| Author | |
ALmom
Forum All-Star
Joined: May 18 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3299
|
| Posted: Aug 21 2009 at 2:05pm | IP Logged
|
 |
|
How about paramedic or EMT/firemen programs? Our community college offers this - some learning is academic, most is hands on and after the second course the student can qualify to ride with the ambulance. There are still some of the SAT hoops but generally the actual programs are more suited to differing learning styles and what you do afterwards is not paper shuffling, behind a desk kind of stuff.
Check with your state to see about how plumbers, electricians, etc. get licensed.
You can learn a lot if you can work alongside a really good builder.
Janet
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Lucia
Forum Newbie
Joined: Jan 19 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 10
|
| Posted: Aug 24 2009 at 6:44am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Thanks for the input so far.
A good friend told me about Penn College of Technology - looks very interesting. It is structured to teach/instruct the student in a particular trade or skill and also complete the requirements for an associates degree. They also have four year degrees and certificate programs.
Does anyone know anything about this college?
They seem to have all the common trades and there is an option to live on campus. We are going to check it out.
Maria Lucia
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Bookswithtea
Forum All-Star
Joined: July 07 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2621
|
| Posted: Aug 24 2009 at 6:48am | IP Logged
|
|
|
This sounds really cool. Let us know what you find out?
__________________
Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and  due 9/10
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
helene
Forum Pro
Joined: Dec 10 2006
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 304
|
| Posted: Aug 24 2009 at 8:14am | IP Logged
|
|
|
I just wanted to say a reasonable amount of debt may be worth it to get a solid Catholic college education. I am one of nine children myself and my father always taught (still teaches) at a catholic college at which we all could have had free tuition. Unfortunately, this college is only catholic in name and you would have to have a pretty strong catholic head on your shoulders to get through there and keep your faith. I decided instead to go to Thomas Aquinas College in California which educated me and strengthened me in my faith. I met my husband there. We both had debt but were able to pay the whole thing down in ten years in spite of several babies and having to live on one (teacher's) salary. I think the $67,000 mentioned above is outrageous. But I wouldn't give away my college education or discourage my child from getting one (a good one) because of debt. My husband now teaches at a college and OUR children can attend for free, but I am not necessarily expecting them to go there because of that. Maybe they have some other career path in mind. Maybe some of them won't go to college at all. I just hope I am as open to helping them realize their "vocations" as my parents were with me and my siblings. Only about half of us kids ever took advantage of the free college tuition, though we all graduated from colleges and some went on to grad school. They were so good about supporting those of us who took a different direction.
__________________
Happy Mom to five girls (20,17,13,11and 4) and five boys (19, 15, 10, 8 and 6)
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
TracyQ
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: New York
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1323
|
| Posted: Aug 24 2009 at 8:44am | IP Logged
|
|
|
I think when you go to college today, it's very rare not to have ANY debt! I do think the debt incurred today though as compared to years ago, or even a decade ago is much more, and a much bigger burden than it used to be for people coming right out of college.
In this table The Real Cost of a Higher Education at savingforcollege.com, the cost is quite amazing, and they say the cost given here The figures above do not include other costs your child will incur as a college student, such as room and board, books, supplies, equipment, and transportation. These additional expenses can increase your child’s cost of attending college by a substantial amount.
Maybe it's just sticker shock to me, or maybe I'm just a cheapskate, but the costs here astound me! I wonder what the costs are when you add on the cost of room and board, books, supplies, equipment, and transportation. And then if a young man and young woman meet who both hold a huge debt, how do they pay it back when just beginning? I've heard many stories of people who are my age still paying off their student loans, when their own children are beginning college and taking on more of their own! They're enslaved to educational debt their entire lives!
Every single situation is unique and different. There are huge benefits to having a higher education, and sometimes loans are just something you must incur and you don't have a lot of choice. But there are ways to get your education without incurring huge debt.
