Funding education: An alternative viewpoint

I've realized more and more over the past few weeks of how many people complain about the cost of higher education. And to some degree, I'm right there complaining with them. College is expensive, and very nearly out of reach for a lot of people.

But honestly, I'm rather tired of hearing these complaints. Why? Because I go to a university that costs me about $10,000 per academic year (fall and spring). Four years here would cost roughly $40,000, and that's INCLUDING room and board (moreso the room, cause I've lived in an apartment for the past two years and have had to pay food expenses out of pocket).

I'm graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Biology in May. I have learned so much, despite all the complaints I have about the biology program here. And guess what? I go to a state university. And not even a horribly respected one like UNC-Chapel Hill, or any of the University of California schools. Just a regular old state university.

My classmates come from all walks of life. I have friends in their 30's and 40's back in school after starting a family trying to make a better living for themselves. I have friends in their late 20's who screwed around a bit too much after high school and are now back to make things better so they don't have to work in public service their entire lives. Friends who work full time and take classes part time to get a little ahead.

So, my first point is that you don't have to go to Yale or Harvard or any of the ivy league schools to get a good education. I love my university, because I can interact with all my professors, and don't feel bad approaching most of them. An education is what you make of it, not what's printed on your diploma. If you're motivated enough, you can learn just as much (if not more) at a regular ol' state university as you would from an ivy league school. My proof? Someone from my university got into a prestigious master's program at Columbia, with classmates coming from Cornell, Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, Berkeley, and countless other prestigious universities across the nation.

My second point is if you want it bad enough, you'll find a way to make it happen. My mom didn't have any help getting through college and ended up joining the military to pay it off. Even though my mom has agreed to pay most of my expenses, I've earned enough scholarships over the years to pay for the vast majority of my expenses (nearly $30K over three years), to the point I even turned one down last summer, because I felt others needed the scholarship more than I did. Then, of course, you hear about our own Shayla Price, who tells all about how she earned $100,000 in scholarships mostly before she graduated from high school.

Finally, for those of you complaining about a $100K debt, consider this: I'm applying to a master's program at Columbia (mentioned above). It will cost me $50K for one year, full time. Then, I plan on going to medical school. The average student now has more than $150K coming out of medical school, and I'll only be making about $45K per year (which someone can easily earn right out of undergrad), before taxes, for at least three years right out of medical school. In the process, I'll probably want to kill myself many, many times. Assuming I get NO help, and have to take out loans for everything, I'm looking at about a quarter of a million dollars of debt by the time I enter the workforce full time.

Again, if you want it enough, you'll make it happen, price tag be damned.