Guest Post: Is it really impossible to work a summer job to pay for college? By Manuel Amaya

Before I tell this story I want people to know where I come from and how I got to be in my current position. My name is Manuel Amaya. I was born and raised inside the city of Washington DC. I come from a non-Christian home and at age 10 my parents separated. My parents have never really had money but they worked endless hours to make it through each month. The first time I stepped into a plane I looked to left and fell in love with airplanes and the idea of being a pilot. I never had a desire to make that dream come true until February of my senior year of high school. I was told back then that wouldn’t be able to do it, but now I’m two semesters away from receiving and degree and a few flights away from receiving a private pilot.

 

Well we all know college isn’t cheap especially not the aviation field. I can remember being a freshman and being introduced to massive amount of numbers for flying cost. In flight training, you start out earning your private pilot certificate, then your instrument rating, followed by your commercial pilot certificate. The cost for flight was Five thousand five hundred dollar lab fee for private flight (Which isn’t enough), Nine thousand dollars for instrument flight and a total of twenty four thousand for commercial flight.  Now Liberty’s tuition numbers were just as massive so I had no idea how it would be possible to pay for college let alone flight school.

So I decided to get a summer job. Now I didn’t want just an ordinary job. I wanted a job in the airport. I figured since aviation is my field of study why not get involved? So I went job hunting during school and by the grace of God I got a job working for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) they own both Washington Dulles (IAD) and Reagan National airport (DCA).  I worked for the airport manager’s staff of Washington Dulles airport. My job description was massive. I worked with every airline that Washington Dulles has operating, I worked with TSA, I worked inside the Ramp Tower, I worked with the United States Customs just to make sure everything was operating smoothly to ensure that passengers would have a memorable visit and a less stressful traveling experience. The amount I made that summer was $10,916.80. I was able to pay off flight school, some tuition, and textbooks and had more than enough to enjoy for myself. It was the perfect summer for me I made new friends saw some amazing planes and made Dulles Airport my second home.

During my last days of the job, the Hub Director of United Mainline and Express called me into his office. He talked about my amazing work ethics, the love I seemed to have toward my job and the amount of people I helped. He then offered me a position to work for him. He gave me his card and all his personal information and asked to me to call him for next summer. My last of work was very bittersweet. I left some amazing friends behind and I was definably going to miss seeing incredible planes such as the 747.

I returned to school for the 2010-2011 school year and stay in contact with the United Airline’s hub director and the airport manager of Dulles Airport. When April 1^st came around, I immediately called the Hub director of United Airlines. He offered me a job as a Station office control agent. I had no clue what that meant. When I first started training, he placed me as a ramp agent. I got to work with United Express’ puddle jumping planes. The CRJ 200’s and the 700. The EMB 145 and 170. The Q400 and the Saab 340’s. I got to Marshall in planes push them back, I got to load bags on the planes. Ensure each passenger and boarding pass and talk to some awesome pilots. After a month of being a ramp agent the hub director wanted me to work in the Station Office Command Center (SOC). The SOC is the brain behind the operations. At Washington Dulles Airport they give every plane clearance to pushback, they assign parking to every gate and they deal with emergencies. My job description was basically this:

• Ensures effective coordination and communication between station operations control center, ramp service and customer service.*
• Ensures compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, policies and procedures, and collective bargaining agreements in station operations.*
• Advises Hub Director with respect to all employee issues.*
• Coordinates management actions with other departments, as required.
• Coordinates employee training and orientation.
• Assists Hub Director in preparation of annual budget and monthly budget variance reports.
• Develops employee work schedules and job assignments.*
• Participates in the development of new policies and procedures for meeting station goals and objectives.
• Attendance is considered an essential responsibility.*
• Adherence to all Company policies and procedures.*

The job was highly stressful but it was an amazing experience.  That summer I made about $26,000. I quickly became the SOC manager and I was the youngest dispatcher/airline operator that Dulles Airport has ever had. I just want to thank the Lord for the privileges he has given me in the airline/aviation industry and the money he has blessed me with to pay for college. I pray that he keeps on providing for all my needs and I’m thankful that he has gotten me to the point of my life where something that seemed impossible 3 years ago is soon to become a reality.

