Assuming you live in the USA, the land of opportunity, and assuming you grew up anytime during or after the 1960’s you probably believe that anyone can do anything. Careerwise, anyway. “You can grow up to be anything you want to be!” “Do what you love, and the money will come!” “Here in America, anyone can grow up to be President!”
Well, it is not exactly that easy to do this, and such a free-wheeling philosophy ignores that fact that there are just not that many jobs available in, well, philosophy, for example. So I propose that anyone interested in certain fields such as, well, philosophy, for example, or any kind of fine arts, humanities, or social sciences, think long and hard about that career path. More on that in another post later.
For now, let’s assume you or your student has decided on one true calling, and nothing less will do. I personally have known people (or their children) who are set on getting a degree in performing arts. Theatre, music, and dance. Seen them all. Rather than worrying here about the career viability of these choices, let’s go ahead and make them happen.
I’ve been told that for these majors, you can’t really go to the local community college. Time is your friend, and your enemy, it seems, when it comes to the performing arts. Since most community colleges can’t possibly afford such programs, you would miss out on the first stages of a progression that must be completed in order to secure a bachelor’s degree.
Hmmmm. Sounds like just the challenge for one Someday Wise. Is this strictly true? Is there any way around this apparent “fact?” Are there any other options?
And perhaps most important: Is it worth asking the question and exploring alternatives that might lead to the same terminal degree with significantly lower costs? It is for me. Perhaps a little wisdom has fallen upon me after all over the many years I have strived for it.
Enter the chargeback agreement. This is a little cooperative situation that many community colleges have entered with others in their state. It works like this: if your local college does not offer a certain major, you can attend another (typically further away) community college at the same price you would pay for your own.
You see, community college is like public school in that your tax money goes directly to your local district. If you want to send your kid to the ostensibly better public school in a nearby town, you have to pay tuition, because you did not give them tax money all these years. Community colleges are supported primarily by their local residents, and any other such college in your state will charge out-of-district (higher) tuition.
EXCEPT in the case of the chargeback. Believe it or not, there are a few community colleges in the state of Someday that offer transfer associate’s degrees in music, art, and dance. Dance is the hardest to find; music and theatre are fairly common. And, frankly, they look like pretty good programs. While they don’t all have dedicated dorms, at least one of them has a housing program for international students to hook up roommates at recommended accommodations, including shuttle or public bus service to the college. I don’t see why you couldn’t ask for your domestic student to get in on this, though admittedly, living away from home adds to your costs. You’d probably have those costs at the four-year college or university anyway, however.
“But Someday,” (here it comes), “everyone knows those community colleges are crappy compared to the (better) school we have chosen.” Sure they are. I realize it’s exhausting to comparison shop for your college education, comparing the actual dollar costs with your perceived value, convenience, the dreams of your student, their ability to meet the kinds of people you want them to meet in college, networking with better connected professors, who-knows-what other hidden dollar costs, opportunity costs, and intangibles, etc.
I get that some random midwestern junior college is not Juilliard. Or Notre Dame, MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Michigan, Swarthmore, or any number of other famous, fancy schools, large and small, from artsy to technical or anything in between.
In striving to be Wise, Someday, I have certainly learned, as I have stated previously, that people don’t like to be told what to do. So I ain’t trying to do that. Not at all. I guess I’m just throwing out there, that the exercise of mindful shopping, even for something (ESPECIALLY for something) as important, and expensive, as a college education, might be worth it. You might find ways to save a little or a lot of money, now and in the future. There are lots of ways to do so, and community college for the first two years is just one that may be viable for some students.
We are just scratching the surface. You see, Someday Wise waited until she was almost (but not quite) too old to have children, and then had one just as the biological clock was beginning to alarm. A child who will, presumably attend college of some sort, one day, still in the future. Meanwhile, I (same person as Someday Wise, sorry for the random switches between third and first person), who graduated debt free, hear endless horror stories of this debt problem, and I am determined to avoid it on behalf of my child. So I actually have a vested interest in mining for all this information. I would do it anyway, even if there were no one to share it with. In fact, it’s really the reason why I’m here at all.
Have a nice day!
Someday Wise 