I don’t have a college degree and I don’t consider myself uneducated…just sayin. But I would gander there are those who would say otherwise… I would likewise say “uneducated” and " fireman" don’t belong in the same sentence…
In any case, firemen are still getting paid. Many journalists are not.
H - then an aspiring writer with a Psychology degree - started his post-college career as a bookseller at a major mall book retailer, working up to store manager. Said retailer got bought out by another big box retailer, then bought by another large, well-known book retailer (founded in Ann Arbor), then ceased to exist. At second book retailer H moved up to district and regional positions. As that “too-big-to-ever-sink” retailer was sinking, H jumped ship to current largest brick and mortar book retailer - continuing to move up the career ladder. As a book lover, I hate to say it, but given the changes in today’s retail economy and the trend of only people who need bi-focals actually reading books, it’s possible this retailer will also go the way of its predecessors ( no “insider” info, I just read NEWS writers). H is well on his way to being another highly-skilled, talented, fifty-something regional grand pooh-bah without a pooh-bah job. Fortunately, in the last few years he’s been taking steps to make his writing and “creative thinker” dreams come true. There is no job security ANY where. Creative thinkers and problem solvers will always have a place. Our “fearless” theater kids, who dare to defy the naysayers at every step, will have an edge when it comes to adroitly dealing with change.
I hope so @mom4bwayboy, I worry about the way the world is going.
Sorry @theaterwork and @hopecladwell, I clearly did not choose my words carefully enough. I never intended to disparage anyone or any line of work. The two firemen I am speaking of did not get a college education, they made other choices right out of high school and they are sitting pretty now. In the end they came out ahead of my husband financially and probably time-wise too. By those measures, they could be considered more successful than my husband who paid his way through college earning a bachelors degree in English and now his pay is stagnant and his hours stink and the future of his industry looks bleak. Some would say he made a bad choice because look where he is today. But I would say he followed his dream and did the best he could with it and his college education wasn’t wasted or less valuable because he didn’t make big bucks with his degree. My point simply is you can’t know what the future holds nor can a monetary value be placed on a college education. This is just my humble opinion, of course. But I would say this holds true for our favorite theatre majors as well.
I think the ability to hustle and not get discouraged and keep pitching yourself is so key to success in the economy the way it is now – and our theater majors have to learn that right away.
Back to the original question @MuThuMom asked "My son has been accepted to BOCO, but to send him I’d have to deplete my retirement fund. How do you find the money to go?? I hate for him to lose this opportunity! "
I don’t have a kid in MT so I guess I’m not supposed to be on this thread. No one has mentioned it yet but if your funds are in a 401k and you are not yet 60 (or is it 59.5?) do not take that money out to pay for school! You will be taxed and have early withdrawal fees. So $100k from your 401k would only be $50k to $70k. You would be much better off taking the Parent Plus loan and pay it off with your retirement when you are of age to make withdrawals. You probably already know this but I have a friend who just did this and was surprised she didn’t get anywhere near the amount she needed.
“No one has mentioned it yet but if your funds are in a 401k and you are not yet 60 (or is it 59.5?) do not take that money out to pay for school! You will be taxed and have early withdrawal fees. So $100k from your 401k would only be $50k to $70k.”
Great point, OspreyCV22. The other thing that few people add is that on top of taxes and early withdrawal fees (usually 10% in fees alone), you may well put yourself in a different tax bracket with the additional income, losing deductions you would have taken.
Just something to be aware of.
A big thing I worry about when parents tap retirement accounts to fund kids’ college is that the kids seldom know about it, nor do they truly understand what the future ramifications to them may be. I’m sure parents who do it have good intentions, but it doesn’t seem fair to saddle kids with potential future care obligations without their full awareness.
I guess we are not the only ones discussing ROI. This article came across my news feed this afternoon!
@soozievt @halflokum @toowonderful - and anyone else who went to NYU… Did any of you take advantage of the pay 4, 6, or 8 semesters upfront to lock in current tuition rate (guaranteed no increase)??? Husband met with the bursar this morning and they presented that option. I didn’t want to send all private messages so feel free to pm me with any insight into why this would be a bad idea… Other than she drops out early because she has back to back leading roles on broadway (hahaha)! Also- when I asked my husband if he punched the bursar, sir… he did not get my Hamilton reference…boo… I thought I was funny!
@sleepymom I did not take this option. I can’t remember for sure if it was even offered.
One thing I want to share, though, came up with my younger D, and could be an option for yours. This D is a studio art major. She is getting her BFA, with a lot of credits in art and art history. She decided not to pursue an official minor, but instead took voice lessons (through Steinhardt) and stage makeup classes (through Tisch). (Yes, she was a musical theatre kid also–but chose art.) Even with these classes (more than must minors), and all her other requirements, she was able to take 11 credits this last semester as a senior and become a part time student.
By taking 11 credits rather than 12, she saved us about $7,000 off of tuition (we are full pay.) She was even able to maintain a small merit scholarship that she was awarded as a senior when she switched to becoming a p/t student. She was able to remain in NYU housing as well.
Coming in with AP credits helped, but so did the option of taking some variable credit classes. Several of her friends have been part-time all senior year. They could have graduated early, but senior year offers too many amazing opportunities they wanted to take advantage of (this is the case for both art and MT students)…so they all stayed the full year.
So personally, I would not lock into paying for senior year, since this could be an option.
@uskoolfish - great information- thank you! D would be coming in with some AP credits. We were thinking of doing 2 years (as that is all we can afford up front if we still want to eat).
@sleepymom To answer your question, no we did not pay for more than one year upfront. In fact, part of my D’s college bill (not all!!) was/is paid via loans, which I am still paying for even though she graduated 7 years ago. So, it is not like I was able to pay for it all upfront in any given year. So, the option to pay for more than one year would not have applied to us.
However, it may be a good idea for you to do it for the first two years, if you can, to lock in the rate. @uskoolfish mentions a good point about senior year. and saving money part time in the final semester. My D had a few friends who graduated in 7 semesters, not 8, from Tisch and they saved money that way. My D never was interested in going that route since she had already done HS in 3 years and wanted 4 full years of college and was young and so even with 4 full years of college, she graduated Tisch at age 20.
thank you @ soozivet - we will take it into consideration
@sleepymom- we did not do it either- but if you can, it certainly seems like it could save you a few bucks. My D came with a stack of AP credits, as well as 6 from the Tisch summer high school program. We have had long debates when she started about whether she would use those credits to graduate early (she could easily do it in 3 years) or pick up a minor, or any of a dozen other scenarios. Nice to have some flexibility