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Thanks Manny for sharing with us your testimony of how with hard work, good work ethic, and of course, God’s provision you were able to pay for the majority of your schooling through working summer jobs. This shows that it is indeed possible to pay for school if you are willing to put forth the effort to work a job in order to do so. Manny didn’t have any special connections, he was recognized for his hard work and good work ethic. He was then rewarded by a higher paying position. I had the privilege of participating in Manny’s flight training for 2 weeks in January 2012, and I look forward to seeing where the lord is going to take him.

 

College Done Differently Pt 5: Is College for everyone?

I Spent 6 years in college completing a 5 year 207 credit hour undergrad degree. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in college. I learned a whole lot, received valuable training which I am using today in many areas of my life, and I didn’t go deeply in debt to do it. If you asked me if I would go back and do it the same way, I would probably tell you yes. College grew and stretched me in many ways, for which I am thankful. But is college for everyone? Is college a normal part of life that everyone must have in their lives otherwise they are missing out? Is it ok for a young person to consider not going to college? To answer this question we must look back to the second post in this series which deals with determining its purpose. In that post we concluded that the reason why a person should go to college is to prepare for a career.

Careers That Don’t Require a Four Year Degree

But do all careers require a college degree in order to prepare for them? An article on www.foxbusiness.com entitled: “Eleven Well-Paying Jobs that Don’t Require a 4-Year Degree” the article lists eleven jobs that pay a decent salary, that do not require someone to go to college to obtain a 4 year degree. I will list the professions with the median salary as well as the high end salary for some of the professions after I list the median:

1. Electrical technicians $46,000
2. Radiologic technician $52,210
3. Dental hygienist  $66,570
4. Graphic designer $42,400-$95,000
5. Registered nurse $62,450
6. Paralegal $46,210-$73,450
7. Solar energy consultant $50,479
8. Police and detectives $60,000
9. Hospitality managers $45,800-$100,000
10. Funeral director $52,210
11. Computer support specialist $44,300

A few other occupations that do not necessarily require a four year degree are pilot, mechanic, air traffic controller, construction, carpenter, Fire Fighter, EMT/EMS and many others. It’s not that these careers don’t require some form of training, of course they do. But for those who want to go into these careers, preparation/training for these might look completely different, and be significantly cheaper than pursuing a four year college degree.

Also, trade schools and apprenticeship programs may offer the adequate preparation for your desired field of choice at a much cheaper cost than obtaining a 4 year degree at a college. You should always do your homework to find out what the most effective and cost effective route to obtain the necessary training for your career of choice.

MYTH: YOU HAVE TO GO TO COLLEGE AND GRADUATE TO BE SUCCESSFUL

Unfortunately these days many well meaning parents, guidance counselors, and other advice giving adults are telling high school seniors that the only way that they will be successful in life is to attend and graduate from a four year college/university. While college can provide many beneficial opportunities, and earning a degree does open some doors, it does not automatically guarantee vocational success, nor is it the only path to obtaining such. The following is a list of individuals that either never went to college, or dropped out prior to completion taken from an article entitled “The World’s Most Successful College Dropouts” on www.businessinsider.com.  I will list their name, how much time they spent in college, and what they were successful at.

1. Paul Allen, 2 years of college, co-founder of Microsoft
2. Richard Branson, never finished high school, started Virgin Atlantic airways, Virgin records, and many other companies
3. Michael Dell, Started Dell Inc. while in college, and dropped out to run it
4. Larry Ellison, dropped out of two colleges, Started Oracle software Co
5. David Geffen, never attended college, started Asylum Records, also founded Dreamworks with Steven Spielberg
6. Mike Hudack, never finished high school or went to college, started Blip.tv
7. Steve Jobs, one semester of college, Founder and CEO of Apple Inc.
8. Dean Kamen, dropped out after 2 years of college, holds over 80 US patents including the Segway
9. David Karp, never finished high school, founded Tumblr
10. Ralph Lauren, two years of college, founded Polo and Ralph Lauren clothing companies
11. Jack Taylor, dropped out of college in WWII to become a Navy fighter pilot, founded Enterprise Rent-a-car
12. Mark Zuckerberg, dropped out of Harvard, founded Facebook

These are only a handful of individuals who either never finished college, or never went at all, who became very successful in the business world. While success is certainly not defined by how much we make, the myth says that in order to obtain a higher paying career, you need to earn a college degree. This is certainly not the case, as the individuals mentioned above are either multimillionaires or billionaires.

