My Daughter Said She Might Not Go To College

(image via wikimedia)

A couple days ago my daughter proclaimed that she might not go to college next year.

This would be a big switch of plans. My daughter is starting her senior year of high school next week, and for the last couple years, she has been making lists of colleges she might want to attend.  We’ve toured the campuses of of a bunch of universities within 500 miles of our home.  She’s been writing essays and taking practice College Board tests.  She’s been stressed.

But now she’s mad at college.

My daughter has been watching YouTube videos of current freshmen students being quarantined on major college campuses, and her favorite is a YouTuber going to New York University.  My daughter knows that we can’t afford NYU, even with financial aid, but she’s still fascinated with the university.

From my point of view, NYU is also too far away, and it’s New York City (which is a huge negative), but almost every high school student loves New York City.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), New York isn’t even New York anymore.  A bunch of businesses have shut down.  A lot of people with money have moved out.  Crime is skyrocketing.  Even if my daughter wanted to go, I wouldn’t send her there.  Not even if it was free.  Not even if they paid me.

To make things worse, college isn’t even college right now.  Students are quarantined.  Classes are online or limited.  Social contact is very limited.  Everybody is walking with a face covering  outside, outside even with social distancing.

I’m glad my daughter has come to this conclusion on her own.  I’ve kept my mouth shut about this while watching the COVID-19 stuff over the last few months.  I haven’t kept my mouth shut about much, but I have for this.

I’m not a big believer in the college system right now.  Yes, I graduated college, and so did my wife.  I went into the field my degree prepared me for.  My wife did not.  I accumulated a little bit of debt that I paid off within a few years.  My wife accumulated a lot of debt that we paid off after we got married.

I don’t want my daughter accumulating a lot of debt.  We’ll help her out, but she’s going to do a lot on her own.  It’s not a bad situation.  If we were capable of paying her way completely, my daughter would be less careful about her decision.  I like that she has some financial stake in her college decision.

At any rate, the College Board has ticked her off with the way they handled Advanced Placement exams last spring and the way they keep changing standardized test dates.  She thinks that since grocery stores can figure out how to distribute food without spreading COVID-19, College Board should figure out how to do tests.

(She might have gotten that previous thought from me, but that’s okay because I agree with it.)

Plus, if she can’t have the full college experience, my daughter doesn’t want to pay the full college price.  She might not even want to go.

My daughter has other options.  I don’t mind if she stays home and works and saves money.  She could take online classes part-time and still work.  She could work while getting certified in something like real estate or insurance.

I’m not saying those are all great options for her, but they’re options.

Even if college goes back to normal next year, she still might consider these other options.  She doesn’t miss taking classes all day long.  She likes working (she’s been working two part-time jobs during the pandemic).

The scam tendencies of the university system aren’t going to go away with COVID-19 fears.  I’m glad that my daughter recognizes the scam-like tendencies of college, the piling on of debt, the unnecessary rules and expenses.  I didn’t even have to tell her.

I know my daughter isn’t the only potential future college student who recognizes this.  If the university system doesn’t get its act together, it might find itself short on students.

At least, it might not get my daughter.