Does everyone have the opportunity to go to college?

[ggnl]

Originally posted by: CPA
Here's a question: Should college be affordable for everyone? I don't think it's a right for everyone to have the chance to go to college. Yes, it's in the best interests for colleges to make it available as long as the college can afford it fiscally (ie, scholarships, loans, stipends, etc), but it is not and should not be viewed as something that is a right for everyone.

I believe everyone is entitled to equal opportunity to lead a productive life. Whether or not you take advantage of that opportunity is up to you, but the opportunity should at least exist. In that sense, I think everyone should be able to afford some type of higher education, and if they can't afford it on their own, then they should receive assistance.

A kid doesn't get to choose their parents. I was born into a poor single-parent household. I relied on government assistance to go to school. I believe everyone has the right to get a higher education if they wish to do so.

 

[oboeguy]

Originally posted by: iamme

Originally posted by: oboeguy
I'd like to say you guys spend a week, heck, a day in the South Bronx (for example) and tell me that everyone there can "afford" to go to college, and how "fortunate" they are doesn't matter because they can find out about loans and grants. I think most of you would change your mind pretty quickly.

i sort of go back on what i said earlier and partially agree with oboeguy.

one huge disadvantage kids have, who come from low-income areas, is that their K-12 education sucks. even if they get into a college, they are behind everyone eductionally. in these poor areas, a "smart" kid would probably be considered just average in a middle-upper class area.

Pretty good for a Pistons fan. (and I'm with you, Pistons are winning this year too )

BTW, I agree with a poster above that sometimes going to CC first can be a good option for some people.

 

[iamme]

Originally posted by: oboeguy

Originally posted by: iamme

Originally posted by: oboeguy
I'd like to say you guys spend a week, heck, a day in the South Bronx (for example) and tell me that everyone there can "afford" to go to college, and how "fortunate" they are doesn't matter because they can find out about loans and grants. I think most of you would change your mind pretty quickly.

i sort of go back on what i said earlier and partially agree with oboeguy.

one huge disadvantage kids have, who come from low-income areas, is that their K-12 education sucks. even if they get into a college, they are behind everyone eductionally. in these poor areas, a "smart" kid would probably be considered just average in a middle-upper class area.

Pretty good for a Pistons fan. (and I'm with you, Pistons are winning this year too )

BTW, I agree with a poster above that sometimes going to CC first can be a good option for some people.

:laugh:

 

[isasir]

Originally posted by: oboeguy
I'd like to say you guys spend a week, heck, a day in the South Bronx (for example) and tell me that everyone there can "afford" to go to college, and how "fortunate" they are doesn't matter because they can find out about loans and grants. I think most of you would change your mind pretty quickly.

They have the opportunity to go the college. The problem though is convincing them that college is a viable option for them, especially when no one else in their family has ever been to college.

Like a lot of things in life, college is an investment that they need to see will pay for itself in the future. Instead of spending $25k in loans for a nice car, they need to spend it on an education.

 

[Crab cake]

Everyone has the opportunity to go to college. Every parent is responsible for that opportunity. It is part of the cost of raising a family!

 

[Whisper]

Originally posted by: isasir

Originally posted by: oboeguy
I'd like to say you guys spend a week, heck, a day in the South Bronx (for example) and tell me that everyone there can "afford" to go to college, and how "fortunate" they are doesn't matter because they can find out about loans and grants. I think most of you would change your mind pretty quickly.

They have the opportunity to go the college. The problem though is convincing them that college is a viable option for them, especially when no one else in their family has ever been to college.

Like a lot of things in life, college is an investment that they need to see will pay for itself in the future. Instead of spending $25k in loans for a nice car, they need to spend it on an education.

Exactly. It's not that these kids couldn't afford college, or find some way of attending, it's that they don't see the worth behind even trying. No one's been telling them year after year that higher education is an investment, that there are scholarships available, that anyone can handle the workload with the right amount of dedication, etc. They either don't hear anything, or instead are surrounded by people telling them that school is a worthless waste of time (parents included in some cases, I'm sure) and that they need to find ways to earn money immediately.

This is especially true if their parents are impoverished. They've been the "have nots" for their entire lives. If you live like that for long enough, you want to have things that other people do, and so you focus more on finding a job and securing those things immediately, rather than trying to follow through with some obscure, long-term investment/educational plan.

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: ggnl

Originally posted by: CPA
Here's a question: Should college be affordable for everyone? I don't think it's a right for everyone to have the chance to go to college. Yes, it's in the best interests for colleges to make it available as long as the college can afford it fiscally (ie, scholarships, loans, stipends, etc), but it is not and should not be viewed as something that is a right for everyone.

I believe everyone is entitled to equal opportunity to lead a productive life. Whether or not you take advantage of that opportunity is up to you, but the opportunity should at least exist. In that sense, I think everyone should be able to afford some type of higher education, and if they can't afford it on their own, then they should receive assistance.

A kid doesn't get to choose their parents. I was born into a poor single-parent household. I relied on government assistance to go to school. I believe everyone has the right to get a higher education if they wish to do so.

replace right with privalege and I agree with you. K-12 education is a right. Higher Education is not and should not.

 

[Rumpltzer]

My parents didn't help me pay diddly squat for college. It actually helped. I was able to declare financial independence from them and the Federal government showered me with Pell Grants and low-interest loan offers.

I accrued $18K of debt going to UIUC (out of state) for four years of undergrad. I didn't need to take out all of those loans, but I chose to live comfortably.

If I would have gone to school in Florida, it would have been free.

 

[IgorFL]

My parents also didn't pay one cent for me to attend college... and I went to a prestigious Top 20 liberal arts school that cost over $30,000 a year.

The trick was I studied like a demon in high school, had a special talent (I was the top rated pianist in the state of Florida coming out of high school), worked 3 work-study jobs, and took out loans for anything that scholarships didn't cover.

I'm just going to have the loans paid off at the end of December, even though I've been in graduate school the past 4 years since graduating.

Hard work can overcome a lot of obstacles.

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: armatron

I've got a friend who's dad makes $70k and won't give him a dime. He gets no aid because of it and has to pay out of pocket basically (or at least what HOPE doesn't cover)

and he'll be a better man for it, getting a free hand out doesn't teach a man to fish ( i am the king of mixted metaphors at work)