Again, I believe that it is important that we emphasize the fact that true; lasting success is not at defined by how much money we make, or how much fame we accrue for ourselves. Rather, success is found in our faithfulness to God, wherever He has called us to live, doing whatever He has called us to do so that his name may be glorified. John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Why else might college not be necessary?

Up to this point, we have looked at different career options that pay well and don’t require a college degree. Also, we have seen several great examples of people who have careers which earn much higher incomes than those who have jobs which need a degree. So what are some other reasons why some may not need to go to college?

Since the purpose of college is to prepare for a specific career, what about young women who believe that God is leading them to marry and be a keepers of the home? If this is what they believe that this is what God is calling them to do, then is it really necessary for them to earn a degree at a four year college? The role of a homemaker is incredibly important. A woman who is a stay at home mom has a more than fulltime workload with the responsibilities that go along with this worthy calling. While those who spend their lives as homemakers can benefit from some of the opportunities that college offers, it still may not be the most effective or financially prudent way of obtaining the experience necessary for this valuable vocation.

Also, I believe that it is important to look at the fact that everyone is different. We all learn in different ways and at different paces. Some people thrive in the high pressure found in the scholastic environment of the University while others are not cut out for the academic rigor of these scholarly institutions. Since we are all created differently, we cannot fit everybody into the same mold. Just because college is a good thing for some, doesn’t mean that it is for everyone. While some use this as an excuse for academic laziness-doing just enough to barely get by, others legitimately find themselves struggling to make it in an environment that they are genuinely not cut out for because of the pressure from others that everybody HAS to go to college.

Summery

I believe that it is important that any person who is considering going to college consider whether it is something that they are cut out for. Is it really the best way to prepare for the future that you believe that God is calling you to? Or are there more effective, cheaper routes of doing so. If college is the best way to prepare for the future that you believe God is leading you in, do your best to figure out the most cost effective route possible, accruing as little debt as possible along the way. Also, make sure that your reasons for choosing a college are legitimate ones.

This concludes the content portion of this series: “College Done Differently”. Over the next week or so I will conclude with just one of many tentemonies that could be shared about how college can be gone about in a smarter way. Tune in next time to hear about how one young man did not rely on debt to take care of his expensive college education.

 

College Done Differently Pt 4: Choosing a College

Paying for college isn’t easy. In the last post we looked at whose responsibility it is to pay for college. We also looked at different ways that people can go about paying for college and we determined that student loans are not an option for the person who doesn’t want to spend time in slavery. Just like paying for college isn’t easy, choosing a college has with it, its challenges as well. As it is with paying for college, the ultimate human responsibility for choosing a college lies with the individual who is going. It is my purpose in this post to look at some factors to keep in mind that will help in selecting the best college for each student.

As in any choice in life, there may be good motivations and bad motivations as to why people select specific colleges to attend. Some not so good reasons for choosing a college include:
 Friends are attending. It is amazing how many students actually choose a college based upon the fact that their friends are attending that school. Another poor reason, which is even worse, is that some students choose a school because their boyfriend or girlfriend is going there. College selection based upon this sets the student up for disaster, since their reason for being there is a person or a group of people. Should something change in the friendships or their relationship, the student may be left at a dead end, since they had a false understanding of what college is all about.

 School name. Some students choose to attend a certain college because it is a popular school. Some choose to go to Virginia Tech because they are Hokie fans, others UNC because they are Tar Heel fans, others Duke because they are Blue Devil fans, etc. Choosing a school simply because it is the big, popular school is never a good idea. Depending on the degree of study, there may be schools out there that have much better, less expensive programs for the student’s desired major.

 Other pressures. Many times students find themselves going to a college (because of some outside influence) which may not have been their best choice. Some parents are so loyal to their alma mater, that they put enormous pressure on their children to attend that school. Other times a student may not have any idea what they are going to prepare for, but since it is expected that they have to go to college as soon as they graduate high school, they end up choosing a school and enrolling.

