Anyone’s kid deciding not to go to college?

[Anonymous]

My teen keeps showing me every negative article about college. He’s leaning on not going. I’m disappointed, he’s a pretty good student.

[Anonymous]

An education is a gift.
Love of learning is learned for most kids.

Your kid moves out no help from you. Take their cell phone and car if you pay.

If they are an adult then they need to be one fully.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:An education is a gift.
Love of learning is learned for most kids.

Your kid moves out no help from you. Take their cell phone and car if you pay.

If they are an adult then they need to be one fully.

how stupid, college evidently did not make you any smarter.

[Anonymous]

It isn't an option in our home. Wasn't an option for me growing up.

Tell them college or a job and they need to pay rent, health insurance and support themselves.

[Anonymous]

That's fine. They can start working right after paying graduation and start to pay rent and all their bills 4 years sooner than otherwise.

[Anonymous]

I would be very upset, but it's true that college isn't for everyone.

Having stated that, you should show your kid the income trajectory for those with degree and those without.

[Anonymous]

Tell me you’re not an immigrant or first gen without telling me..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's fine. They can start working right after paying graduation and start to pay rent and all their bills 4 years sooner than otherwise.

I hope you don't have kids.

My youngest is not going. He's doing an apprenticeship program for plumbing. I already knew he wasn't going to college before he ever said it. It's really true, college isn't for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:An education is a gift.
Love of learning is learned for most kids.

Your kid moves out no help from you. Take their cell phone and car if you pay.

If they are an adult then they need to be one fully.

What an ahole Good luck to your kids.

[Anonymous]

I think college is great for some. But no t every kid who goes is successful. There are tons of posts from people who paid tons of money for their kids’ education and their kids haven’t found jobs. The important thing is what’s next if not college. Plus every decision one makes at age 17 or 18 isn’t necessarily the same decision they’ll make at 25. Maybe college isnt for him now but might be down the road.

[Anonymous]

Instead of what he doesn’t want to do (college) focus on what he DOES want to do. What’s his plan? How does he want to spend his time, be productive and start supporting himself of heading in that direction? Vocational training, apprenticeship, something else?

Also, he just may not go to college YET. He will probably change his mind once he’s explored the world of low wage work, so keep that 529 funded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would be very upset, but it's true that college isn't for everyone.

Having stated that, you should show your kid the income trajectory for those with degree and those without.

I just heard an interesting article on average wages for those who go to college and they are about half of what my union member tradesperson earns. Given the guaranteed wage increases, I’m not sure you can say college is necessarily the best option for all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's fine. They can start working right after paying graduation and start to pay rent and all their bills 4 years sooner than otherwise.

I hope you don't have kids.

My youngest is not going. He's doing an apprenticeship program for plumbing. I already knew he wasn't going to college before he ever said it. It's really true, college isn't for everyone.

A lot of very narrow minds here that think there’s only one path to adulthood. When he becomes a master plumber he’ll be all set. Work for yourself instead of being tied to a bureaucracy sounds sweet.

[Anonymous]

My DS is going to community college. I think he'll end up in the military, but he has to wait 2 years because he just recently stopped taking ADHD meds. He has a job and lots of money saved up. I don't charge him rent, but he chips in around the house, financially and otherwise.

He's doing much better now than he did in high school. As long as your son is not sitting around all day doing nothing, I think you should give him some space to figure this out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would be very upset, but it's true that college isn't for everyone.

Having stated that, you should show your kid the income trajectory for those with degree and those without.

WSJ just ran a big article on the number of underemployed college graduates. For most of those kids, college was a negative investment.

The income trajectories are heavily influenced by outcomes in STEM, finance, etc. If you look at the trajectories outside of many quantitative majors, again, it won't produce the results you want to see.

This isn't to say you don't need skills, however, go out to SFO and there are thousands of people working in tech without college degrees...but they are skilled.