S/o of supporting college

amother

Mon, May 03 2021, 5:24 pm

I want to post imamother so I'm posting here. I went to a school thay doesnt beleive in collage. not a great english education. Our english marks were based on regent marks (New York) my marks were not lowish. Although I passed all subjects. Class was a bit of a joke. Principal gave out notes of upcoming crash courses. My parent made alot of money on paper. However they also had equal number of bills.I wanted to go to the jewish College. but I was not eligible for any grant. My marks were not high enough and my parents made too much. based on what I was preached in school community collage was out. want a place for frum girl. I got married right away and there is no way I want to live with a huge collage debt that will take years to pay back. cant see it being worth it! whats my solution

amother

Honeydew

Mon, May 03 2021, 5:36 pm

I went to a high school that provided a decent education, but even with that, many of my friends were not eligible for a huge amount of financial aid or scholarships (I personally was eligible because my parents were very low income at the time due to unemployment during the recession) however even though I received financial aid for college, there were no grants or scholarships available for my masters.

My friends, siblings, and I took out loans and paid it back slowly (I'm still paying it back 5 years later but almost done BH)

I understand that its nicer for things to be free and not to have to pay back loans, but its definitely doable.

Tirza

Mon, May 03 2021, 5:55 pm

Start at your local community college. Community colleges are very low cost, and all you need to get in is a high school diploma.
You're an adult now, so you don't have to worry about that "community college is not for a frum girl" nonsense anymore. You go, sit in your classes, then go home. Nobody parties at a community college. There is no danger to your neshama.

amother

Babyblue

Mon, May 03 2021, 6:04 pm

IMO, you should figure out what your degree-related goals are, and work backwards from there to see what makes sense.

Do you want a college degree because you want a job with a very specific degree requirement, like nursing or accounting? Do you want a college degree because you'll make more at your current job, or be more competitive for future jobs, but the field doesn't matter? Is there a specific topic you're interested in, like literature or mathematics or Jewish studies, that you want to study more? All of these are fine reasons for getting a college degree but you'd probably take different pathways to getting there for all of them.

You don't have to incur a large amount of debt if you stick to state schools and community colleges. If you're in NYC, the CUNY system can be bureaucratic and overwhelming at times but they have programs for returning adults and people who've been out of school for a while.

Public libraries can also be a great resource. Pre-pandemic, the Brooklyn Public Library main branch had a career and education resource center that would help people with college decisions, filling out applications, that sort of thing. I'm not sure what kind of remote services they are offering now.

I'm assuming you're in the US, so if you're not, the public library and state school part of this post wouldn't apply.

Aliza Vorobiev

Tue, Jun 22 2021, 2:51 pm

I am new here but this topic is really close to my heart and my husband works for Naaleh College. I don't want this to be considered an advert but they are a real alternative because they are an accredited college and provide they own degree, not like other organizations that just play the middleman. They are specifically servicing the frum crowd, and the best thing about them is that they are 100% online and that they accept lots of transfer credits, up to 90.

This is good for men who went to yeshiva for 3 or more years and accumulated lots of credits. For girls there is also a huge advantage, if you went to sem for 1 or 2 years and your sem can give you a transcript, you can actually count credit towards your degree and only need to pay for like half of it.

You should reach out to them and find out - they are very responsive and truly care about their students. The only downside is that they don't offer too many degrees. Let me know if you want me to find our more for you.

Hatzlacha

Chayalle

Tue, Jun 22 2021, 3:01 pm

My DD is B"EH graduating with her BA from Sarah Schenirer in August. She did not get much by way of grants as based on our income she was not eligible, but she did get student loans (and paid some of the cost herself, she's also working.)

The reason I think this degree actually is very cost effective is because it's an accelerated course. Combined with her seminary credits (which we paid for) she is getting her degree in just a year, leaving her free to pursue her masters sooner, and start earning money sooner. The community college route usually takes much longer.

I myself did something similar years ago - I got my degree in Computer Science thru Maalot in E"Y, in just over a year after seminary. By the following fall, I got my first job and was earning $$$. I did not want a cheaper college course that would take me longer to get to the workplace.

As to the loans DD has taken, we joke that perhaps they will be forgiven. If not, I believe the payback rate and interest is pretty favorable.

amother

Lemonlime

Tue, Jun 22 2021, 3:38 pm

Why can’t you either ask you parents to help pay or be an adult, apply for loans and grants, and pay them back?

My parents paid for my college. DH took out loans and we paid them back. My DC are in college now and we are paying what we can and they took loans for the rest.