Assistance with tuition

[MossRoad]

Home Schooling can be quite a barrier to overcome... and not speaking academically.

There is a bias often found in the State Universities and Colleges against home schooled... at least here where Teacher Unions are trying to limit charter schools and make home schooling more difficult.

I've met quite a few great home schooled people. My kid met one at college and they're dating very seriously. Great young man. A+

And, of course, I've met quite a few that were socially awkward and religiously bent. Won't go into that in this forum.

We know another couple that has 5 kids, all home schooled by the mom. They win pretty much every spelling bee, geography bee, 4h fair projects, etc... go to regionals and usually win state. Got to nationals a few times. Really nice kids. Mom and dad made sure to socialize them. They're not having any problems getting into colleges of their choice.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

I would agree with your summation. Our experience is that to ensure that we are compliant and honest, our kids take standardized testing along with public school children, and that their report cards are submitted as well. Not mandatory, but definitely helpful. It also helps that we live in the South, where a lot of debatable subjects are still common sense..

We lived in SC for 25 years, raised our children there. Do they still offer Life Scholarships?; something to look into. Our 2 sons went to U of SC almost free. Our daughter got an academic scholarship to Clemson honors college that paid 100% except books. But she did finish second in her HS class. Back in the day, I used the Air Force Aid Society to borrow money for college, it was a great deal.

 

[USAFpj]

Do they still offer Life Scholarships?;

Yes sir, they sure do. That will definitely be an avenue. She has done well so far- as for her current High School Junior year, and next Senior year, she will have accumulated enough Community College hours to make her a Sophomore right out of school. Two items that the wife is concentrating on this year is higher ACT scores, and improving overall GPA.

Our kids get a lot of social activity through sports and academic Co-Op classes,but you are correct in that we wanted to avoid the 'awkwardness' of home schooling. What once was a major concern of ours has turned into wanting them to slow down a bit on the socialization:laughing: 17yr old girl interests are going to be the same no matter where they get schooled!

 

[buckeyefarmer]

The problem is or every Gates and Jobs there's 10,000 Kastanzas and Kramers....

And the fact those 2 were successful in marketing other peoples work....

 

[Sigarms]

We know another couple that has 5 kids, all home schooled by the mom. They win pretty much every spelling bee, geography bee, 4h fair projects, etc... go to regionals and usually win state. Got to nationals a few times. Really nice kids. Mom and dad made sure to socialize them. They're not having any problems getting into colleges of their choice.

I really wouldn't mind that life.

My one has been close to going to the local "hard knock school" for getting into fights at school, and the other is so quiet and "prim and propper", already found out he's blowing smoke up our butt from time to time. They aren't even in high school yet... For some reason, they seem to think we're stupid...

That said, I still remember my mother telling me "just wait, sooner or later you're going to get yours" (I wasn't the easiest well behaved teen to have in a house by far, and I did put my mom through a lot, God rest her soul). She was right though...I'm getting mine LOL

 

[downsizingnow48]

There are a lot of different ways to do this. My wife and I put ourselves through college, every penny, although I had the GI Bill which was a big help at the time.

For our two girls, we paid for their 4 year degree where they wanted to go, no payback. The costs these days are pretty high. We had the money and no misgivings about their commitment to schooling. After that they were on their own. Both went to graduate school (hydrology and public health) paying their own way, and both have good jobs in their chosen line of work. So it worked out fine although me and Mom were fretting quite a lot at times.

 

[aczlan]

I met a cashier at our grocery store. He is a senior in high school. Took vocational classes while in school. Welding. He said he has a job lined up that starts the week after he graduate from high school starting at $26 and hour.

That matches what a welder I was talking to recently said.

Home Schooling can be quite a barrier to overcome... and not speaking academically.

There is a bias often found in the State Universities and Colleges against home schooled... at least here where Teacher Unions are trying to limit charter schools and make home schooling more difficult.

