Yikes! My Daughter Wants a $145K Bachelor's Degree.

My daughter is a brilliant student, a lovely girl and wonderful person. She deserves to go to any school in the USA. She had her sights set on a small Christian college in So Cal called Vanguard University. It's a great little school and I was totally in favor of it. She even was awarded a small academic scholarship. She has just earned her AA at a city college and is on the dean's list and president's list for high GPA.

I just about fell over backward when I found out how much it will cost per year to go. 38K a year and this is even after the scholarship and not including books! On top of that we just found out they will not accept over 50% of her credits and will start her as a sophomore, even though she has her AA. So that adds another expensive year to her degree. This is too expensive and she agrees that it is no longer a good idea, but she is severely disappointed.

After this fiasco, I am trying to talk her into doing a degree via online classes at one of the reasonably priced schools but she is resisting. She is telling me that an undergrad DL degree looks very bad on a resume. She is saying that it's OK for graduate work but not undergrad. It has been a very long time since I have thought about undergrad studies. Does anyone have any suggestions or insight?

 

I am very pro state colleges. A year at one of the Cal State campuses runs right around $11,000 with tuition, housing and fees.

I would also contact the school she received her AA from and see if it has any articulation agreements with other colleges/universities.

 

Hmmm....but since there are now so many great state schools that have online programs, what difference would it make? Maybe if you directed her towards a state school she would agree?

U of Wyoming (uber cheap)
Penn State
U Mass
Washington State U
etc.
etc.

What is she interesting in studying? What are her career goals?

 

She wants to be an English teacher. We are looking at California State Long Beach. The Cal State system is so heavily impacted that it is really difficult to make it through or even get in. But, yes, that's probably the best idea.

 

CSU Long Beach: Meh...

If she wants the cool, fun, laid back college experience in California, I say either: UC Santa Cruz or Chico. Although actually studying might be hard in between the parties and hackeysack.

 

$145K for a degree from Vanguard? I am familiar with Vanguard, and drive by it often. I just doesn't have great name recognition to be worth $145K. I would ask her to do some online courses while she waits for a spot at CSULB, CSUF, CSUR , Cal Poly Pomona, or some other good State school. Just level with her. Here in SoCal (OC) you can make good money, but the cost of living and housing is so high. I am sure she would understand and it will be a good life lesson.

Abner

 

Very wise man.

Abner

 

If she wants to stay in SoCal. With that price tag, it would better if she goes to University of Southern California or University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA).

 

Wow!

How's she gonna pay for it?

 

Actually, as a second choice, she is wanting to go to UCI, which is not very far from our house. It's actually cheaper than Vanguard, go figure.

 

She's not. She agrees that the price tag is ridiculous and no longer wants to go. So my title is a little misleading, sorry.

 

Oh yea, great idea. I'm really going to send my daughter to a party school.

 

That's a great choice!

 

Minot State University in North Dakota charges out of state residents the same tuition as in-state residents: $5647/year. Actually, it charges per credit up to 12 and everything you take over 12 up to 18 in a semester is free. I don't know whether your daughter could handle North Dakota winters, but this is a great deal, though it's not an especially well-known college.
MSU - Enrollment Services

 

Excellent school. My brother got his BS in Biology from there. Great campus atmosphere!

Abner

 

What major is she interested in?

Any of the UC or CSU schools would be a good choice for an undergrad degree. Don't overlook UCR.

Also Redlands has local campuses around So. Cal. including Santa Ana Santa Ana

 

VERY good school. If she were going into medicine, she could support you when you retire.

As Ian pointed out, don't overlook UCR. Or any of the Christian colleges in the IE, for that matter (e.g. Loma Linda, La Sierra U or Cal Baptist).

 

Shame, shame

Vanguard doesn't have much of a reputation. Frankly. I wouldn't go if it were free. If you're daughter is set on a "Christian" college, I suggest Azusa Pacific in California or Wheaton in IL although neither has much national impact. Maybe a school in Texas like Baylor.

These days, if you can afford it, I certainly would discourage anyone from a Cal State. They are cheap but morale is at rock-bottom. Because of impaction, it's very difficult to get classes needed for graduation. Also good luck getting a class with an English-speaking faculty member. No one goes to Cal State (except SLO and maybe SD) by choice. In the movie "Bring It On", Kirsten Dunst's boyfriend goes to Dominguez Hills, which is a great joke because NOBODY goes to DH voluntarily.

If you can afford it, your daughter would be missing a great deal by not going away to a residential college. Education is much more than taking classes and the experience of living with a diverse group of people is what college can provide. There are serious and active Christian groups at most colleges, including mine, the Claremont Colleges, which are about as secular as one could find.

Frankly, if I was so cheap as to expect my daughter to get a cheap online degree, I would be ashamed to post publicly.

 

She can still find a small Christian college without jumping ship and going to an online school. More importantly, I'd look HARD at the community college to find a list of articulation agreements already in place. Use that list as a jumping off point. Your CC likely has several dozen schools on that list, I'm sure she could find several to consider. I'm sure you can also gently bridge the subject of expected salary of an English teacher, how important brand is in that field, and cost of living if she stays in CA. I don't think I'm saying anything too far off to suggest that this won't be an especially high paying career. Certainly there is an affordable way to secure her credential. Seriously, those are things NO ONE talked about with me when I was young and in her shoes.