I registered this morning for college classes....I havent taken anything in 10 years, and last I was in school, I didnt qualify for federal aid.....now I do....1st thing I noticed: Books are a huge racket....$672 in books for 5 classes....2nd thing: tuition aint cheap either....$1376 for 16 credit hours as an in-state resident....and the 3rd, and most ridiculous thing: when you get a federal grant, you get to keep whats left over....so $3881 grant - $1376 - $672 = $1831 in my pocket.... in summation....anyone that says the United States is not the land of opportunity it once was is wrong....for those that are willing to work at it, higher education is there, especially if you are poor....how many other countries will essentially pay you to educate yourself?
Don't get me started on books. The biggest rip-off in education, I wonder how it isn't illegal. College textbooks are mostly only sold to school bookstores, so your options are limited to buy them elsewhere. The bookstores then sell them for twice what they paid and buy back prices are ridiculously low.
Yeah, when I had my scholarship before I transferred, I got about 500 bucks a semester. Not bad at all. Except books are a bitch, especially when not receiving federal aid.
http://www.local6.com/news/17154809/detail.html 11-Year-Old Robs Walgreens, Police Say Witnesses: Child Walks Into Store At 3:30 A.M. POSTED: 5:59 am EDT August 11, 2008 UPDATED: 9:09 am EDT August 11, 2008 ORLANDO, Fla. -- An 11-year-old boy was taken into custody after police said he robbed a Metrowest Walgreens store with what looked like two handguns. Officers said the 11-year-old boy walked into a Walgreens store on Kirkman Road near Raleigh Street at about 3:30 a.m. and demanded money. A veteran lieutenant said the incident left him shaking his head, especially since the child walked into the business alone. One of the workers in the Walgreens called 911 while the robbery was still in progress. Orlando officers were able to catch the 11-year-old as he ran from the store, police said. The pistols in the boy's possession turned out to be air guns but the child did get money from the store's register, police said. Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (TheBeef @ Aug 11 2008, 09:33 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>in summation....anyone that says the United States is not the land of opportunity it once was is wrong....for those that are willing to work at it, higher education is there, especially if you are poor....how many other countries will essentially pay you to educate yourself?</div> Try France, they have ppl who are professional students and stay in University for up to 12 years or more. my friends Brother moved there and after 8 years of schooling he could have continued but the Government hired him and told him he had more than enough education for his well paying job and didn't need to complete his course of studies.
I haven't bought my books yet and class starts in 2 weeks. I always sell them back though and get some cash from it.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Real @ Aug 11 2008, 01:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I haven't bought my books yet and class starts in 2 weeks. I always sell them back though and get some cash from it.</div> Oh lol, I usually buy my books a few days into the school year actually.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Answer_AI03 @ Aug 11 2008, 01:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>BOOKS < BEER</div> GO GREEN! Nice situation Beef, but that's atypical. Some of my friends with little aid and no scholarship are probably going to be 100+k in debt upon graduation on a four-year university track. Why're you going to school this late in the game?
Heh, classes start next Tuesday for me and I still haven't gotten books yet. I probably won't get them until sometime next week.
What sucks about books is that the companies change up a few words add/remove some pictures and call it a new edition! You can use older editions, but if the professor tells you what page something is on you have to look a few pages before or after.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (panthersare#1 @ Aug 11 2008, 03:37 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>What sucks about books is that the companies change up a few words add/remove some pictures and call it a new edition! You can use older editions, but if the professor tells you what page something is on you have to look a few pages before or after.</div> Yeah, one of my professors tried to find a company that didn't do that but that's pretty much impossible. School bookstores are almost a monopoly around here.
Back in the days of WW II, in Africa, the natives there used to defeat German tanks armed only with sticks. How they did it was quite interesting. They'd rush the tank with a bunch of guys and flip it over. When the guys came out of the tank, the Africans beat them to death with the sticks. Banks? Tanks? My confusion. Nevermind.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Denny Crane @ Aug 11 2008, 03:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Back in the days of WW II, in Africa, the natives there used to defeat German tanks armed only with sticks. How they did it was quite interesting. They'd rush the tank with a bunch of guys and flip it over. When the guys came out of the tank, the Africans beat them to death with the sticks. Banks? Tanks? My confusion. Nevermind.</div> What? They flipped one of those panzy tanks? really? that's pretty cool. Canada will also pay you to go to school. I think most industralised western nations with a declining birth rate pay (or loan) students monies.
If you have enough manpower, you can flip over a tank no problem. Surely a lot of them got cut down by the tank's machine guns.
You make it sound as if this is a bad thing. One could certainly argue that a well-educated workforce eventually pays back the country tenfold in higher production, better skills, and by paying more taxes throughout their lives. My personal experience was a bit different though; when my wife returned to school, we discovered that she was ineligble for the stafford because--get this--the 529 accounts for our children counted towards our savings. Then, a federal grant she applied for--and would have received, I believe--lost its funding. I believe most industrialized nations do the same thing. the former soviet union used to pay your educational costs. I once met a Lebanese man who had emigrated to armenia so that his schooling would be free.
Paying for school is one thing....they are giving me the difference in CASH! Thats the part that feels like stealing....nearly $2k just because Im pursuing an education....couple this with my normal tax return, which is nearly $3k even though I dont pay in a dime and the $2K I got for economic stimulus and Im into the government for about $7000 in cash this year, basically because Im considered poor(despite living in a 3/2 with a pool, owning 2 cars, and TV in every room with a premium cable package)....If an actual poor person found out that Im considered poor, they would shit, or atleast they would try to if they had enough nourishment to actually make feces....
Some textbooks cost millions of dollars to produce. Obviously, not every book does. But... for what its worth.