There are several of my nieces and nephews who are going to local colleges who are living in the dorms. They could commute to college with no problem, they are dorming in dorms just down the street from their home for goodness' sake! Why would you incur greater debt when you could live at home for free and attend college, and save a ton of money!? I just don't get it.
Are salaries coming out of college now so high that incurring huge debt for a higher education isn't a problem, and people can pay them back easily??? Maybe that is the way it is now, I don't know.
Anyway, I do think it's hard to make these decisions, and everyone has to really seek guidance from the Holy Spirit, and use much wisdom in all of the decisions we make. There's one thing I'm learning with all of this though....there's NO easy way no matter what you do!!!
Tracy
__________________
Blessings and Peace,
Tracy Q.
wife of Marty for 20 years, mom of 3 wonderful children (1 homeschool graduate, 1 12th grader, and a 9th grader),
homeschooling in 15th year in Buffalo, NY
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
guitarnan
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Maryland
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 10883
|
| Posted: Aug 24 2009 at 9:27am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Tracy, I'm finding as my own son considers various college options that there seems to be a widely-held opinion, at least among people I know, that living at home and going to college is a less-desirable option. My son is thinking of a year or two at a local college (either community college or a university) and I am constantly being told he'll have a less-than-educational experience if he doesn't live on campus. Never mind that some of the schools he's looking at are 20 minutes from home.
I lived in the dorms at my campus, 45 minutes from home without traffic (now, I went to school in L.A., where there's lots of traffic), but many of my fellow students commuted and did just fine. We all received the same degree.
I do think that living semi-independently, in a dorm or rental situation, helps college students learn to manage money, utilities, cleaning and sharing with strangers in a relatively safe way. It also exposes them to other problems. My son's friend was stalked by his roommate during his first year at a small Catholic college, for example.
I worry that some people emphasize the live-on-campus part of college as the most useful part of the experience, rather than the academic experience. That feels a little off-base to me because anyone can live away from home - it's the academic degree that sets you apart.
As our family navigates this tangled path, I'm trying to remain open to God's will for our son and for us, and, especially, trying to listen to what my son is telling us about his plans, hopes and uncertainties.
It's very helpful to read everyone's posts here...sometimes, in the brick-and-mortar world, it feels like I'm a lone ranger, especially when I mention trying to avoid graduating with $100K of student loan debt!
__________________
Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
TracyQ
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: New York
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1323
|
| Posted: Aug 24 2009 at 10:04am | IP Logged
|
|
|
guitarnan wrote:
| and I am constantly being told he'll have a less-than-educational experience if he doesn't live on campus. |
|
|
Nancy, Do those telling you this give specifics of how not living on campus gives a student a less-than-educational experience??? That just doesn't make logical sense to me.
I am beginning to see a trend (or maybe it's been around, and only because the kids in our family are all going into colleges and life, etc.) that there are some colleges that feel that they are the be all and end all of a student's life, and that the parents only need to pay up and shut up, and never mind any other part of their young adult's life...you're done, now we have them sort of attitude. In fact, several of my sisters and brothers in law have told me that if their child that their money pays the tuition for gets sick while living on campus, or gets hurt, the college doesn't CALL them to let them know unless their child allows it. So if your child did binge drinking, or did drugs, and was in the hospital, you wouldn't be called unless they OK it.
We have friends from our homeschooling community whose son went to a state school an hour away, and was murdered by another student in a fight while he was trying to protect a young lady, and there was no justice done, because there was such secret, and dishonesty all to protect their school. It was so sad. 
I do think living in dorms obviously is something you have to do if you go away to school, and that there is much learning that can come from it. But it also seems to me that people are assuming that our young adults still living in their homes, whether attending an institute of higher learning or working and gaining life and work experience, etc. are not becoming independent in various other ways either. I think it's wrong for people to assume that. Maybe they assume that these young men and women don't grow up, and mature, and become more independent if they're at home? I don't see that as the norm in most cases.
