College is NOT a Right
January 21, 2015Today I met a man who is taking a rather practical approach to teaching his kids about college planning. This gentleman has three kids, the oldest of which will be going to college in a few years. He said something rather profound that made me reconsider how I’ve been talking to my own kids about college. He said, “College is not a right.”
It was interesting because it reminded me of a call I took from a young lady not too long ago. On the call, this young women lamented the fact that she had borrowed her way through school only to end up in a job that barely paid enough to keep her afloat. She confessed having regretted this decision and made it her personal mission to tell others that college was not worth it.
While I’m not sure that I totally agree with her last comment, I could see where she was coming from. Basically, she is faced with 20 plus years of repayments, leaving her very little discretionary income to enjoy. Add to that her dissatisfaction with her current job, and you can start to understand her consternation.
In our current culture of entitlement, it’s easy to see how young students can develop the impression that everyone deserves to go to college. While I agree that everyone should have the opportunity to go to college, I think it also makes sense for our children to see it not as a right, but as a privilege. Here’s what this father told his kids to help them understand this:
“Get good grades”
Anything worth having comes at a cost, and that’s especially true for a college degree. In general, kids that get good grades in high school are more likely to do well in an institution of higher learning. Teach your kids to view their grades as an investment in their academic future.
One way you can do this is by offering to pay for a certain percentage of their college costs based on their GPA. For example, offer to pay 100% if they achieve a 4.0 (don’t worry, they’re likely to get some type of academic scholarship if they do), 75% for a 3.0, 50% for a 2.0, or whatever scale you think is best. If they value the education, then they’ll see this as an incentive. If not, then they’ll learn a very valuable life lesson on incentive and/or merit pay before they even step foot on campus.
“Don’t go to college to ‘find’ yourself”
As reported by The New York Times, the number one factor young adults look for in a successful career is a sense of meaning, but how many 18-year olds do you know have that figured out? If my kids are anything like me—and I like to think that they are—then chances are they’ll have no idea what they’re going to want for lunch, let alone the rest of their lives. Our kids don’t need to spend tens of thousands of dollars trying to “figure things out.”
As the gentleman I spoke to put it, a few years in a manufacturing plant will help a kid figure it out right away. If your kids are unsure about what they want to do after high school, allow them to explore “real life” for a couple of years. Just be sure to charge them rent if they choose to live at home.
‘Consider the cost’
I love to play games with my children, and one of our favorite games is The Game of Life. If you recall, the game starts with a decision of whether or not your “player” goes to college. Going to college costs money, but it opens up career opportunities that you don’t have if you choose to start your career right away. Even if you go to college, you may still end up with a career that you could have had without a degree.
Hopefully, I don’t have to draw you a map as to how you can relate this to real life, but to help illustrate the point further, have your future scholar read this article on assessing the value of a college education. If you and your child decide that a college degree is appropriate for their career ambitions, then review this post on how to make college more affordable.
One thing I have to constantly remind myself is that each child is unique, and just because my wife and I earned our college degrees does not mean our children have to follow suit. That said, if they decide that they will, I want to do all that I can to set them up for success! Helping them see their college education as a privilege is a good start.