So, if those are some wrong reasons to choose a College, what are some things that we should be thinking about in selecting a college? Before we get into that, we must remember what the purpose of college is, as addressed in the second post in this series. The main purpose of going to college is to prepare for a specific career. So with this in mind, let’s take a look at some of the things to consider when selecting a college.
 Degree program. If you are going to college to prepare for a specific career, then you should compare many of the different options that are out there to figure out which college will offer the best program in your field of study. As stated before, just because a school has a well known name, or is an Ivy League school doesn’t mean that it will give you the best preparation for your field of choice. Having the name of a prestigious University on your degree does not necessarily land you a great job in your field, neither does it mean that you are adequately prepared for it.

 Location. In many cases there is a good college offering a quality degree program in the field of study which the student desires to prepare for, located within commuting distance. While this is not always the case in every situation, based on where the student lives, if a student lives at home and commutes, there are two big advantages. First of all commuting will allow the student to cut down on living expenses as that is taken care of by living at home. Secondly, many colleges offer instate tuition, which significantly reduces the cost of college for those who are residents of state in which the college is located.

 Community College. Many times a student can attend a community college for a year or two in order to take all of their general education classes such as Math, English, Literature, History, etc. If a student is not sure what they plan to major in, it might be a good idea to attend a community college for a year or two which may allow them time to figure out what career they plan to prepare for, while knocking out all of their general education courses (which are required for any four year degree completion) at a much cheaper cost. An article on http://www.collegeboard.com entitled: “What It Costs to Go to College” states the following when comparing prices:

>>In 2011-12, public four-year colleges charge, on average, $8,244 in tuition and fees for in-state students. The average surcharge for full-time out-of-state students at these institutions is $12,526.
>>Private nonprofit four-year colleges charge, on average, $28,500 per year in tuition and fees.
>>Public two-year colleges charge, on average, $2,963 per year in tuition and fees.

 Worldview. Finally, one other area that cannot be left out is considering the worldview of the college which you are planning to attend. While a student might be planning to attend a university to prepare for a career, and rightfully so, the college or university might have another agenda. Educators realize that during the ages of 18-25, people are at one of the most impressionable points in their lives. They are leaving the environment in which they have grown up, in which up to this point their outlook on life, and their worldview has been shaped. Sadly, since many young people by this age have not internalized much of what they believe about important issues in life because they haven’t studied these things out for themselves. Therefore they are very easily swayed in areas of morality, politics, religion, etc.

Educators realize this, and many times seize this opportunity to persuade their eager young pupils to their religious (or antireligious), political, ethical, and moral points of view. It may be a good idea to select a college with a worldview that it likeminded to the one of the student. Am I saying it is wrong to attend a secular university? No. what I am saying though is that if a student decides to attend a university that has an opposing worldview to their own, they better know what they are up against. Unfortunately many students go off to liberal universities and come back persuaded to believe a worldview contrary to the one that they once claimed to follow. While part of the responsibility for this lies in the student, as we are all accountable for our actions, much of the responsibility for this lies with their parents. All too often Christian parents are trying to avoid their God given responsibility of teaching their children by trying to pass it on to the schools and the church. However, God did not command either schools or churches to train up children in God’s ways, he commands it of parents. This is all that will be said on this topic, as it would require a whole new series to address this problem.

While this list of things to think about in selecting a college is by no means exhaustive, it does give some important things to keep in mind during this process. It is important to seek guidance, do your homework on various colleges, don’t rush in making the decision to select a college, and if at all possible, stay out of debt while paying for college. However, a very important question that very few people seem to consider these days is: “is college for everyone?” In the next post I will attempt to answer this question and hopefully challenge you to not simply do things because that is what everyone else does, or because it is what is expected of you. Instead, think through things. Have a plan. And most importantly, seek what God would have you do in every decision that you make.

 

College Done Differently Pt 3: Paying for College

In the previous post we looked at nailing down the purpose of going to college. After dispelling some faulty views of why a person should go to college, we determined that the main purpose in going to college is to prepare for a specific vocational field. I believe it is important to establish this because understanding its purpose will help us as we look at the next three college related topics: paying for college; choosing a college; and answering the question “is college for everyone?”

Who is responsible for paying for college?

 In our entitlement minded culture there is an increasing expectancy of graduating high school seniors that their parents should foot the bill for college. It is really the parents’ responsibility to pay for their children’s college education? No. if parents are financially able to help their children pay for college, and they are willing to do so, great! However they are under no obligation to do so. If the student is taking their parents’ offer to help in paying for college, they should also gratefully seek out their guidance as to decisions regarding which school to attend, fully realizing that their parents are under no obligation to help. Any financial help from parents in paying for the higher education of their children is a privilege, not an entitlement.