For example, our oldest is working full time, Mon.-Fri, 9-5 for a sports apparel warehouse in their ebay department. He's worked there a year now. He was recently asked to go to Las Vegas for 9 days (most expenses paid) to work their huge trade show. He did go with the owner of the company, and three other employees. He was away for 9 days, went on an airplane for the first time he could remember, was away from home, and had to pay for some of his expenses, live for 9 days with his friend in a room, get himself up and to work, work really hard, and do some sales (something that was very new to him). My friend, the one who got him the job told me yesterday that he did SO good, that he's being asked to go back to the next one in March! My son didn't tell me that, but she did!! I'm so proud! He learned very valuable lessons, did networking, and challenged himself (even while homesick) to so something that was way outside of his comfort zone.
He came home, was home for one day, and went up to Toronto with his friends overnight. The guy is constantly gone, making friends, doing many things, working, going to concerts, writing music, buying his own clothes and necessities, and "living at home" (if you can call it that).  He's growing, and learning, and becoming very independent, all while being gently and lovingly guided by his mom and dad when he asks us to, because our relationship is being fostered throughout, and because we give him the breathing room needed to make his own decisions, and live his own life, and we respect each others' place in life right now. I'm not saying it doesn't have its challenges from time to time, but it's working pretty well to this point.
I do believe he would have learned many lessons from going to college (if that was in God's plan for him), and would have also become independent there too. But just because he hasn't gone to college, and still resides at home, doesn't mean he's not learning many of the same, plus some other unique lessons as well.
I'm just thinking aloud as usual here. This entire topic completely fascinates me, and I'm learning so much from everyone!
__________________
Blessings and Peace,
Tracy Q.
wife of Marty for 20 years, mom of 3 wonderful children (1 homeschool graduate, 1 12th grader, and a 9th grader),
homeschooling in 15th year in Buffalo, NY
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Elena
Forum All-Star
Joined: Aug 13 2006
Location: Ohio
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 592
|
| Posted: Aug 24 2009 at 10:57am | IP Logged
|
|
|
I'm afraid I have ruined my children.  My high school junior I'm afraid just won't be able to bring himself to pay thousands of dollars a year to live on campus when he could save the money and live at home. My 20-year-old who is working as an EMT also is living at home and saving money for the future.
I think it is possible but NOT EASY to go to college and keep the debt to a minimum.
Here's a girl that did it!
I also blogged about this a couple of years ago including some links to help keep those college costs down.
__________________
Elena
Wife to Peter, mom of many!
My Domestic Church
One Day at a Time
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
TracyQ
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: New York
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1323
|
| Posted: Aug 24 2009 at 11:22am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Wow Elena!!!! I just copied and pasted a ton of information to look through later, THANK you so much! 
__________________
Blessings and Peace,
Tracy Q.
wife of Marty for 20 years, mom of 3 wonderful children (1 homeschool graduate, 1 12th grader, and a 9th grader),
homeschooling in 15th year in Buffalo, NY
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Bookswithtea
Forum All-Star
Joined: July 07 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2621
|
| Posted: Aug 24 2009 at 12:00pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Fwiw, I lived for one year in a dorm and then for 2 yrs at home while commuting to a university (the last year I commuted while married). The only really bad year was the one where I lived in the dorms. Its like living, sleeping and breathing at a high school 24/7.  It was an entirely negative experience. I became much more independent and grown up in my outlook while living at home, because it kept me grounded in the real world, whereas living on a campus can give kids the false impression that campus living is somehow "real". I actually think this false premise about reality is behind those 30-ish post graduate people who never seem to enter the real world. They only seem to feel comfortable on a college campus so they keep taking classes, working part time for professors and never really come into their own.
My dh and his brother both lived at home and worked full time with good paying jobs, until they married, one at 21 and the other around 24. Neither of them felt their independence was cramped in the slightest. It was a great experience and they lived as fully functional adults.
Failure-to-launch is often characterized as the adult-kid who never leaves home. But not all at-home adult children fail to launch.
__________________
Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
|
|
4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Is college the ultimate goal?
