’re in HS. I graduated HS with enough CC credits to almost clear a whole year worth of GE. That allow me to work 20-30 hours a week while still graduating in 4 years.[/quote]

As you know, we both agree about the fact that college degrees are oversold — we’d be much better off if we provided a top-notch vocational education system for those who don’t go to college.

You’re right about it being more difficult to get into medical school via the CC route, but not at all impossible.

Here’s a success story (one of many) of someone who did just that:

http://www.umassmed.edu/commencement/2010/archive/article/publiceducation.aspx

[CA renter]

[quote=AN][quote=CA renter]Not assuming that CSU/UC students don’t work, just that a student who is getting everything paid for is more likely to be at a four-year university/college vs. a CC-univ/college.

BTW, lots of people major in one thing, and then end up in something totally unrelated. My work experience had nothing at all to do with my major, but introduced me to an entirely different career option, which I really enjoyed.[/quote]
That, I agree with. Why go to a CC when you don’t have to worry about the cost of the college. But my initial assertion is that you might save some money up front, but you might end up not saving any or actually be losing money in the grand scheme of things. Also, as I mentioned, internship will open the door to the industry you’re trying to enter w/ your BS/BA. You can’t get internship at a CC AFAIK.

Yes, lots of people major in one thing and end up doing something unrelated. Those people would save a lot of money going to CC while they figure it out. A lot of people don’t need a BS/BA at all. There’s a number I heard where something like 27% of bartender have a BS/BA and something like 15% of taxi drivers have a BS/BA. Those people would have saved a lot of money not going to college. However, there are also just as many people who know exactly what they want to do and have been working toward that goal since HS. For example, it’s unlikely for you to get into med school doing to CC->UC/CSU route. You’ll be competing with kids who score great on SAT/CAT, high HS GPA, high UC/CSU GPA, many many hours of community service, graduate UC/CSU in 4 years while doing all of that. How are you going to stand out doing the CC->UC/CSU route when your competition did everything you did and graduate UC/CSU in 4 years w/ high GPA.

My main point is, if you don’t know what to do with your life, stay in CC and figure it out while save some money. If you know what you want to do/be, the money you save by going to CC first will more than offset by the lost of time. If you’re driven and know what you want to be, you’d already taking lots of AP classes and/or lots of CC classes while you’re in HS. I graduated HS with enough CC credits to almost clear a whole year worth of GE. That allow me to work 20-30 hours a week while still graduating in 4 years.[/quote]

As you know, we both agree about the fact that college degrees are oversold — we’d be much better off if we provided a top-notch vocational education system for those who don’t go to college.

You’re right about it being more difficult to get into medical school via the CC route, but not at all impossible.

Here’s a success story (one of many) of someone who did just that:

http://www.umassmed.edu/commencement/2010/archive/article/publiceducation.aspx

[an]

[quote=bearishgurl]Your argument here has a minor problem, AN. It is technically now impossible to graduate from most CSU campuses in 4 yrs even if you start there as a freshman – due to recent massive instructor layoffs in many popular degree programs as a result of recent heavy budget cuts. The only way to circumvent this problem is to take the missing credits needed to graduate at summer and/or online classes at a different CSU campus and transfer them to your school.[/quote]
Do you have data behind the “virtually impossible to graduate from most CSU campuses in 4 years”? Even if you’re correct, this is not normal condition, so I don’t suspect this problem to continue. Again, I’m skeptical of this statement.

[quote=bearishgurl]Also, in order to get an “internship,” a student needs to be accepted into a degree program. In order to be accepted into a degree program at CSU, you need at least 56 units of undergrad GE’s completed. These can be obtained economically at the CC level. So whatever kind of job a CC student works will likely have no bearing on whether or not they will be able later to land an internship (when they are qualified to be considered for one).[/quote]
I don’t know about CSU, but it’s not the case for UC. If you want to compete CSU vs CC WRT cost, CSU tuition is $6,562. Tuition for SD CC is ~$1500/year. That’s a cost difference of $4k/year. Do you think it’s worth it to having to deal CC->CSU for a $4k/year saving? This is assuming you’re not taking CC classes while you’re going to SDSU. That would cut down the $4k/year saving in tuition.

[an]

[quote=bearishgurl]Your argument here has a minor problem, AN. It is technically now impossible to graduate from most CSU campuses in 4 yrs even if you start there as a freshman – due to recent massive instructor layoffs in many popular degree programs as a result of recent heavy budget cuts. The only way to circumvent this problem is to take the missing credits needed to graduate at summer and/or online classes at a different CSU campus and transfer them to your school.[/quote]
Do you have data behind the “virtually impossible to graduate from most CSU campuses in 4 years”? Even if you’re correct, this is not normal condition, so I don’t suspect this problem to continue. Again, I’m skeptical of this statement.

[quote=bearishgurl]Also, in order to get an “internship,” a student needs to be accepted into a degree program. In order to be accepted into a degree program at CSU, you need at least 56 units of undergrad GE’s completed. These can be obtained economically at the CC level. So whatever kind of job a CC student works will likely have no bearing on whether or not they will be able later to land an internship (when they are qualified to be considered for one).[/quote]
I don’t know about CSU, but it’s not the case for UC. If you want to compete CSU vs CC WRT cost, CSU tuition is $6,562. Tuition for SD CC is ~$1500/year. That’s a cost difference of $4k/year. Do you think it’s worth it to having to deal CC->CSU for a $4k/year saving? This is assuming you’re not taking CC classes while you’re going to SDSU. That would cut down the $4k/year saving in tuition.

