Your Kid has Graduated High School! Now What?

     Well, well, well… Your baby has up and graduated high school and perhaps they are looking at careers and trying to decide if college is the right choice, or if a trade school is more to their liking. Either are great ways to jumpstart their independence as they run, walk, gallop, and for a few; trip headfirst into the real world. But let’s face it. College seems to be where all the attention is now days. 

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     Does that mean that learning a trade isn’t important? Absolutely not! Trade schools provide our society with some of the best:

• Electricians
• Dental hygienists
• Plumbers
• Paralegals
• Nurses
• Graphic designers
• Welders
• Computer technicians
• Aircraft mechanics
• Cosmetologists
• Chefs
• Marine mechanics
• Construction managers
• Massage therapists
• Pharmacy technicians
• Automotive repairmen (and women)
• And on and on and on and on

     I don’t know that my life would function without these career professionals. I don’t care if you have a degree – so long as you can fix my car! I don’t care what your GPA is, so long as you can cut and style the unruly mop on top of my head.

     But still, there is something to be said for those who do go on to college. Perhaps that degree in philosophy is just the beginning in becoming truly enlightened to the ways of the world. Or maybe that sociology degree will help determine exactly why some parts of society are treated differently than others. Or just maybe that degree in engineering will lead you to the outer limits of space aboard a billion-dollar space craft.

     Either way, college is great for those that seek it and have the drive, the passion, and the stamina to follow through to the end. But jeeze! The cost is almost unfathomable. Consider the following info taken from online sources comparing the tuition of an ivy-league college, a state university, and a rural community college.

In 2018-2019, undergraduate tuition per year:
School Tuition (based on full time, in-state, & 15 credit hours per semester)

Yale
$53,430

Arkansas State University
$8,641

Black River Technical College
$2,880

     These are class costs only and do NOT include dorm or housing costs, meal plans, or the fees associated with the institution. This alone would appear to discourage numerous recent high school graduates, leaving them feeling lost, confused, and without direction.

     You see, as a parent, we sometimes joke that when they turn 18, they won’t need us any longer. They’ll only stop in for the occasional meal, laundry service, or personally known banking service. But the raw truth is, now is when they need us more than ever!

     As a parent, it is up to us to encourage our new adult children to take that leap with a whole heart, a sure mind, and with the drive and power they need to succeed. Sure, it’s costly and the best way to learn about the costs is to experience them. Does this mean take out unnecessary loans and splurge each semester? NOPE. It means sitting down together and going over the information. Learning about the types of loans and grants that are available and then setting a budget and agreeing that the only way to make it happen is to live beneath your means.

     That is where today’s blog idea comes from and I’m going to share with you some of the tips and tricks I learned during my college days. Granted, I didn’t live on campus. I was a non-traditional student. I had 10 years of life happen to me following my high school graduation and it took that long to finally realize that there had to be more to life than a part-time job with slave wages that wouldn’t even make my car payment each month. I had a husband and 4 children when I started college. I was scared out of my gourd and wasn’t sure I could do it. I sit in reflection as I write this post, thinking of how my first day felt like a dream and how I knew that very same day that I was made for academia. Not only to learn it, but to share what I learned with anyone who would sit still long enough to hear my story. But that’s another post (and I hope you are still here!)

     On to what you really came for! The tentative schedule for this blog series is itemized below.
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June 17: Part I: The “must haves” for your new college student - Read Here
June 18: Part II: How to make a college meal budget stretch - Read Here
June 19: Part III: Say YES to fun – but only after THIS important step! - Read Here
June 20: Part IV: When your grade drops - Read Here
June 21: Part V: Campus Activities and other Extracurriculars - Read Here
June 22: Part VI: Five ways to increase your notoriety on campus - Read Here
June 24: Part VII: Find the Instructors that are eager to help - To be published
June 25: Part VIII: What is a Capstone anyway? - To be published
June 26: Part IX: When that last semester rolls around - To be published
June 27: Part X: Graduation Check-List - To be published
 
Stay tuned! You don’t want to miss this!
Ciao!
LaVonda