Going to a community college and getting an AS degree (NOTE: Associates of Science, NOT an Applied Associates of Science as those are harder to transfer), then transferring into a 4 year school with get you past a lot of the admissions be that can trip up a home school student...

Aaron Z

 

[Tractor Seabee]

There is entirely too much emphasis placed on college educations. Started work in the family business at 12 (first credible year for SS) of sheetmetal and HVAC. While in HS became a journyman at 14 and a foreman at 16. Migrated into all aspects of refrigeration including large industrial plants. That lead to being a industrial pipefitter and welder. 26 years working for the Navy CS in Quality Assurance, facility planing. maintenance, and contracting. Concurrently spent 33 years in the Navy Reserve retiring as a W4. Toward the end of my working years worked as a Construction Project Manager and Quality Control Manager.

Never any college. Always made above average salaries and my wife did not have to work.

Raised 5 kids, only 2 went to college (their choice). All were offered bed and room, access to a car, and some $. All are doing above average financially, except one is a high achiever. He quit high school, followed the crowd till a serious accident (almost killed him) woke him up. Took a special exam at UW and qualifies as an incoming freshman. Several scholarships and PEL Grants kept him away from the loan sharks.
Degree in geology. Poor starting pay, applied for an entry level job for a high tech company. 30 years later he is making $250K/yr working for Intel as a supervising software engineer. No further college.

After Civil Service moved up in the construction world as a technical and business savvy manager until engineers and architects with only 3 years of work experience in construction became a requirement contractually for government contracts. That was considered by contractors as an entry level job with starting pay of $45-60K. I was making $130K and all of a sudden was out of work. Started a consulting business and did very well for 10 years helping those same contractors get through the morass of government contracts with project management and quality control assistance to their inept new college graduates they were forced to hire. We the tax payers are now paying more for that public work due to the degree featherbedding. Further, a lot of good technician level jobs went down the drain.

In closing, the construction trades are crying for help as the demographics of retirements are way and above exceeding the input of apprentices. Maybe good may be bad but now the drive is to more manufactured assemblies, automation, and other technical solutions. That then creates a shortage of technicians to install and repair the high tech solutions. More technical immigrants are going to be required (if congress gets off its duff) and a change in society over schooling.

Ron

 

[USAFpj]

My one has been close to going to the local "hard knock school" for getting into fights at school, and the other is so quiet and "prim and propper", already found out he's blowing smoke up our butt from time to time. They aren't even in high school yet... For some reason, they seem to think we're stupid...

SigArms- this was me through and through. Fights, getting expelled, sneaking out of the house, conduct issues, In school suspensions, etc. Had a high SAT score, but in order to graduate high school, had to take Geometry in summer school...

Thank goodness for the following: being raised a redneck kid who could swim well, shoot accurately, not be too affected by cold and heat (raised in a 90 year old house, using an outhouse until I was 15), and plenty of prayer from Grandma!

Keep working with your kids, and they won't forget it. Some of the best senior NCO's and management types within the Department of State were a lot like me! And I was shocked to find out that having 'been there and done that', we now use that earlier experience as a tool for patience and the ability to see workplace challenges before they occur.

Or you may simply be doomed as you somehow prefer Sig over Glock?

 

[TheMan419]

I think the first rule needs to be you don't put yourself in a financial bind to pay for your kids schooling.

If you can afford it, help them or even pay 100% of it. That is the best financial gift you can give them. Student loan debt can be crushing. It is not dischargeable in bankruptcy either if something does south.

Have a friend whose wife is an only child. Parents are well off and could have afforded to put her through college. They did not. She came out of college and post graduate school with over $100k in debt. That is a house payment. How are you ever supposed to pay that off, buy an actual house and save for retirement?

Of course make sure that college is right for them. A degree that is useful in getting a job. There is nothing wrong with learning a trade either if that is the route the kid wants to go. The building trades are screaming for workers.