Between a rock and a hard place
My oldest daughter is now 13, and as any parent of a teenager will understand, my thoughts have begun to contemplate college. Well, not college as much as college tuition. The cost of higher education has gone through the roof over the past few decades and it has far outstripped inflation. When I went to college in the early 1990′s, the total annual costs for both room and board for me was less than $5,000. Now that would barely cover your book fees at some places. Some are saying that college expense are in a “bubble” which may soon burst. Whatever the case may be, it is a serious issue for all parents.
As a Catholic parent, there are other factors as well. I don’t have any inclination to help pay for tuition at a state-college which is anti-Catholic in its teachings and campus life. Nor will I send my hard-earned money to a “Catholic” college which thinks the Catholic tradition started in 1968 with the rejection of Humanae Vitae. So I’d prefer to help pay for a college that is authentically Catholic. Yet those colleges are not cheap (I can’t afford to pay the whole tuition), and I don’t want to saddle my children with huge amounts of debt as they go out into the world.
So what is a middle-class Catholic parent to do? I don’t have any answers (I wish I did!), and I think every option has its positives and negatives.
Option 1: Send my child to an authentically Catholic college for four years and allow them to get into significant debt.
The advantage here is that the child gets four years of life in a great incubator for real life. They are away from the home learning how to live on their own, yet are also in an environment that supports living the Catholic Faith. However, if they are in serious debt when they graduate, they add significant stress to their lives which will affect their career, even vocational, choices and their marriages. This should not be taken lightly.
Option 2: Send my child to a community college for two years and then allow them to finish their degree at an authentically Catholic college.
This has the advantage of being significantly less expensive. I know of families who chose this route and their kids were able to completely pay for their first two years on their own through working, and then the parents were able to completely (or almost completely) pay for their final two years. Thus the children were not saddled with excessive debt going into life. But the disadvantage is that they miss much of the “college experience” of living at an authentically Catholic college, and this could have a great impact on how they live their lives as Catholics going forward.
Option 3: Skip college or only go to community college.
To most middle-class Americans, this seems like a terrible decision. But is it? The “value” of college has in many ways been overblown, and as Catholics, we should not be making our decisions based solely on how much mammon we can gather in our lives. There are many solid careers that one can have without a four-year degree, and for the entrepreneurial among us, college might just slow them down. But of course the child would lose many of the benefits of an authentically Catholic college, such as the deep bonds they form with their fellow students that can last a lifetime.
In my own case, I don’t know what we will do. There is a good chance, in fact, that we might do something different for each child, depending on their personality and life goals. But no matter what we choose, I’m going to always remind myself that the most important goal in life is getting into heaven, not Harvard.
My suggestions: #2 and #3.
Several local Catholic families here are choosing #2 for economic reasons mostly. If I had it to do over, I would choose #2. Economics wasn’t a factor at the time. My daughter, who attended Catholic schools from K through 12, needed to mature more before going off to college. But I didn’t see that then.
#3 sounds good, too, depending on the child and his/her skills and motivation.
I am right with you in your thought about college. I regularly think about my children’s path through–or around–college.
You should check out the Liberal Studies Program just introduced by Ignatius Press and Angelicum. It’s cheap, online, and faithful to the Church. And, of course, the Great Books of the Western World are an excellent foundation of learning.
http://www.ignatius.com/promotions/liberal-studies-program/
Unless you can have a (very) high degree of confidence that a child is going to show “entrepreneurial” skills, I’d say it would be highly, highly imprudent to skip college.
Unemployment among younger people without a 4-year degree since the 2009 depression hit is pushing 20%. I don’t see that getting better. Our economy is increasingly moving towards a sharp divide between poorly paid unskilled/service jobs and “knowledge workers” (what used to be called white-collar). There isn’t any in-between to speak of any more.
I get what you’re saying about Mammon, but these kids are going to have to make a living somehow, come what may. And trying to get a professional job without a college degree is still a major uphill battle.
New reader here. I found you through a link on another Catholic blog (sorry can’t remember which one). We just graduated our oldest from an Evangelical college and he has about $20,000 in debt. He got a good scholarship and we were able to pay $10,000 a year. Still, that’s a lot of debt and a lot of $$$ for us. Btw, he found Catholicism while at this college and became Catholic in April. Our second and youngest is at another Evangelical college now (we are still on our journey to the Catholic Church) and she is in an almost identical situation to our son. She will graduate with about $20K in debt, got a good scholarship, and we’ve contributed $10K per year for her.
There is a decent community college in our small town but I wanted both children to have the full four year Christian college experience. At this point, I honestly don’t know if I would do it again. We’ve been disappointed in both colleges and $20K is a lot of debt to carry into adulthood. Our son is planning to work two years before going to law school and hopes to pay off the undergrad debt before borrowing again for law school.
