Leaving for College
Dear Parent, As you know, college is well under way for your child. We here at the Struggling College Students of America realize that times are tough for you with the emotional loss and financial loss of your child's college experience. You know how hard it is when your first starting out. It can be really tough, facing a massive change that your child has gone through. I've often heard it compared to the change from crawling to walking. You first must take baby steps. Having the emotional loss of leaving his parents after relying on them for 18 years, plus attempting to meet new friends, surviving day to day with the $30 you gave him to live on for weeks can be tough. This is where we come in. The SCSA is a non-profit organization created and maintained by struggling college students with hope that with donations from you, they won't have to find a job. A job takes away precious study time as well as valuable social time from your struggling college student. A job brings more responsibilities for a student. It also takes up more time for a student. Imagine not seeing your child for three weeks, you invite him to come home for the following week, but he says "I'm sorry, I can't. I have to work." Not only will your donation allow him to come home, the right amount will buy him gasoline for the trip home! For $25, you could buy a student about three pizza's. $60 will provide dues for a social organization such as a fraternity or a sorority. A donation of $250 just might provide a burdened student with books for a semester. A $400 donation might cover a students car payment that he can't afford. A reasonable $8,000 donation will be greatly appreciated. It would almost cover room and board and tuition for a struggling college student at a small private university. Imagine the look on your child's face when he receives a check in the mail from the SCSA! His excitement just might make him want an extra serving of food at the universities cafeteria (or treat himself and his friends to some pizza with the $25 you gave him!).
He never dreamed of going to college because he thought it was too difficult. I contacted his County Social Worker and we sat down with the minor and developed a Transitional Independent Living Case Plan. He agreed to attend community college and live with his uncle. I made the decision to help this minor because he did not have any positive role models in his life.
One of the biggest issues that many students and parents have concerning college education is the cost. Due to the state of the economy, affording college has become very difficult. Fortunately, the government is able to provide financial assistance in addition to the University’s own financial aid. Case is a private institution which means that it costs more compared to a public college. The tuition for Case was approximately, $38,000 in 2007 not including living or book expenses. Even though there was a tuition rate increase for every following year. The only way I was able to afford the tuition at Case was because of the scholarship I earned. In addition, I received federal grants and a substantial amount of aid from the University. I did not have a free ride but I received a great deal of financial help to pay for my college education.
Imagine the senior year of high school when students are poised to enter college and become adults. It's a time of responsibility, of being on one's own, and of shaping lives by making daily decisions. One of the major decisions is where to attend college. Should a person stay close to home and attend an in-state school where people and even campuses are somewhat familiar? Or should the decision be to start a completely new chapter in one's life by attending a college farther away, with totally new challenges? I believe the answer is definitely to leave town.
... dollars aside from now until your future children determine if they would like to attend college or not. Is the ten dollars a week going to be worth it and are you going to be done paying for your college education as well? In the article, “America’s Most Overrated Product: The Bachelor’s Degree”, author Marty Nemko informs readers on aspects that are not commonly considered when pursuing higher education. Encourage that child to explore all of their options and inform them on not only the positive things you acquired from experiencing higher education, but the hidden down falls you dealt with like managing work loads and paying off debts. A student should be passionate about what they are learning and although it may not be in a classroom setting, sometimes choosing the path less traveled and not attending college can be the most rewarding experience known to man.
Imagine you worked your whole life to get into a good college but the only thing things stopping you was that you’re homeless. The number of homeless is growing number, there is a way to help. Students with temporary living situations and a 3.0 GPA should earn free college tuition. Children with temporary living situations should be able to earn free college tuition because they work hard for their GPA, education is very important, and because the parents are not financially stable.
In order to maintain a normal lifestyle, single mothers have to shoulder a lot of responsibilities- running errands and spending time with their kids, besides having to work for long durations at office. Statistically speaking, almost 38 out of every 100 single moms lie below the poverty level, which can be obviated if they possess a bachelor’s degree. For receiving proper education, women like these need financial aids to support themselves through undergraduate school. Thus, keeping in mind such conditions, certain college scholarships have been proposed to financially assist single mothers.