[an]

[quote=bearishgurl]Your argument here has a minor problem, AN. It is technically now impossible to graduate from most CSU campuses in 4 yrs even if you start there as a freshman – due to recent massive instructor layoffs in many popular degree programs as a result of recent heavy budget cuts. The only way to circumvent this problem is to take the missing credits needed to graduate at summer and/or online classes at a different CSU campus and transfer them to your school.[/quote]
Do you have data behind the “virtually impossible to graduate from most CSU campuses in 4 years”? Even if you’re correct, this is not normal condition, so I don’t suspect this problem to continue. Again, I’m skeptical of this statement.

[quote=bearishgurl]Also, in order to get an “internship,” a student needs to be accepted into a degree program. In order to be accepted into a degree program at CSU, you need at least 56 units of undergrad GE’s completed. These can be obtained economically at the CC level. So whatever kind of job a CC student works will likely have no bearing on whether or not they will be able later to land an internship (when they are qualified to be considered for one).[/quote]
I don’t know about CSU, but it’s not the case for UC. If you want to compete CSU vs CC WRT cost, CSU tuition is $6,562. Tuition for SD CC is ~$1500/year. That’s a cost difference of $4k/year. Do you think it’s worth it to having to deal CC->CSU for a $4k/year saving? This is assuming you’re not taking CC classes while you’re going to SDSU. That would cut down the $4k/year saving in tuition.

[an]

[quote=bearishgurl]Your argument here has a minor problem, AN. It is technically now impossible to graduate from most CSU campuses in 4 yrs even if you start there as a freshman – due to recent massive instructor layoffs in many popular degree programs as a result of recent heavy budget cuts. The only way to circumvent this problem is to take the missing credits needed to graduate at summer and/or online classes at a different CSU campus and transfer them to your school.[/quote]
Do you have data behind the “virtually impossible to graduate from most CSU campuses in 4 years”? Even if you’re correct, this is not normal condition, so I don’t suspect this problem to continue. Again, I’m skeptical of this statement.

[quote=bearishgurl]Also, in order to get an “internship,” a student needs to be accepted into a degree program. In order to be accepted into a degree program at CSU, you need at least 56 units of undergrad GE’s completed. These can be obtained economically at the CC level. So whatever kind of job a CC student works will likely have no bearing on whether or not they will be able later to land an internship (when they are qualified to be considered for one).[/quote]
I don’t know about CSU, but it’s not the case for UC. If you want to compete CSU vs CC WRT cost, CSU tuition is $6,562. Tuition for SD CC is ~$1500/year. That’s a cost difference of $4k/year. Do you think it’s worth it to having to deal CC->CSU for a $4k/year saving? This is assuming you’re not taking CC classes while you’re going to SDSU. That would cut down the $4k/year saving in tuition.

[an]

[quote=bearishgurl]Your argument here has a minor problem, AN. It is technically now impossible to graduate from most CSU campuses in 4 yrs even if you start there as a freshman – due to recent massive instructor layoffs in many popular degree programs as a result of recent heavy budget cuts. The only way to circumvent this problem is to take the missing credits needed to graduate at summer and/or online classes at a different CSU campus and transfer them to your school.[/quote]
Do you have data behind the “virtually impossible to graduate from most CSU campuses in 4 years”? Even if you’re correct, this is not normal condition, so I don’t suspect this problem to continue. Again, I’m skeptical of this statement.

[quote=bearishgurl]Also, in order to get an “internship,” a student needs to be accepted into a degree program. In order to be accepted into a degree program at CSU, you need at least 56 units of undergrad GE’s completed. These can be obtained economically at the CC level. So whatever kind of job a CC student works will likely have no bearing on whether or not they will be able later to land an internship (when they are qualified to be considered for one).[/quote]
I don’t know about CSU, but it’s not the case for UC. If you want to compete CSU vs CC WRT cost, CSU tuition is $6,562. Tuition for SD CC is ~$1500/year. That’s a cost difference of $4k/year. Do you think it’s worth it to having to deal CC->CSU for a $4k/year saving? This is assuming you’re not taking CC classes while you’re going to SDSU. That would cut down the $4k/year saving in tuition.

[CA renter]

$5,000/year…yes, it’s worth it. As a matter of fact, CC students get priority over continuing students when they transfer for their junior year. IMHO, CC is a winner, all around.

[CA renter]

$5,000/year…yes, it’s worth it. As a matter of fact, CC students get priority over continuing students when they transfer for their junior year. IMHO, CC is a winner, all around.

[CA renter]

$5,000/year…yes, it’s worth it. As a matter of fact, CC students get priority over continuing students when they transfer for their junior year. IMHO, CC is a winner, all around.

[CA renter]

$5,000/year…yes, it’s worth it. As a matter of fact, CC students get priority over continuing students when they transfer for their junior year. IMHO, CC is a winner, all around.

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