 Another false idea of who should pay for college…which again is born out of an entitlement mentality, is that it’s the government’s responsibility. In October 2011, while visiting NYC, I had the opportunity to see with my own eyes the chaos known as “Occupy Wall Street” while there were many issues being protested, one of them was the issue of student loans. Thousands of college students and college grads held up signs telling the government to forgive their student debt. What was actually going on was that they did not want to take responsibility for the disastrous consequences caused by their own unwise personal financial decisions, which they alone are responsible for. It is not up to the government to pay for college.

 So whose responsibility is it? Well, if the purpose of college is to prepare for a career, then the person who is choosing which career to prepare for and where they are going to prepare for it, is the one who is responsible to pay for it.

How should we go about paying for college?

So you are probably asking, how on earth is a 17-18 year old straight out of high school going to be able to pay for college? I’m so glad you asked! Let’s take a look at some of the options on the table.

 The first option is one which I do not believe is a financially prudent one, and it’s popularity is growing at an alarming rate. I am speaking of using student loans to pay for college. According to an article in the New York Times entitled: “College Graduates’ Debt Burden Grew, Yet Again, in 2010” By Tamar Lewin, 67% of the college graduating class of 2010 graduated with school debt. Lewin also noted that “the average debt of college graduates is $25,250, which is up 5 percent from the previous year.”

While $25,000 in school debt is the average, I personally know very many college students and college grads with 40, 50, 60,70 thousand dollars in school debt. Two of my good friends and coworkers each have over $200,000 in school debt between them and their spouses, and they aren’t even finished with their undergrad degrees!

I do not believe that this is a wise way to pay for school. While the Bible does not specifically deal with college debt (since that was not an issue in those days) it does have quite a bit to say about debt in general, which school debt obviously falls under. Here are some scriptures that deal with debt: Ps 37:21a says: “The wicked borrows but does not pay back,” Prov 22:7 says: “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.” Prov 22:26-27 says: “Be not one of those who give pledges, who put up security for debts. If you have nothing with which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you?” Eccl 5:5 “It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.” These are but a few of the verses that speak on debt. Clearly it is not biblical to go into debt…including for an education. If you are considering going into debt to pay for college, either yours or your child’s I would strongly encourage you NOT to go into financial slavery. If you are already in bondage, I want to give you the same advice that Solomon gives to those who cosign for debt, in Proverbs 6:1-6

 Another option is to serve in the military first. I obtained the following facts from http://www.military.com about the GI Bill. First of all, the GI bill is not considered to be federal financial aid. Therefore you are still eligible for financial aid such as the Pell grant, academic scholarships etc. Also, with the GI Bill a full-time student will get up to $1426 a month while a half-time student will only get half that amount. Four months (a semester’s length) as a full time student can get 5,704. That, plus any other financial aid should greatly reduce the cost of college.

 Parental assistance. As mentioned before, it is NOT the parent’s obligation to pay for their children’s college, however, if they are willing and able to help financially, by all means, accept their assistance.

 Government assistance. Same as with parental assistance, while the government is not under any obligation to pay for your schooling, if they do offer some form of assistance, by all means, take advantage of it! Make sure that you fill out your FAFSA form at the beginning of each semester to see how much financial aid that you qualify for. Also, make sure that you check into any other scholarships that you might be eligible to receive.

 This last option will require a whole new way of thinking for some, so fasten your seatbelt! Get ready to be challenged to do something different and difficult. If you are planning to go off to college, is it absolutely critical that you go right out of high school? I understand that what I am about to propose will not be possible in every situation, but I would venture to guess that it would be feasible for at least 70% of those considering college. Instead of going off right away, live at home for 2-4 years and work. Living at home will cut down on the vast majority of expenses, so the person should be able to save most of what he or she makes. Also, if one does not know what he or she wants to study in college, perhaps they can figure this out while working after high school so that they do not go to college aimlessly and without a clue.

