Where will your children go to college?

[Professor_Adam]

As a parent of four children I'm wondering what other IC Forum members' aspirations are for their own childrens' higher education?

Will you deter your children from a B&M school? Has being a non-traditional student affected how you influence your own children's education? How so?

I wonder how much high tuition rates will affect my own decisions to influence my children's decisions in the coming years. I feel like I will definitely encourage them to follow Farmerboy's lead in completing as much college as possible while still in high school. At the same time, I won't be discouraging them from a B&M school if that's what they want.

[Namivie]

That's a hard question because my son, who's a senior in high school and I have been disagreeing over this subject. He has a girlfriend, who's an only child, who is going to a private college that costs $27k for tuition and over $10k for room/board per semester, plus they require 3 mini semesters for graduation. My husband and I want him to finish school with no student debt, so we want him to start at the jr college, clep whatever he can, and then transfer to a state university. Our parents couldn't afford to send us to school, and didn't really value education, so we're just now working on our own degrees. We can afford to pay for him to go to a state school, especially if he starts at the jr college, but we can't afford a private school. We've reminded him that his girlfriend is an only child, but we have 3 boys to send through school so we need him to do it in the most cost effective manner. I wouldn't be opposed to him doing an online degree, but my son wants the traditional setting.

[lwmcc]

It's a moot point for me - my daughter's already completed both her BA & MA, and is now a doctoral student at UW-Madison. She went B&M the whole way, but had 30 AP credits to start, so testing played a bit part in her degree plans. I helped her focus on education and paid the way for her, and now that she's finally made it to the 'free ride point' (and yes, I agree completely, college is a hideous expense when you're trying to get your child through without putting them or yourself in debt for it - 529 plans can really, really help for the undergrad years!) I felt it was time to concentrate on my own formal, though non-traditional, education - in the most cost-effective way possible!

Namivie, re your son and 'State' vs. private - might not hurt to let him know that my daughter took the State route and when she started 'shopping' grad schools, more than one top-rated in her field (which is what counts for PhD programs) offered her a 'free ride' package. In a lot of ways, State schools are often more respected than many private schools by other schools, and the difference in cost can make the difference in whether one is saddled with 10 years of loans or not.

You could always give him the choice of you paying the equivalent of State tuition, and if he chooses Private, he gets a loan for the balance - with him truly understanding that that loan would be over his head for a looong time after graduation, and could make a real difference in his 'after graduation' lifestyle... When he thinks of it that way, he may not be as opposed to the more economical State route.

[Namivie]

Thanks for the advice. I'll certainly pass the information along to my son.

What is your daughter getting her PhD in? If you (or she) have any advice on what I should look for in a master's program, I would certainly appreciate any advice that you might have to offer.

[okiemom]

My daughter graduated from the University of Oklahoma several years ago. It was before we knew about CLEP, DSST, etc. My oldest son completed his first semester of college while still in high school (homeschool) with CLEPS and concurrent enrollment. He's now a senior at a private college. I believe if he had it to do again, he would have tested out of more classes. My youngest son, a homeschool senior, has completed 38 credit hours through CLEP ,DSST and concurrent enrollment. He's currently studying for the Western Civ CLEP and taking an Independent Study course through BYU. He will probably attend the same university my oldest son is attending.
He and I both wish he could take more CLEPS but there's a cap on non-traditional hours accepted by SNU and the other colleges we've visited.

[Katterina]

I'm not a parent yet (knock on wood!), although I have given the subject some thought. I did most of my associates degree through a brick and mortar university. It was expensive and time consuming, but it did have some intangible rewards.

The administration was a pain-- millions of forms, inconsistent policies, run-arounds, incompetent employees: just like a job in the real world. I learned to work a system before setting foot in my corporate job.

I learned about liberal politics. It challenged my thinking and helped me see another point of view.

I socialized with other students, learned about their majors and part time jobs, and tried out new study habits. I also saw many, many stupid things that I decided I would never do myself.

I learned to succeed in the traditional academic environment and I thoroughly enjoyed lectures from several very talented and accomplished professors. Their intelligence and influence inspired me to finish my bachelors and go beyond. I became a proud lifelong learner.

My point... I think I would want my child to go to a traditional school for a year or so, if just for the experience. They could love it or end up hating a lot of it like I did, but I would want them to at least try it at some point. One would not even really need to be enrolled to experience a lot of these things (ie sitting in on public lectures, socializing), but I do remember a severe lack of intrinsic motivation at 19... fear of failing was the only thing keeping my butt in those seats and pulling my freshman C's.

[cookderosa]

I'm not 100% sure how we will go through the process, he is in 8th grade and enrolled at the community college in his first college class (Intro Computers on campus) and also doing the ALEKS series right now (beg. algebra). He will earn a lot of credit through high school. For sure, I will insist on RA credits vs NA credits, and I think he will probably end up doing a combo of on campus, on line, and exams for his AA/AS. WHERE is another question. I printed out the AA requirements for the local CC as well as TESC. As he completes credits, I'm using both to plan credits- he doesn't understand the process yet- but I do, lol, so he'll be fine for now. Sometime in the next 3 years we will have to choose a school (I'm leaning toward local CC for his AA/AS)

MY goal is for him to have his AA/AS finished or very close at high school graduation. Should he want to do more, all the better. Since he is homeschooled, less isn't really an option since he obviously does the school work I assign him. I have a lot of time to discuss with him as he gets more involved and invested in the process.

He is interested in business right now, so I'll be fanning that flame to the best of my ability. With that in mind, we will look at an MBA as the goal, and work backward to help him get there. It remains to be seen how motivated or committed he will be as he gets more into the process.

[Lindagerr]

My Son is a freshman at CC now and I am starting him on the intro to Soc. CLEP. I am hoping once he sees how easy it is he will want to do more CLEP/DSST( he is an excellent test taker, but as stubborn as a mule if he doesn't want to he won't).

I want him to also do the CC B & M route for the socialization and exposure to other ideas and possibilities. Although he is for the most part a mature 19 year old he doesn't know what he wants to do with his life. I know if he ever finds his passion he will be great at it.

I would also like him to go to Rutgers(one of the local State schools and also his fathers Alma mater) for his Bachelors and I would like him to live at the school. I think living in a dorm is the best way to move towards being an independent adult, also the friendships formed in college can last a lifetime.

Of course this is just what I want, he will decide and what I want will have no impact on him.