ABATTBQ11 said:

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aggie93 said:

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The current system has it where one kid goes to school and graduates debt free while the other graduates with 6 figure debt. Part of why the cost for that kid taking on the debt is so high is there is so much subsidizing of the other kids who go for free thus driving up the cost of those who pay "retail".

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This is not true...

I WAS that kid who got college for "free" through means based aid, and I'll tell you right now it did not come close to covering everything. I did the entire application process by myself, and I was well aware of all the costs and potential financial aid everywhere I applied as well as how much debt I'd have to take on for a degree. The are very few places that are going to give a full ride through purely means based aid. The vast majority will give some level of scholarships in their financial aid package, but that package also has you covering much of the cost through loan programs.

I only got through debt free because I went to A&M and got academic scholarships and scholarships through the Corps. Everywhere else I considered going I'd have had to take out loans in the mid 5 figures when it was all said and done, but that was 15+ years ago. There's nowhere outside maybe the Ivy League where you're going to have kids getting a free ride on means based aid while other kids rack up six figures in loans.

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Things have changed in the last 15 years. If you make less than about $70k as a family at A&M you are basically getting free tuition. Is everything free? No, but it's SIGNIFICANT assistance if you are lower middle class. Sorry but you really don't know what you are talking about. For many of the better schools they pay for room and board as well based on means and it goes well below Ivy Level.

BTW, my wife paid her way through A&M with almost no aid, just a small Pell Grant. She was First Gen from Small Town West Texas and her Dad made less than $20k per year as a Single Parent. She was 2nd in her Class of 63 students. They didn't give out nearly as much aid based on merit then.

It's been very awakening looking at college now with my 2 boys and if you are looking at 15 year old examples they might as well be 100 years. A lot has changed and continues to change.

BTW, kudos to you for working your tail off and getting it done.

Stat Monitor Repairman said:

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Gotta question this push for dual credit / CTE on a wide scale.

Lulls kids into a false sense that they doing college level work and when they get to college get their ass kicked with reality.

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There's a pretty wide gap in "college level" work.

Community colleges have a bunch of remedial classes, basically HS classes for college credit.

Lots of easy classes in community college compared to most 4 year universities. And then on that level, schools like Lamar are going to be easier than A&M. Even within schools, rec parks and tourism isn't engineering.

ts5641 said:

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How about we pay for their college if they spend two or four years in the military?

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I don't want anyone in THIS military just to get trained to be woke and hate America