what was your college experience?

[songbird]

inspired by my daughter...

so far she's been accepted to two colleges. the first is a 20 minute drive from our house, well within commuting distance. the second is in another state, about 3 hours away.

I went to a large university, about 4 1/2 hours away from home, and I lived in a dorm. I loved every minute of it. my ex husband, on the other hand, lived at home and commuted to a local college. his experience was very different from mine.

what was everyone's experience? was it good or bad? if you had to do it again, what would you do diffeerently?

 

[sbkline]

I lived at home with my parents and commuted back and forth.

I'm trying to decide if, given the opportunity, I would still have gone to college at all. I have a bachelors degree in Political Science (can't remember if that is BA or BS), but I'm working at Walmart. I enjoy my job and have no desire to move on to anything else, but there is no college degree required for what I do. And, as many people know, a political science degree is pretty worthless unless you plan to go further and get a masters or PhD. Other than that, the only good a Political Science degree does you, jobwise, is any job that simply says "college degree required".

So I spent 5 years going to college, paying half my tuition while my parents paid the other half. It was a relatively cheap University with tuition around 1200 hundred bucks a semester if I remember correctly. So I could have saved all that money and not even messed with it if I knew then that I would just work at Walmart.

On the other hand, an education should be considered an end unto itself and not just a means to a job. So I'm not using that degree to get some job that I wouldn't even be happy at. So what? I got an education and I'm not sure I would consider that a waste.

But that's still alot of money I could have in the ol' bank account right now if I could just go back and not even go to college...

 

[TwoTigersMom]

I went to our local university, but I moved in with some friends and then got married in my junior year. I was never a party type of person, but we had some good times. I had no desire to go to any other university.

My boys are still much too young, but I have already gone on record saying that they may go to any college they want to. Of course, if they do not go to Auburn they will go in a body cast and without and financial support from me or their father, but the choice is theirs. :lol:


And yes I'm very serious :ROFLOL:

 

[GenerationX]

I'm from the Chicago area, and I spent four great years three hours away at the University of Illinois - two in the dorms, two in a house with friends. I would not have done it any differently.

 

[The Mom]

I did not have the luxury of going away to college, as I had to go as cheaply and quickly as possible, with a guaranteed profession as soon after graduation as possible. Community college filled all requirements.

My husband went away to a college 3 hours from his home. My daughter went to one 11 hours from home (driving) I hope my son will choose one a bit closer. (Not likely to be cheaper, as she got a scholarship) :ROFLOL:

 

[songbird]

oy, Mom, I wish you hadn't mentioned money. my current joke is that I have to figure out which bank to rob to pay the tuition.

I've got a 15 year old, too. and even though she's only a sophomore, she is already talking about college, wants to start looking at schools next year.

what was I thinking, having them so close together? :hammer:

 

[mandib]

I'm a freshman at Marquette University in Milwaukee which is about an hour and 45 minutes from home. I absolutely love it. I live in the dorms and am really lucky to have 2 amazing roommates. I'm all for the smaller school (ok 12,000 really isn't THAT small) atmosphere. Go MU!

 

[songbird]

how is life on campus these days?

 

[duck_daddy]

Much like The Mom, community college fit the bill for me, as I needed a quick fix, with financial stability. Now I am looking at finishing my BS in Chemistry or Biology, and attempting that dreaded road they call Med School!

 

[maelstrom]

I went to college at the local community college and lived at home. I had no desire to go away to school, really. Sure, I had dreams of going to Smith or Wellesley, but that wasn't going to happen in this world. Plus, I didn't want to live in a dorm. I *stil* don't want to live with other people. I'm not a partier, so this worked out well.

 

[Nemo14]

I went away to college - not far from home, but I had enough scholarships to afford to live in the dorm. DH lived at home and commuted. I agree, our experiences were entirely different.

DD went to a college about 4 hours away and lived in the dorms for the first 2 years. She and her best friend from high school were roomates together, and that worked well for her. The last 2 years she had an apartment with roomates, and she learned a lot about financial responsibilities from that. The dorms were a good transition from home for her, but she also had a roomate that she and we knew well, which really helped a lot.

DS is a freshman this year at Hofsta and his experience has been much different. He lives in a suite with 3 other guys (2 double rooms sharing a bathroom and a common area), one of whom moved out about a month ago because his roommate snored so loud. DS' roommate nearly died from alcohol poisoning a few weeks ago while DS was in the city - he came back at around 2 am and found him passed out in his own vomit. He's currently planning for a different roommate for next year.

I guess my best advise is that every one is different, and college is what you make of it. You really need to realistically weigh the expense, the experience, and your child's plans for the future to figure out what's best for you.

