We have a high schooler and I’m struggling with this right now. Do we encourage him to stay at home and get the gen Ed’s done locally, or do we send him away and experience the full college experience? I know the friends and experiences I had in the dorms those first two years are something that I wouldn’t trade for anything. So is the money saved worth missing out on those opportunities?
WVU Appears to be in Trouble
- Thread starter acoustimac
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We have a high schooler and I’m struggling with this right now. Do we encourage him to stay at home and get the gen Ed’s done locally, or do we send him away and experience the full college experience? I know the friends and experiences I had in the dorms those first two years are something that I wouldn’t trade for anything. So is the money saved worth missing out on those opportunities?
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
Some prof making $365k isn't on the side of a campus that they're cutting. Those are med school profs and administrators.
This is heartbreaking. Even in 2012, the funding for universities was a fraction of what it was in decades before.Most of this deficit is caused by the state of West Virginia dramatically cutting funding for higher education.
In real dollars, state funding for higher education is down 26% since 2012.
If state funding had remained at the same level as a decade ago, over 80% of the current budget shortfall would not exist.
Erosion of State Funding for Higher Education Explains Most of WVU's Budget Crisis - West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy
West Virginia University is currently facing a $45 million budget shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year, expected to balloon to $75 million annually by 2028. During this year’s State of the University address, WVU President Gordon Gee pointed to several factors driving the shortfall including...wvpolicy.org
That’s why I have a really hard time with the “bootstraps” crowd that are heavy on condescending insults about work ethic and light on workable solutions to fix things.
They attended government subsidized colleges for a fraction of today’s cost and pulled the ladder up behind them with the way they voted in the decades afterwards. Now we all reap what was sown.
Pomerantz's goal was to screw ISU over and make the UofI the main school. Imo
I went the traditional route and agree that the friendships I made at ISU are priceless. That said, I wish my parents and I would’ve talked more about a few things.
Have an honest, thoughtful conversation about everything. Talk about how loans work, what field of study he might pursue, potential earning potential in those jobs. Discuss financial aid and scholarship opportunities. What would be a part time job he could take on that leaves room for studying and social time and also helps with spending money?
If he goes community college route, he does knock out coursework. He could live at home, work part time, save money. That sets him up on a good foot moving forward. On the other hand, spending those 4 years at the big school might open doors (personally and professionally) that also set him up on a good foot. Maybe he is leaning one way or another.
I really agree with this. The connections you make during those years are usually the strongest. It might be hard fitting into a university as a junior but at least you get the name on the degree that can open doors. If you’re going into a profession that relies more heavily on who you know then it might make even more sense.
Really difficult situation but honestly would be hard to put a real world price on the value of those 2 years. You could also go a hybrid approach and take the CC classes in the summer to finish early. Not sure how the math works but would keep the early years at the larger university while still eating into the total bill.
I actually just watched this video on Thursday, one of the best views of the area since Bourdain went on one of his final seasons.
This isn't just a WVU problem. There needs to be a tectonic shift away from public universities having 40+ senior/executive/VP-level administrative leadership positions being protected while hundreds of faculty and entire academic departments are axed. And I never suggested paying someone $50k a year to do these jobs, I am saying that paying someone $425,000 a year to be VP of Strategic Initiatives at a public university whose enrollment is crashing and whose budget shortfall is closing in on $75 million, is ridiculous. Cutting that salary in half (at least) doesn't mean you won't attract talented people, especially if it were the norm at public universities nationwide.
I'm not saying bloat is the only problem, but it is a big part of the problem.
It's like you didn't read half the posts in here that point out some of the challenges with your proposals (ie CC to replace a 4 yr degree). Most of this post is just......really, really uninformed. I have nothing against trades but to pitch them as a replacement for university education is ......a bad pitch. And you keep pushing this false choice of hungry kids vs educated young adults. Again, state governments can choose to fund both. States like WV and IA (in their current form) choose to prioritize neither.
I agree what you guys are saying 100%. Wouldn't trade those first two years, either. Special times....
you can also meet in the middle and share a place with 2-3 people and go to DMACC, but still not the same.
I guess my point was to say people don't have to graduate with 100k+ student loan debt. Even with the crazy high prices we see.
it is a choice and if a person wants to go to a private school and graduate with more debt. if they want to go straight to ISU, which means more debt than DMACC, its a choice.
If they want to decide to work 16 hours a week and full time in the summer to help pay for college, its another choice. If a person wants to spend a ton of time applying for scholarships and landing a few....another choice. I think my neighbor received a ton a scholarships to ISU, but also was really smart with HS grades/ACT so they knocked a bunch off each ISU year.
Its also a choice how you live when you are in college. Nice apartment or cheap living with more people or even dorms. Going to the Bar 4 nights a week versus 2, etc.
one choice I don't agree with (unless you have unlimited cashflow or a valid reason) is to enroll in some expensive school with no aid or scholarships knowing full well you are in a low income career path. Thats a poor choice.
Finally, I will say that not all Comm colleges are equal
big difference between DMACC and some of those Mississippi River Jucos
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
I could trade the dorm experience away, It was fine, but there was definitely no lasting benefit for me.
I don't get the internship that turned into another internship that turned into my first career if I go the CC route. But my industry was heavy on connections and networking and ISU professors had them in spades. If you are a more accessible in demand career with broader applications like teaching, nursing, I think the CC route is pretty solid.
I do not know how every nursing program works but I know the ones at MSU/UM you had to get into the nursing school at the end of freshman year, that could make it a little harder to navigate but not impossible. For something like teaching, social work, or if you know you’re going on to further education this makes sense but only from a pure money sense. I don’t know too many people who would have happily given up their first couple years at university.
Best value of the dorms is meeting people from different backgrounds. There is less mixing of class and ethnicity nowadays (e.g. Bowling Alone). Its a very good thing to find out how other people live and experience the world. I'd mandate a year in dorms for all students for this reason - would do more for actual DEI than a dozen structured, awkward, and expensive programs.
"What does he know of England, who only England knows?"
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
I couldn't disagree more. Dorm life is built for more outgoing personalities. For folks who are more focused on studies and aren't really into the social life, it's quite an anchor for that pursuit.
It's different for everyone. For some kids who aren't as outgoing or social, living in the dorm and meeting new people can bring them out of their shells and they're able to make good connections and become more social. A lot of students are likely coming from HS where there's usually a lot of drama, cliqueness, bullying, social stressors from not "fitting in", and all it takes is to get away from the feeling of being trapped in that kind of a social net and getting around new groups of people to really start thriving socially.
Live in a dorm (now called residence hall) for all four years of undergrad and you, too, can be a mod on CF. Just sayin'