How much will I owe when I graduate? How long will it take to pay it back? Am I going to get a well-paying job when I graduate?
These were just a few of the questions posed by my younger daughter over the past several months as she’s made her college decision. It’s a tough decision under normal circumstances. Mixing in the uncertainty of the ROI of tuition costs during a serious economic downturn is downright painful. I have the unique perspective of being both a university dean and the father of a daughter recently graduated from high school, and another already in college. When speaking to parents and students let me assure you - I feel your pain.
Being a business dean, I naturally prepared a rather sophisticated Excel projection to help analyze the 4-year costs for my daughter. This analysis was important since “we” agreed she would assume a certain portion of the cost. Of course, I was more impressed by the logic of the financial case than was my daughter. And therein lies the major conflict of the decision: How do you balance fiscal responsibility with emotional factors when choosing a college? At what cost comes the joy a daughter feels about going to her desired college?
Both my daughters, for very sound reasons, have chosen to go to colleges where I am not a dean (thus forgoing a generous tuition benefit from Villanova), so my ultimate position on the economic frugality vs. happiness scale is obviously apparent. While there were very complicated and painful discussions, ultimately, I opted for them to be happy, to have their top choice, and to blaze their own trails. Was this a wise decision? It still remains unclear and probably will for many years.
During the college selection process, however, what is interesting upon reflection is the way in which the world has changed over the last 30 years. Our expectations of ourselves as parents—and of our children—have shifted. For example, had my family had an opportunity for me to receive a lower cost, undergraduate education, there would have been no discussion. It would have been simply understood—via mutual expectations—that my college path was pre-determined. The same is true of most of my contemporaries.
Given my unique perspective as both a dean and a father, do I have a simple explanation for this generational shift? No. But just as at the beginning of the whole process, there are many questions.
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Posted by: College Research Paper | November 07, 2009 at 06:56 AM
Selection process is useless. Everyone who want to receive education, should receive it.
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