But some kids don’t want to travel across the country for college, just like some want to commute ...
Yeah, when my students start talking about far-away schools, I always recommend that they apply to at least one close-to-home school. Why?
- Because sometimes the financial aid and scholarships don't fall out as hoped, and it's good to have an affordable option in the bag.
- Loads of high school students -- especially girls -- tend to have a (usually short-lived) crisis in May when they decide they cannot possibly go away /aren't ready for college /are terrified that their carefully-laid plans are actually coming to fruition. Soon.
- I do have one friend whose son -- literally the week they were packing up to take him to college for his freshman year -- said, "Nope, I am not going. Not going." He was admitted to the school of his choice, etc., etc., etc., but he freaked out at the last minute. He ended up going to community college for a while, and it was a good choice for him, but they had a tough time for a while!
Of course not, but if you are saying "there aren't any affordable options" and you are only considering where they WANT to go
Well said. Affordable options
do exist, but they don't always involve the typical path of going away /living in a dorm /attending full time at the school of your choice.
I'm surprised it hasn't hit colleges yet just because the baby boom is long over. Where I live they have been closing elementary, junior high and high schools for 20+ years due to declining enrollment.
Oh, all those people came South. We are building new schools left and right here. We can't find enough teachers.
More jobs today require at least a 4 year degree, it’s the new HD diploma.
I know people say that, but college graduates are still in the minority. I looked up a number -- I hope it's truthful:
Younger Americans are more likely to have attained a four-year degree than older groups. Among Americans between the ages of 25 to 34, 37 percent have at least a bachelor’s degree. Among those 55 and older, just under 30 percent have a four-year degree.
That leaves the majority of Americans without a college degree.
Luckily here, the schools have an open mind to the trades. As one guidance counselor noted, a first year sheet metal worker can make $125,000 a year, double what a first year teacher makes.
That's the kind of fact that you think would change people's minds about trades! But at our recent college and career fair, the HVAC people were talking about paid internships ... and so many kids wouldn't even talk to them. So much negativity about trades.