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Did you pay for your own education?

tomer said:
i got a free ride, not scholarship related, and yea, i took it for granted. I'm not ashamed to say that. School has always been a joke to me. For those of you who worked your way through school, i applaud you.

But, for me, i couldn't wait to leave and see what it's like to be on my own. I love to party, and even after 2 years, i was sick of that, as well. School is/was just a bore to me.
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get him!!!! :!
 
Speaking of GPAs, I don't know if it's just the sciences, but I don't think I've ever been in a class where the average is above a 75%. It's usually lower than that. Some tests have a higher average and the professor is surprised, but for classes like physics, it's commonly known that the average always hovers around a D grade.

Kyk is right that there are kids who don't appreciate their free ride. It's why I don't like to sit in the back of the class - there's always a group of people who won't STFU in lecture. It is soooo annoying and they are always the ones bitching after a test that it's too hard and they don't understand. I'd bet these are some of the people getting a free ride.
 
I just started my undergraduate degree and I have a free ride from my parents but am far from taking it for granted, also if I fail anything I have to pay for it myself just a little bit more of an incentive not to just try for P=Degree.
 
I am one of those people who does get a free ride. It used to bother me a lot, to the extent that I even dropped out at one point. Honestly, I'd probably be better off if I did have to contribute to my further education, but this is more or less how it is in my family. It was no different for my four older siblings and it's the same for my younger bro.

I feel incredibly lucky to have this opportunity, and I try to take advantage of the edge it provides me by really applying myself to school and striving for good grades. I further appreciate it because I've made some dumb decisions when I was younger, and if I could go back I would have applied myself much more in high school and tried for scholarships and generally would have sought to be more self-reliant in propelling myself towards my goals.

Being born into a wealthy family isn't necessarily the best thing for people. I believe it has, at times, skewed my sense of personal responsibility and motivations. I know that I can more or less pursue as much education as I want with practically no expense to me. I probably don't have to worry about amassing a retirement, unless the dollar hyperinflates or something. But at the same time, I've gotten over any sense of guilt I have about any of this. I live modestly and I work my ass off during the summers and when I can find odd jobs during school. I turn down many of the handouts my parents offer me -- I could probably ask them for a new truck, new computer, whatever, and they'd oblige, but I don't. I wouldn't respect myself if I was like that; consequently I've never been able to relate to a lot of other kids who're born into similar circumstances. I thank my family profusely very often for their support and I work hard in school.

Some of us are born in the dump, some the goldmine, and it wasn't my choice. It would be stupid for me not to take advantage of this opportunity, and it is nothing of a financial burden on my family to support my education to the extent that they do. I strive to not let my fortune in this matter get the best of my personality and I eagerly look forward to the day that I'm working hard for myself and am financially secure and independent, and see what my family provides me as a means towards this end.

Like I said, its really no skin off their back and though I could refuse this help on principle like I have before, but that was just stupid of me. Life gives us what it does and we have to take advantage of the opportunities provided to us. As a side note, I have utter respect for people who do work their own way to their goals and earn everything they achieve.
 
I wouldn't have gone to college if it wasn't for my parents, but I did have merit scholarships hanging out my ass.

I'm only pissed when people freeload a social science/lib arts degree. Its like the social sciences or liberal arts, to be done well, would require the smartest, most enlightened people who were totally into their lives and perceptive, but instead they attract the dumbest, druggedest, floating-in-parents-money-bubble people whose whole life goal is to work 'in academia' and therefore hide from the real world forever. /rant
 
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I don't consider loans a free ride. You get to put yourself into debt for an education, so you're paying those back in the end. I've even taken personal loans, and all I keep telling myself is that I better fucking make something of this or I'm doing it all for nothing. There is stress involved with loans that students with a free ride just don't have. It's cool though. If you can get free money for school, more power to you.
 
I don't consider loans or scholarships a free ride, although I would contend that anyone smart and dedicated enough to get a scholarship probably has a pretty healthy family situation to begin with.

Sports scholarships are bullshit though. Why should someone get a free education because they have a good arm? Does that mean I should get to play on the football team if I'm a whiz at physics?
 
Kyk said:
Sports scholarships are bullshit though. Why should someone get a free education because they have a good arm? Does that mean I should get to play on the football team if I'm a whiz at physics?
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Because people like watching sports which leads to trying to get the best people on teams. Same goes for top schools that try to get the smartest students and keep all the retards out.
 
Kilgore said:
Because people like watching sports which leads to trying to get the best people on teams. Same goes for top schools that try to get the smartest students and keep all the retards out.
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Well "keeping the retards out" seems logical because school is a place of higher education. You can atleast justify that.

But if your seat in a classroom is taken by some "C" average jock because you didn't quite make the "A+" cutoff point, then I think you have a solid case for discrimination.

That's why I like Canada's post-secondary education system. Being highly government subsidized means most of that shit is cut out.
 
Kyk said:
But if your seat in a classroom is taken by some "C" average jock because you didn't quite make the "A+" cutoff point, then I think you have a solid case for discrimination.
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Fact still remains that people like their sports. I got friends that did well in both areas and got their scholarships.
 
Kyk said:
Well "keeping the retards out" seems logical because school is a place of higher education. You can atleast justify that.

But if your seat in a classroom is taken by some "C" average jock because you didn't quite make the "A+" cutoff point, then I think you have a solid case for discrimination.