 

[mkt]

For me college was a big heaping spoonful of 'meh.'

I did my undergrad in two different institutions. I started out about 1000 miles from home, but I wasn't ready for that responsibility, so after coming home for christmas and having a talk with my parents (and a 1.8 GPA), I enrolled locally. It was cheaper, and I ended up graduating with a 3.1. Total amount of debt afterwards was about $20k in student loans, which I've whittled down to a lean $8k at the moment, and should have paid off by the end of 2008.

Now, I'm 1200 miles from home doing Grad School number 1, and I learned from my previous mistakes and so far it's going well. Grad School number 2 will also be far from home... but then again, Orlando isn't going to be my home anymore This time, I have scholarships and an inheritance to help pay for this, so my current debt from this is a healthy $0

 

[Number_6]

I went away to College a few hours drive from home. While I enjoyed the majority of my brief time there, I ended up getting illnesses far more frequently and that lead to my not keeping my grades up, forcing me to leave in only my second semester. But, it wasn't a total loss. I met my wonderful wife there and we've now been married almost 10 years, been together for over 12 years and have two fantastic children. I wouldn't change anything about it, except maybe the illness part.

 

[DiPSU224]

One of the great things about Penn State was the opportunity to pick from so many campuses. I wasn't sure how I felt about moving away so I started out at a satellite campus about 20 mins from home and lived with my parents. I felt like I was missing out on so much of the "college" experience though that my second semester I transferred to another campus an hour away. It was a quiet school and most people went home on the weekends, so I did the same thing. Then finally I made it up to the Main Campus in State College. It was the best year of my life. Living 3 hours away and on my own made me cook my own meals, manage my money properly, etc and not depend on my parents for so much. I loved State College and how the whole town was the actual school. Then, because of my major (nursing) I had to move to Hershey to start my clinicals at a hospital. So for the next 2 years I lived on a hospital campus :hurl:

Some days I wish I could go back to my little apartment at PSU when studying for a chem test in enough time to go to the football game was the worst of my problems....

 

[mandib]

how is life on campus these days?

Since I really have nothing to compare to I'll just say that's it's typical college. Go to class during the week, party on the weekends, even though we're not that crazy of a party school. Being in the city helps as well becuase we all have bus passes so we'll go explore downtown sometimes. We're a huge basketball school so since basketball season started we drop everything and go to games. I love life on campus and can't wait to go back (just don't tell me Mom!)

 

[surfsupdon]

My college was 90 minutes from my home. I lived on campus all four years and wouldn't do it any other way. It was a good time.

 

[joanna71985]

I am currently still in college. I will be a senior next semester. I live at home and commute to school (about a 45-minute drive each way). It's ok, I guess. The only reason why I am still in school is so I can graduate (though I don't know why- I don't need a degree for my job). Hopefully I will be graduating next Dec.

 

[songbird]

I went away to college - not far from home, but I had enough scholarships to afford to live in the dorm. DH lived at home and commuted. I agree, our experiences were entirely different.

DD went to a college about 4 hours away and lived in the dorms for the first 2 years. She and her best friend from high school were roomates together, and that worked well for her. The last 2 years she had an apartment with roomates, and she learned a lot about financial responsibilities from that. The dorms were a good transition from home for her, but she also had a roomate that she and we knew well, which really helped a lot.

DS is a freshman this year at Hofsta and his experience has been much different. He lives in a suite with 3 other guys (2 double rooms sharing a bathroom and a common area), one of whom moved out about a month ago because his roommate snored so loud. DS' roommate nearly died from alcohol poisoning a few weeks ago while DS was in the city - he came back at around 2 am and found him passed out in his own vomit. He's currently planning for a different roommate for next year.

I guess my best advise is that every one is different, and college is what you make of it. You really need to realistically weigh the expense, the experience, and your child's plans for the future to figure out what's best for you.

great school, Hofstra. I went to Hofstra Law School, lived in Twin Oaks -- the apartment complex.

 

[songbird]

Since I really have nothing to compare to I'll just say that's it's typical college. Go to class during the week, party on the weekends, even though we're not that crazy of a party school. Being in the city helps as well becuase we all have bus passes so we'll go explore downtown sometimes. We're a huge basketball school so since basketball season started we drop everything and go to games. I love life on campus and can't wait to go back (just don't tell me Mom!)

you're suppose dto love it and want to go back!

 

[FutureCEO]

i went to college 40 minutes from my house.....should have went to maine, which was my second choice but then again i wouldn't have met the people im friends with. but i stayed on campus all four years too. just graduated and cant find a job....lol.. freshman year is hard because of some people thinking their still in high school.