Father of 8 explains why he's not saving for college

[Anonymous]

MarleySkye840 wrote:Eh, I understand working for what you want in life but jeez. The man has 8 children! I just think there is something wrong with saddling kids fresh out of HS with dealing with loans and then having them deal with the same loans for years after graduating college. We all know that there are not enough scholarships and FA programs to go around for all the kids who need it.

Honestly, going to a community college for two years and then transferring to a state school for the last two wouldn't leave a big debt burden. You could probably save and or work over the summer to help pay for a good chunk of it. Might not be the perfect college experience, but I bet you could get out with 10-20K in loans or less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP's gratuitous reference to race ( i.e., "generally white") was totally unnecessary and reflective of the weird white guilt so many in this area suffer from.

Op here. Sorry if it came off as offensive. Did you ever read the deadpan article on the legal battles surrounding headfirst baseball? They referred to upper NW DC as "upper caucasia" several times, and it's stuck with my group. The fact is, generally white, upper middle class kids have a leg up. That's just a fact. And if they're male, well, that's three checks for them, not just two.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP's gratuitous reference to race ( i.e., "generally white") was totally unnecessary and reflective of the weird white guilt so many in this area suffer from.

Op here. Sorry if it came off as offensive. Did you ever read the deadpan article on the legal battles surrounding headfirst baseball? They referred to upper NW DC as "upper caucasia" several times, and it's stuck with my group. The fact is, generally white, upper middle class kids have a leg up. That's just a fact. And if they're male, well, that's three checks for them, not just two.

Deadspin. Damn you auto correct!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have no idea what is in my DNA, but I have two other siblings. None of us 3 finished college. Two of us completed "some" college and one none.

Both of my siblings own successful businesses.

I'm an executive with over 250 people under me as according to the company org chart and make a pretty large salary. My lack of degree has never gotten in my way.

Clearly there is something about the 3 of us kids that all made us beat the odds. Our parents had a very hands off approach and never really focused much on grades and never once fought our battles. Once we turned 18, we were without ceremony dumped into the world. However, books were a huge part of our daily family life and politics were hotly debated. There was always talk at the dinner table about what was going on in the world. We were raised to ask questions, find answers, and be generally curious about how the world around us worked.

I will be paying for my kids college, but we already put heavy focus on entrepreneurial skills and strong work ethic.

Mister, are you a very White person? Because this "no degree" shtick would not work for a colored person - black, yellow, brown or red!

[Anonymous]

The kids won't qualify for FA because there is money. So that means loans.

This isn't about the money. This is Dad who wants his children to be exactly like him. Its just as bad as a father saying "you WILL go to medical school, whether you want to or not". Narcissism.

[Anonymous]

I did not read the whole article because it seems like 1 big infomercial for his book... but... did you know...

Only 33% of children go to college.
Only 1/2 of the 33% graduate in 6 years.

So 15% of our HS graduates are graduating in 6 years after HS.

I agree that most kids won't and don't need to go off to a private college and have their parents spend their whole lives saving $200K so their kids can go to a fancy college. It is the epitome of elitism.

I wish more people didn't just hand over $200K + to their children for a college education, because college is just a business, that does a very poor job doing what it is supposed to do ... educate people for the workforce.

Unfortunately it has just become a step between living with mom/dad and living on their own, because kids can't ... live on their own, cook/clean/pay bills/support themselves/get along with others.

I will encourage my kids to go to CC 2 years, then state college. I will only pay that much, they will pay the rest.

Of course, they live in this area, they will probably feel slighted... they will graduate with some student loans, depending if they make the mature decision to go to college the smart way instead of the European Vacation version of college (the most expensive fun way) picking a college with all the bells and whistles.... great college town, best name on the sweatshirt, greek life (I will not pay for greek life).

I just can't even believe when a kid says they are going to Michigan or Delaware over Maryland, I just assume their parents have money to throw away.

[Anonymous]

College in this country is a ridiculous racket. It is essentially the "price of entry" to the middle class. Can't pay? Go work at Wal-Mart for minimum wage. I hope the whole system implodes, a-la the housing market in 2008.

[Anonymous]

I wasn't impressed by this guy, but wanted to say that if you come from a big family with no assets and are smart and capable, you stand a greater chance of colleges offering you need-based scholarships.

I'm one of 7 children who all went to college (and 5 of us to graduate or law school) and my parents didn't pay any of the tuition for any of us, just a bit of pocket change for living expenses (I think I probably got a couple hundred a year from them). We all took out a few loans but our costs were mostly covered through grants/scholarships and work-study.

Not recommending that as a college "savings" plan, though.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I wasn't impressed by this guy, but wanted to say that if you come from a big family with no assets and are smart and capable, you stand a greater chance of colleges offering you need-based scholarships.

I'm one of 7 children who all went to college (and 5 of us to graduate or law school) and my parents didn't pay any of the tuition for any of us, just a bit of pocket change for living expenses (I think I probably got a couple hundred a year from them). We all took out a few loans but our costs were mostly covered through grants/scholarships and work-study.

Not recommending that as a college "savings" plan, though.....

+1

6 kids, 4 college (3 advance degrees), 1 CC, 1 no college

The one with no college has his own business and is the most financially successful.
The one that got a full ride to Duke and graduated #1 in his law school is equally as successful as the rest of the UMD graduates who took out student loans. There is no real difference in outcome financially or otherwise.

[Anonymous]

A Liberal Arts degree is completely useless. I won't pay for that either. Judge away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A Liberal Arts degree is completely useless. I won't pay for that either. Judge away.

DH, a partner in a large law firm, majored in history. A close friend, highly regarded doctor at one of the best hospitals in the country, majored in philosophy.

On the other hand, my brother who went to a highly regarded business school is unemployed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A Liberal Arts degree is completely useless. I won't pay for that either. Judge away.

DH, a partner in a large law firm, majored in history. A close friend, highly regarded doctor at one of the best hospitals in the country, majored in philosophy.

On the other hand, my brother who went to a highly regarded business school is unemployed.

So why didn't they stick with history or philosophy? Obviously, they realized the need to change course and were fortunate that they could.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A Liberal Arts degree is completely useless. I won't pay for that either. Judge away.

There are millions of happy, successful, productive adults with liberal arts degrees who would disagree with you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

So why didn't they stick with history or philosophy? Obviously, they realized the need to change course and were fortunate that they could.

People at SLACs generally choose them to acquire transferrable skills, such as writing and critical thinking. The major has to do with what content you most enjoy while you're developing those skills. It's not a matter of "changing course."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A Liberal Arts degree is completely useless. I won't pay for that either. Judge away.

DH, a partner in a large law firm, majored in history. A close friend, highly regarded doctor at one of the best hospitals in the country, majored in philosophy.

On the other hand, my brother who went to a highly regarded business school is unemployed.

So why didn't they stick with history or philosophy? Obviously, they realized the need to change course and were fortunate that they could.

Obviously, you did not benefit from an elite undergraduate institution. If you had, you would not be making such ignorant statements.

As for the dad of 8 and the non-college educated successful entrepreneurs, they would benefit from a stats course. Anecdotes are not the same as data sets. Statistically, you are much more likely to live a middle class life, own property, save for retirement, and live longer IF you graduate from college. People who think that college is a waste of money do not understand that getting a degree is not just about the acquisition of information, it is about long-term commitment, group skills, networking, and exposure to multiple world views.