Let’s crunch some numbers! With minimum wage at about $7 per hour, one year at a minimum wage job working $40 hours a week would bring in…$14,560! Living at home, between tithe and little day to day expenses, a young person in this situation should not have to spend more than $4,560 a year. This leave $10,000 saved up in a year! 4 years = $40,000 cash in the bank for college! And if mom and dad are well off and generous and say to you: “save every dollar of your paycheck, we will take care of even the day to day stuff,” even after the minimum 10% tithe, that’s still $13,104 a year and a whopping $52,416 after 4 years! Is that a lot of money in the bank or what!! Time to get even more ambitious! Let’s say the high school grad decides to work 2-4 minimum wage jobs totaling 60 hours a week (which is fully possible for most 17-22 year olds) a year’s earnings would be $21,840! And 4 years (after tithe) would be $78,624!!! Don’t tell me you can’t pay for college with that (even after taxes) and still have a sizable savings left over! Living at home before college to save up money would eliminate the need to live at home indefinitely afterwards so that the grad can barely make it while he or she struggles their way out of debt slavery.

Don’t get stuck in debt slavery because of school loans, simply because everyone else does it. Explore all your options available to pay for school without having to take out loans. Finally, don’t be afraid of a little hard work right out of high school. Devise a plan for why you want to go to college, and work hard to make the best use of your time and money. Don’t miss the next post, where we will look at some parameters to look at when choosing a college.

 

College Done Differently Pt 2: What is the purpose of College?

In the last post we were challenged to think about why we do what we do…to always ask the question “why?” instead of being content with doing what we do because everyone else does it, or because that is what is expected of us. So if we are going to ask “why?” in relation to college, we must start with asking: “what is the purpose of college?” I believe that if we can sort this out in our minds, and have a concrete answer to this question, it will change the way that we “do college” and hopefully make better use of our time and money in the area of higher education.

When dealing with the “purpose” of college, we must distinguish between “purpose” and “benefits”. Benefits of college would be the positive aspects or the advantages of attending whereas the “purpose” of college has to do with the overall “why” do we go. Benefits of college might include things like: to broaden one’s exposure to various career choices; to better understand your own interests; to increase networking opportunities; to gain valuable life experience; learn valuable life lessons; to learn responsibility, etc. These are reasons which some give for going to college, and they would be considered benefits. However none of these would be considered to be a “Purpose” of college.

In an article in The Washington Post entitled: “The Purpose of College in 2011”, Christopher Howard, the President of Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia states the following: “The central task of an educator is to ensure that students are learning how to make sense of the world and to understand their place in it. They must do so in order to adapt to change.” Wow! Based upon this philosophy, it is the environment that makes the man. Since our world is changing, we must simply adapt to conform to it…therefore, College is place where we can learn how to adapt, according to Howard. However, this philosophy on the purpose of college is coming from a worldview that flies in the face of scripture. Biblically, it is not the environment that makes the man, but rather the man that makes the environment. We as believers are called to be salt and light in our world, not being conformed to this world, bit being transformed by the renewing of our minds…thus changing the world, not allowing the world to change us. Therefore I would reject this as a valid option as the “purpose” for college.

Another “purpose” given by some is that it is about having fun. It is sad that this supposed “purpose” needs addressing, but given the frequency that I have come in contact with this idea (both stated verbally or lived out by actions) it seems as if this is a prevalent idea as well. I remember back to 2006 as my second year of college was coming to a close, a friend of my informed me that he was probably transferring from our small Bible college to a much larger Christian University 2 hours north. When I inquired as to why, his response was “well, there is nothing to do at our school…and this larger university has much more to do.” He went on to inform me that “the purpose of college is to have fun! And there are more fun things to do at the big university.” Sad to say he is not the only one whom I have heard this statement from. There have been several others that I have met through the years who echo my friend’s words “college is about having fun!” Unfortunately many of the colleges and universities out there are picking up on this, constantly adding new and more expensive attractions and highlighting them in order to make the school more appealing to potential students. Am I against having fun while in college? Certainly not. However, I am against students wasting tens of thousands of dollars for the primary purpose of having fun.

So, what, do you ask, is the purpose of college? While college has several benefits, I believe that the main purpose of a college education is to prepare someone for specific career fields which require special college level training in order for the employee to effectively fulfill. A degree is then awarded to authenticate the fact that this person has indeed received a higher level of training in their specific field.

