If only we knew what served as the impetus to start the upwardly spiraling costs of college tuition....or healthcare.....
I think that any legal resident of the state should be able to attend the public flagship university of that state, at any time, whenever and for as long as they want, full or part time, as for as long as they are meeting the same minimum academic / participation standards required of all students, and are making adequate progress toward an academic goal. Show up, prove a resident of a state, and enroll. Tuition for in-state students should be income-based, and never more than 25% of what the same university requires of out of state residents to attend. If the matriculated student hasn’t made tangible improvement or recouped gainful and/or increased benefit in their professional career within five (5) years of graduating, and have consistently made provably earnest attempts toward its achievement throughout, then the entirety of their tuition balance should be forgiven and any outstanding loans assumed by the University. We can have a bunch of lawyers write up however many caveats are needed to secure and fairly ensure for all of this - and so as to prevent abuse - but the idea is that Universities are on the financial hook to ensure that students receive actual value for the education which they are paid - and handsomely - to provide to the state, and it’s citizens who they are tasked and exist to first serve. And, yes, I specifically narrowed the determination of provable benefit to a professional career, because that’s what the State and its citizens most need - post-graduate professional success. We’ve churned out enough graduates who specialize in French Renaissance Impressionism and Social Change through Dance & Song to last 100 years. We need more architects, engineers, programmers, MBA’s, etc. And, we also need more welders, electricians, carpenters, farmers, plumbers and other vocational trades, perhaps more than any others, at the moment. If you’ve got the University on the hook for the tangible and professional success and benefit of their graduates, you can bet your ass that they’ll start getting serious about contributing to the vocational trades, and which they now largely ignore. Is that enough for all of these peasants?
There's no way in hell I'm willingly spending money for my kids to go to Ole Miss. They get a free ride there, sure.
Even then, don't come home for Thanksgiving wearing Ole Miss gear. In fact, just don't come home for Thanksgiving. Or Christmas.
Me either. Happens a lot though. Some of these families and kids want UT, dont get in and dont have interest in Memphis, mtsu, nooga or free 2 yr CC. Some want their kids to have the college experience they had as well. I dont want mine to do anything i did in college.
I've told my kids they can go anywhere they want and I'll pay except Bama or Auburn. Go there and you are on your own and will not be allowed back home.
I convinced my son when he was little that Alabama was a cuss word. He's 6 now and still refers to them as "the A state bad word".
Someone once asked me what I'd do if my son played football for Bama when they played UT. I told them I'd wear the "My son is #XX" button on top of my orange shirt.
It's been about 8 years now, but friend of family's daughter graduated #2 in her class at Alcoa High School, had an ACT score in the 30s, and couldn't get a full ride to UT but could to Bama. I assume, if anything, it's gotten worse.
I'm in Virginia, so I can argue that I was told I could abort my son at any time before 18. this is my doomsday Alabama plan.
I was #1 at my school with an act in the 30's and only got a partial scholarship to UT. in 2002. I had no interest in going anywhere else at that time. in retrospect, I worried too much about finding a good job while in school somewhere else.
part of it is that there isn't a lot of scholarship money, part of it is also the "over award" situation where individuals receive aid in excess of the cost. For every partial scholarship, there are people who collect cash at tuition time, and I know in my case sometimes the only difference was I had to put down four parents on my FAFSA despite having zero contributing to tuition. the FAFSA doesn't care how many siblings i had either.
