Comments on: If College were Free… Would We Want It? http://collegecandy.com/2008/03/26/if-college-were-free-would-we-want-it/ Advice on student style, collegiate dating discussion guides, relationship advice and women's studies. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:21:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Christine http://collegecandy.com/2008/03/26/if-college-were-free-would-we-want-it/#comment-13770 Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:18:57 +0000 http://www.collegecandy.com/buzz/7899#comment-13770 That's pretty impressive, Elise. Not many college students really give that much dedication to their education. I know I want the degree but am I willing to kill myself for it? Not really. I'll work hard, yes, but I'm not going to go above and beyond since that's not part of who I am.

I think in the long run students would be better off if they had to face reality and start paying for everything right away. I've started backing away from my family and doing things myself. It's hard but it'll help me deal with it in the future.

A free education would be wonderful and I would definitely take advantage of it. But I'm not getting my hopes up… Ever. I'll just pay my bills and be bitter about it for the rest of my life.

]]> By: Elise http://collegecandy.com/2008/03/26/if-college-were-free-would-we-want-it/#comment-13769 Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:31:39 +0000 http://www.collegecandy.com/buzz/7899#comment-13769 Well, see, college *was* free for me.

I worked my butt off to get it free, though. Studied for the SAT constantly throughout my sophomore and junior years, took the PSAT to qualify for National Merit, and was downright aggressive with my search for scholarships. My senior year wasn't about getting *into* a college, it was about getting a *free* college.

See, we were really freaking poor. And I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I knew I wanted a degree.

In the end, I got a full ride so complete that I basically got my whole Pell grant back in cash, minus fees. The Pell grant was my food, gas and clothes money for the semester. Man, I had a racket going and no mistake.

Of course… getting out with no debt will be great, and I had no problem maintaining the 3.8 GPA needed to keep the scholarship, but now there's a twist of irony. I entered this school a piano performance major, I'm leaving it as an English major, and when I leave I'm headed straight for the video gaming industry. This whole thing has given me a degree I'll probably never use, but I still value it.

Now that my parents have a lot more ready cash, my little sister's at this school, and I'm amazed at how little she cares about it. She gets her tuition etc. paid for by Mom (and the Pell), a weekly allowance from my dad, and her professorial last-name recognition from me. And I really don't think she could care less.

See, I may have got it 'free', but I paid for every semester with hard work, whereas she won't feel the money burn until she leaves school and gets handed the bill. So yeah, your point may have some serious validity to it, but keep in mind that more financial aid isn't necessarily the most dangerous force here.

Plus– if college is free and people stop going, maybe *our* degrees will stop being so worthless. Hmmm….

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