That's why I like Canada's post-secondary education system. Being highly government subsidized means most of that shit is cut out.
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this may be the case for the non prestigious universities, but while I got a full ride for a sport, i still had to bust my ass off both academically and on the field to get that scholarship. and whereas most people who get into universities on their own can glide through college with a "C" average even if they were an A+ student in high school, student-athletes must maintain a high GPA in order to stay in school or run the risk of losing not only that scholarship but the ability to stay in school.

i've seen plenty of people at my university who've scored 1500+ on their SATs but simply just do enough work to get by in college because regardless of their GPA they know they are going to get a good job simply because of getting a degree at the school. yet, I must work 10x harder while traveling the country for games and tournaments and still maintain a higher GPA in fear of losing it all.

so, in the end, i disagree with you and the ideal of the "average jock" who is dumb and taking others peoples spots is just an ignorant statement from an outsider who doesn't fully understand what it means to be a student-athlete. you can't judge all athletes who get scholarships by comparing them to say, football players who go to a state school just to play football.
 
I guess you're right, I did make an assumption. Thanks for clarifying.
 
I understand the jealousy. In Australia we're lucky in that we have a program called HECS. This basically means that we don't have to pay anything upfront, however once we're in the workforce and earning over a certain amount of money, our wages will be garnished. I think this is a fantastic system and one I'm eternally grateful for.

However, my parents paid upfront for my younger brother's five year uni degree, so he doesn't have a debt hovering over him as I do. I honestly don't remember how/why the decision was made to make me pay for my education, but to pay for my brother's (although it probably had a lot to do with my poor relationship with my parents!) In any case, I used to be really bitter about it.

I also knew a lot of 'trust fund kids' whose parents gave them money while they were studying, whereas I had to work. At the end of the day though, who's going to have had a better life experience?
 
I am Canadian and went to school in Canada.

4 year undergrad I lived at home. My parents paid for most. I spent EVERY summer working up to 50-60 hours a week for my contribution. During school, I also had a part time job to keep me in booze and cute clothes.

Master's I moved away and took out a student loan. My parents gave me about $500/month which was very generous. I did not have to work. I did not live like a poor student. I had money for drugs and parties.

I paid off my student loan a few years ago. I am very grateful not to have incurred any debt for my undergrad. I have no idea where they got the money. My parents do not/did not make a lot. I make more now than they did combined. They wanted me to be college educated. Thank you mom and dad.
 
Kyk said:
I don't know if it's displaced anger, or just jealousy, but I find it obnoxious when people get a free ride. Perhaps because it's just so insidious, that there exists these quantum gaps of privelage that seem so random. I mean do these students appreciate it, or do they really appreciate it? Because I want them to really, really appreciate it.. y'know? Every single penny.

If it was just money, that would be one thing. It's not. This money is tied to something pricess. Direction. You know, parents who encourage those extra-cirriculars, attend your sporting matches and challenge you to be successful. Yep, there's that too. What a package.

Much respect for those who took care of their own tuition, books, living expenses, travel, and entertainment while in school. I give even more respect to those who did so without any parental guidance or shoes to fill. Forging your own path on your own tab.. there's something to be said for that.
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I agree with your last paragraph. Those are brave students and I know many of them.

With that said, I'm one of those full ride kids. I was an only child. Neither of my parents finished college (my mother never went). They wanted to see their way through to getting me through college.

I admit, I was not the best student. I'd often take 15 or 18 hours (5-6 classes) and drop my way down to 12 or worse 9 hours because I was struggling in some classes.

I blew a lot of their money on stupid things, drugs, car parts for a car they bought me ('05 Acura RSX Type-S) that I later damaged the engine on and had to trade it in. A lot of lost money and time.

It took me 5.5 years to get a 4 year degree, but I did it. I finished and I am grateful for every cent they gave me. I wasn't grateful or respectful at the time, but in retrospect I love them for what they helped and pushed me to achieve.


FWIW, I start the M.A. program this fall and I'm paying for all of it. As, I pay for everything now.
 
Kyk said:
There seems to be a lot of people who got grants and scholarships for post-secondary. Was I the only person who got C's in high school, but discovered a love for education after a few years of figuring out life as an adult?

I was in no way equipped to handle College or University at the age of 18 or 19.. or 20... or 21 lol.

When I went to school, it was a total rediscovery of education for me. I loved it in my first 3 years of a technology degree, and I love it now as a Biology student. I just find it strange that the government and charities are willing to fund promising young students whose parents steered them in the right direction, but completely ignore self-propelled scholars from unlikely backgrounds.
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I was not as late in finding my love for education but I can certainly relate to the, for lack of a better word, fucking, that any sort of non-traditional student gets with regard to financial aid. I graduated high school with around a 3.5 GPA and a 30 ACT score. That's not phenomenally high, but its certainly good enough to get at least a partial scholarship from the state universities in my area.

But, because I also joined the National Guard (similar to the Army reserves) and had to start college ONE SEMESTER later than other incoming high school graduates (I started in the spring following my graduation rather than the fall) I could not get my state's lottery scholarship or any of the state school's scholarships. They were both for "traditional" students. Ugh.

So, now I pay for school with a combination of loans and various benefits from the National Guard and for being a veteran. I'm getting by on it, but I'm still bitter about being excluded from those other sources of aid just because of what I see as bullshit bureaucracy, or a very simple technicality.
 
I've been working since I was 13 years old...been banking all my dough since I was in middle school. And that's always been ON TOP of making sure I completed my school work.

So when I get to college this fall...all that money I been saving since I was a kid is gonna start getting burned furthering my education.

I don't complain about work though, because I've always got some money on hand which is great when I find myself with some free time and a little bit of sobriety to kill.
 
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