I'm a junior in higschool and I am so ready to go to college. I'm ready to get out of this town, start my life, further my education, become independant etc. The idea of college has been the only thing that has gotten me through these past few years. I live in Washington state and I would love love love to go to San Diego State University in California. It has the degree I want, it has good teachers, classes, it is close to the beach, it is warm year round, I could go on and on. I know it is a little foolish to want to go to an out of state college. I know it is going to cost a lot. I still want to go there and if I go anywhere else I feel like I am settiling on a place that I dont want to go to. I am involved in lots of school activities such as knowledge bowl, national honors society, Spanish club, ASB secretary, I was involved in the homecoming committe, I soley ran a coat and blanket drive, and I play volleyball and softball. I'm way more active then a lot of my peers (I go to a small school, there is about 70 kids in our whole high school) So far I have a 3.8 gpa for this semester. There is no way I can pay for San Diego State University let alone any college. And it is kind of freaking my out. I apply for as many scholarships that I can (which doesnt seem like very many). Why is college so expensive? It seems like colleges just want students whose mommy sand daddys are paying there way and everybody else can be up to their ears in debt. It's not fair!!! I want an education but cant get it because I dont have the funds for it. That is the most asinine thing I've ever heard of. How am I suppose to further my education and acheive this bright future that we all supposidly are suppose to have when I cant pay for college and will be stuck in this small town, go to community college ( not that anything is wrong with community college it just isnt for me) get some lame boring job that I dont want and spend the rest of my life miserable. What else can I do? Obviously good grades, being involved in activities and applying for scholarships arent enough. Who do I have to send a mean letter to? LOL. It's so frustrating! I want to learn. But I guess I'm not allowed to.
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I bet that if they lower the price of college more students will be able to go to college! Therfore we will have a smarter economy. ( You get what I mean)
I want an education but cant get it because I dont have the funds for it.
You don't have the funds for an education, or for your number one choice of school? If paying off student loans for years isn't going to work for you, and you really can't get scholarships, San Diego just might have to be a sacrifice you make in order to afford an education.
In the entire State of Washington, I am sure there is at least one school to compare with San Diego State--aside from the weather.
But... you're still a junior. I wouldn't abandon all hope just yet.
Next year, be sure to fill out a FAFSA. You may be eligible for more financial aid than you know. California may still be an option for you, I hope it is, if that is really where you want to go.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sawaboof
"...There is a crushing guilt that comes with being a Catholic. Whether things are good or bad or you're simply... eating tacos in the park, there is always the crushing guilt."
-30 Rock-
The people who run colleges are smart. I guess anybody who spent a career at college would get smart because that is what college is about.
Colleges have raised prices because of government aid.
Colleges have figured out that parents are desparate to see their kids get a good education and are willing to sacrifice a lot to see that happen including suffering a lot of financial sacrifice and hardship including things like mortgaging their homes and taking out unsecured loans. They raise their prices to the point where they are at the profit maximizing level. From their perspective, their prices are perfect if they are high enough so they are wringing every last dollar possible out of students and their parents while still being low enough to attract enough paying customers to fill every dorm bed and classroom chair.
But that is before you consider government aid. If the government is willing to give every student a grant of say $1000 per year well then the college is smart enough to realize that the world is still filled with desparate parents. They simply raise their prices by $1000. They get the $1000 from the government and they STILL wring every last dollar out of the parents. If the government raises the grant to $5000 then the college raises the price by $5000, ad infinitum. Students only get the illusion that they are getting financial aid from the government.
The way to make tuition go down is to get the government out of the game. Without government aid there would be tens of thousands of kids that could not pay the ridiculous tuition which would mean lots of empty dorm beds and classroom chairs. Colleges would be desperate to fill these beds and seats and they would lower prices back down to the level where they were just wringing every last dollar out of parents before the government stepped in and made things worse with their misguided efforts to help.
There is no reason for college tuition to be much more expensive then public school. Public school costs average about $8 to $10 thousand per student per year across the country. That includes things like buying school books and providing a bus system for getting kids to and from school which are expenses colleges don't have.. Why should college tuition cost $25,000 per year. Students buy their own books and if the University provides a bus system it is typically trivial compared to a public school district. In public schools most classes average perhaps 35 kids to one teacher. In college, it is not uncommon for a lecture class to have 200 kids being taught by one teacher. Even if they pay the college professor much more, they make it up on volume.
College costs a lot because colleges have figured out that the market will bear a lot and what they can't wring out of parents and students will be picked up by the government. It is a huge scam on the taxpayers. If you are white you really bear the brunt of it because the system is also highly racist.
Oh man that was an intense comment. LOL. I wish they would treat college like public school at least money wise. Wow I'm way more educated on why college costs so much. Thanks! Maybe I should start a petition and see if the government will get the picture that college is to expensive.
It's really not that hard to get into college. Go to a state or community college if San Diego is too expensive. It's not that hard to afford a state/community college, especially if you get financial aid and scholarships.
Well I attend SDSU. Sorry honey, but the weather is not warm all year round. It isn't that close to the beach (10 minutes on freeway) but if you don't have a car you need to find somebody who does. It is a public school and a state school, so therefore the classes aren't all that great (as a freshman, upper division is totally different) and the teachers, well they are not different than teachers at any other school. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE San Diego, but I think you may be building it up to more than it is. I actually attend the local community college, Grossmont, and I am cross enrolled at State. I love it. Community college wasn't for me either when I was a junior in high school but now look where I am. If you really love San Diego, you should consider a JC so you can transfer or even start at a JC in San Diego.
Après la pluie le beau temps. ♥