“Twelfth grade…amounts to a fidgety waiting period that practically begs for decent into debauchery and concludes in a big dumb party under a mirror ball that spins in place like the minds of those beneath it.” Essayist and novelist Walter Kirn, in his article “Class Dismissed”, uses statements such as this to attest his opinion that senior year should be removed in part—if not altogether—from the high school system. Kirn sees senior year as an unnecessary extension to the education of students when time is wasted or otherwise spent causing trouble. So completely does he believe this that he states the following: “… [seniors] rule, not because they’ve accomplished much… but because it’s tradition…” The work force or beginning higher education would be superior choices to the twelfth grade in his eyes. With the possible money saved in absence of grade twelve, there seems to be no issue with Kirn’s opinion. However, as a senior myself, I believe that Walter Kirn has not considered some important aspects of senior year that are more valuable than people realize.
Returning to College as an Adult Coming to college as an adult, we have many expectations and preconceptions of what college will or will not be. The expectations we have can influence our college life for the better or the worse. My experience since starting college has been an interesting one. People have misconceptions about college because they do not know what to expect. After doing some research, I have concluded that there are three major factors that are often misunderstood about college life.
For most families with teenagers applying for colleges there is one main question―what will it cost us? According to The College Board, the average cost of tuition and fees for the 2013–2014 school year was $30,094 at private colleges, $8,893 for state residents at public colleges, and $22,203 for out-of-state residents attending public universities. Although these numbers are averages, the actual costs of colleges are widely varied. A sad truth about this is that many students and their families don’t even know where all their money is going. Normally the money is paying for tuition; fees; housing and meals; books and school supplies; and personal and transportation expenses. As showed in the average cost of college, usually a school has a lower tuition for in-state residents and a vastly higher tuition for ou...
Single moms are the most affected and providing childcare on campus is very beneficial to them. More than 4 million women attend two-year public institutions or community colleges, and more than 1 million of them are mothers. Many student mothers struggle to stay enrolled all the way through graduation. Most of them are more likely to drop out of school, and the reason is because most often there is no affordable or available childcare and the students have limited financial resources. The average daycare center cost for an infant is higher than a year’s tuition and fees at a public college. It makes affordable on-campus child care a necessary provision for students. Childcare on campus helps to contribute to the learning
Education comes at a high price for this generation and not just financially. Going to college can give students plenty of debt with no promise of a job in return, which can set a student father back on their course of life. Young adults trying to start their lives by going to college encounter many setbacks. Today the average cost for a private university is $25...
The cost of out of state is too much to be a full time college student. Although some families make an average amount of money that would seem to not need any help with their college funds, their finances really do. My family is a prime example; we have five kids in my family including myself. The two oldest kids, my older brother and I both attend college and mine happens to be out of state. Take a look at the numbers; it takes a toll on what a single parent spends per year. My father works very hard for his money and I don't want him to use his money on me getting an education and cheerleading for an awesome college. I want it to m...
Returning back to school was a very natural decision for me. It seemed to be the next logical step in my personal and career goals. My ultimate goal is to be happy and healthy and be a good provider and role model. With that set aside for now, my next goal is to be financially stable and able to provide for my family in ways that my family was not able to provide for me. I definitely expect to work for what I want and earn every bit of it. The most recent motivator was that my company was willing to contribute a huge chunk of the yearly tuition, therefore removing some financial burden. This makes me feel like they truly care about my future and they really want to see me succeed.
College is a privilege for young adults but is also a very expensive journey. In 2013, my mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. My father had passed away in 2005, so I have lived in a single parent home who played the role of both parents. My mother's multiple sclerosis was deterring her health and was sent to numerous neurologists and hospital visits that become negatively financially impacting. Soon after she began treatment, the hospital she worked for closed the rehabilitation unit where she was employed as a nurse. My mother tried to keep our family financially afloat but couldn't handle the stress of her new jobs, and was eventually unemployed. At this time, I was only 15 so I decided that I would work odd jobs until I was 16
A new experience, a change from the norm, looking out for myself, and living on my own: for me this is college. The transition of high school student to college seemed immensely overwhelming and even a bit scary. The shift opened a can of worms and created challenges, both good and bad, behind every corner. Due to the change of scene, I am now dealing with the everyday acceptance of the greater world around me: the town, the people and my new life.