Vexing issue indeed.
I agree that college is vastly overrated unless you are going into a professional program that requires it. Many students now graduate with debt of $50,000-$100,000 and they will have great difficulty paying that off. Furthermore, most of your education comes from your own hard study and does not require that you go to an expensive school. Although you can make great lifelong friends in college, you can also make them in other places and young people seem to be able to do this quite easily. I think the community college idea is great, and although I am a physician, I would be more more than happy for my kids to be plumbers, electricians, or anything else as long as they do it to the best of their ability. Your last line is excellent- this si what we need to keep in mind.
Why is there no option for a public university? They are certainly much cheaper. I attend George Mason University, a public university. We have a stronger Catholic Campus Ministry than many Catholic schools, and we have the advantage of seeing the world at large, that is, one that is not Catholic. I have seen how important it is to be able to live in the world while not being of the world, and I think a public university is a good place for college age people to learn that.
Also, the tuition bubble will burst soon, in my opinion. Here is another article pertaining to that: http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2010/06/8-reasons-college-tuition-is-next.html
Mark Perry, the author of this blog, seems to be spot on with most issues that pertain to economics, so I am sure what he says here has a lot of truth in it.
Check into financial aid offered by Thomas Aquinas College
They try not accomodate all qualified students through a combination of public and private grants + student work during summers.
I have a friend who has two kids attending Notre Dame – now, say what you will about ND, there are still many devout committed alumni who support the university. As for Rev. McBrien – I’ve been told all he teaches now is a graduate level course that some post-graduate students HAVE to take. No one signs up for his courses voluntarily. On and around campus, the guy is considered a walking has-been…
Anyway…
My friend told me that a number of alumni pooled their resources together – totaling multiple millions – and set up an endowment fund, and said fund has given my friend $100K to have his two girls attend there.
Perhaps some of the other Catholic schools have endowment programs for prospective students. It may be worth looking into.
Okay, I am from the “old school” (even though i am younger than our blogger). So I am going to share my “old fashioned” and “overly pragmatic” ideas.
If your daughter plans to get married and have children, I don’t even see the point of a college education. If she discerns religious life instead, the debt will be her number one vocational impediment.
If she is concerned about getting a good job, she is better off learning a trade (massage therapy, secretarial work, etc.) through a one or two year program.
Steubenville was an eye-opener for me – a lot of women hoping to meet “Mr. Right” and spending $100,000 to do so for a degree most will hardly ever use (mostly Theology degrees – which they could have studied on their own if they wanted to deepen their faith).
One of my grandfathers never went to high school (he was one of 12 and they could not afford it) and he managed to provide a living for his family. He educated himself, he even had a book on calculus. Granted, that was years ago, but I’ve known people without degrees who make much more than I do with my liberal arts degree. There are just other variables. A great Catholic home school or traditional school education combined with participating in parish life ideally ought to give one the solid foundation to enter adulthood, and even opportunities to meet that spouse/discern that vocation. And I think parishes/dioceses ought to be offering adult continuing education in the faith on a deeper level (and many do.) If you missed out on that, then I’d spend the money to go to a solid Catholic college. But I question the need to go to college just for its own sake. There are professions where you absolutely need it, though. If you aim towards one of these, what about joining the National Guard? If you get a job with a company that won’t advance you without a degree, many of them offer tuition reimbursement.
When I was at Steubie, I remember a cartoon on Dr. Hahn’s door. The cabbie was saying to the graduate: “Feeling scared to go out into the big world? I remember that when I got my doctorate.”
I agree with Ruthie: why no option for a public university? I attended the U of Nebraska-Lincoln and discovered my Catholic faith at their excellent Newman Center. I am now in the convent, and I owe them my vocation!
There are other options, esp. if the kid wants to major in something that isn’t offered at most Catholic colleges (e.g., engineering, veterinary med., etc.). The option is to send them to a school such as A&M which is not nearly as expensive as a private school and we have great campus ministry to give them the formation and experience they need.
Some also do the junior college route for two years (at a local JC), while still being active in our campus ministry. Then they transfer to A&M.
I actually went to a public university (Miami University) and it was there that I became Catholic, so I’m aware that people can grow in their faith while at a public school.
However, now that I am a parent, I must admit that I hesitate to send any of my money to a school that rejects the Truth and fosters an immoral lifestyle. If one of my children wanted to go to a public university, I won’t do anything to stop them, but I also won’t send my money there. Marcel brings up the one exception I might make: if my child wanted to study a specific field that wasn’t available at an authentic Catholic university.
I don’t claim that my outlook is one that all Catholic families should take, but at the same time, I have to spend my money as I see best.