According to College Board, the average cost of tuition and fees for the 2012-2013 school year was $8,655 for state residents attending public colleges, $21,706 for out-of-state residents attending public universities, and $29,056 for students attending private colleges. These expenses don’t include the cost of housing, meals, books, school supplies, clothing and personal needs, or transportation expenses, which can equal or exceed the cost of tuition.
Accordingly, many students and parents are considering the use of online long distance learning (LDL) courses as a method to reduce the expense of college education. The question is, can LDL courses realistically replace the benefits of an on-campus degree?
According to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately two-thirds of high school graduates enroll in college the fall following graduation. While most experts agree that a college education affects annual earnings by at least $20,000 (an estimated $1 million over the course of a working career), a 2011 Pew Research poll reported that more than 75% of Americans think a college education has become too expensive to afford.
In a May 2013 interview with US News & World Report, former U.S. Secretary of Education William Bennett advised parents that they shouldn’t “automatically or reflexively send their kids to college,” noting that there are 115,000 janitors in the U.S. with bachelor degrees today. His recently published book, “Is College Worth It?“, notes there will be 14 million jobs available in 2018 requiring more than a high school education, but less than a college diploma. Bennett also claims that a community college graduate, on average, makes more today than a graduate of a four-year university. That said, according to the Pew Poll, 86% of college graduates believe that college was a good investment, with 7 out of 10 stating the experience gave them maturity and intellectual growth, as well as job preparedness.
Whatever your feelings about the value of a college degree, there’s no denying that education is expensive. If you or your child wants to pursue a degree, there are ways to reduce educational expenses and avoid the long-term financial burden of extensive student loans.
As Dr. Madeline Levine, author of “Teach Your Children Well,” stated in a 2012 New York Times article, “The central task of growing up is to develop a sense of self that is autonomous, confident, and generally in accord with reality.” Unfortunately, many parents in their attempts to give their children self-esteem and psychological security overly praise their children and celebrate the completion of tasks that are ordinary and easy, effectively rewarding them for mediocre efforts. As a consequence, children develop a false sense of self-confidence and achievement, a facade of self-esteem that crumbles when they are challenged as teenagers and college students with potentially devastating consequences.
Teaching a child to succeed and achieve the potential of which they are capable is not just a matter of positive reinforcement, but includes giving them the tools to understand and appreciate the reality of genuine achievement. Parents need to realize that self-esteem does not lead to accomplishment, but that accomplishment leads to self-esteem. Children who understand that instances of adversity and stress are inevitable in every person’s life are going to become emotionally and socially intelligent adults who can recover from disappointments and move on with their lives.
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According to College Board, the average cost of tuition and fees for the 2012-2013 school year was $8,655 for state residents attending public colleges, $21,706 for out-of-state residents attending public universities, and $29,056 for students attending private colleges. These expenses don’t include the cost of housing, meals, books, school supplies, clothing and personal needs, or transportation expenses, which can equal or exceed the cost of tuition.
