College Choices, Oh No!

It's April 1st and my daughter only has one month to pick a college to attend next year.

This is definitely a difficult decision and the hardest choice she's had to make so far in her life. And, it may be true that the school she selects will determine the path she takes for the rest of her time on this planet. Or not. Who knows.

Times have certainly changed. When I was a high school senior, I had two choices (not 7). I could go to our local community college (hell no!) or I could go to the state university (less bad). Too bad I wanted to explore going to school out of state. And, I had to pay for my own room and board. My parents were separating at the time and they could barely afford the $628/semester price tag. I worked two jobs (one on campus before classes and one after in the evenings) and it was hard. But, I admit I really learned to appreciate the value of a dollar. More importantly, I learned what I was made of. I worked so hard, I graduated in three years! I made it and it's still one of my life accomplishments for which I am very proud.

Today, semester costs have skyrocketed to over $20,000! No student can afford to pay their own way anymore. How can you work off that price tag at minimum wage? Impossible. And completely unfair. I read an article that said colleges and universities raised their tuitions to attract a better class of student. Yes! One such school's tuition went from $14,000/year to $43,000/year. And, the number of student's applying increased by 40%. How weird is that. People are stupid. They believe something is better because it costs more.

By the way - my daughter has applied to that school and been accepted. And, yes. We are going there on Friday for an accepted student day visit. Guess I'm stupid too. (I do like their architecture - sigh.)