So why is this so important? Does it really matter what we believe the purpose of college is? Yes! Understanding the overall purpose of college will affect a person’s decision as to when they should go. Since the purpose of college is to prepare one for as specific type of career, if a person does not have any idea what career they plan of taking, they do not know what type of program they will need to major in in college, or if their career will even require a college education at all. If this is the case, it may not be wise for a student to go to college until they have an idea what they are preparing for. This will be discussed further in the next post. Understanding the overall purpose of college will also affect how a person operates while attending college. If college is all about having fun, then they will more than likely spend their free time playing video games and watching movies into the wee hours of the morning, or fill it up with social activities while their grades plummet and classes are slept through. However, if a student understands that his purpose for attending college is to prepare for a vocation, then there is a goal to which they can discipline themselves to work towards.

If we understand the purpose of college, we will be able to go about college selection in a much more intentional and focused way. Not only will it affect our college selection, it will also help us to be more intentional about how we go about financing our college education. Don’t miss the next post in the series, as I will be dealing with the all important topic of paying for college.

 

College Done Differently Pt 1: Where do I begin?

“Oh no! it’s almost January! That means that I only have between 4 and 5 months until I graduate high school! All of my classmates know where they are going to go to college in the fall but I have no idea! I better get busy and figure out where I am going to go to school, I mean everyone is supposed to know where they are going to go to college before they graduate high school right? So much pressure! Everyone is asking me what I want to study in college, and what I want to do for a career, but I don’t really know yet. Something must be wrong with me, because I don’t know where I’m going to college and I don’t know what I want to study. Well, I better pick a school and go anyway, because everyone is supposed to go to college right out of high school right?”

“Alright! August is right around the corner! I’m looking forward to traveling all the way to Blacksburg Virginia to go to Virginia Tech! Go Hokies!!! I absolutely loved the school when I visited last spring. On top of that, I just got my acceptance letter in the mail last week telling me that I was accepted in the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at VT to begin my degree in Molecular Biology! One step closer to beginning my career as a molecular biologist. However this is one nagging question gnawing at me constantly. HOW IN THE WORLD AM I GOING TO PAY FOR THIS DEGREE!?!?!? I have $5,300 in savings and that won’t even cover half of my first semester! Even after my financial aid package it still doesn’t cover the tuition and room & board for the fall. Hmmm, I guess I’ll have to bight the bullet, take out a tone of student loans and just head there this fall…and pay for most of my four years through student loans. After all, that’s how everyone does it, right?”

“I can’t believe my sophomore year is almost over! One and a half more months and I’ll be a Junior! Well, I hope so. After all, that is what I said this time last year, before I realized that my overactive social life caused my grades to suffer to the point of failing several classes. Ok, so maybe I do stay up late playing video games, watching movies and just goofing off with friends. 3am isn’t that late right? I mean, it’s not my fault that they put classes at 8am. I know many classes have papers due on Monday but come on! I can’t miss the parties and the other social events on the weekends. But that is what college is all about…having fun right?”

“I’ve thought about going to college, but I don’t know what I would study. What if there are different options for training for a career? I don’t know how well I would do either. I always tried so hard at my school work in high school, but I barely seemed to be able to make it. As far back as I remember, I have always struggled academically. Well, I guess I should go to college anyway. After all, I’ll be a failure if I don’t right? Doesn’t everyone have to go to college?

At this point you may be wondering where on earth I am coming from. Am I against going to college? As a college graduate and college teacher, I can assure you that that’s certainly not the case. I believe that college is important for some, depending on what career path they plan on taking. However, I am concerned that like in many other areas, when it comes to decisions relating to college, we are content to just do whatever everyone else does simply because that’s what is expected of us. We go through life like Gomer Pile, going to college right after high school (whether we know what we want to study or not) because that’s what everyone else does, we waste a whole lot of time goofing off while we are there because that’s what everyone else does, and on top of that, we decide to go deep into debt to pay for it, again, because that’s what everyone else does.

It is my challenge to you to not simply make decisions simply because that’s what everyone else does. Think for yourself! Question why we do what we do. In the coming posts, we will take a closer look at the purpose for college; things to think about relating to how to pay for college; what to think about when choosing a college; and finally we will pose a question that raises controversy in our culture: “is college for everyone?” stay tuned! Don’t miss a single post as we look further at college done differently.