Posts tagged with undergraduate.

What is university for?

Jenny Mitchell, October 21, 2009 at 2:30 PM

Jenny Mitchell

When I started university last September, I thought there was something wrong with me.

 

I wasn't going to university to find my sense of self or simply for the joy of learning. I'm a little more pragmatic. I mostly wanted a degree.

 

I'm in university because it's something I need to do to reach my career goal. Learning simply for the sake of learning was, and still is, secondary to me. But that doesn't mean I'm not enjoying my classes on ancient civilization and anthropology.

 

Like most students, I find it exciting and rewarding to be in a setting filled with experts in their respective fields. I especially love my biology classes, and look forward to the experiments and labs I get to participate in on a regular basis.

 

But as much as I'm enjoying my time at the University of Waterloo - learning more than I ever expected or hoped to about cell biology and molecular genetics - I'm there to obtain a degree. And if investing those four years of my life wasn't going to lead to my earning an undergraduate degree, I'd leave. Immediately.

 

For me, university is all about helping me reach my next goal in life.

 

But is that wrong?

 

According to a report published earlier this month by the TD Bank Financial Group, the total cost for an undergraduate degree started this year will cost a small fortune. Approximately $53,356 for students living at home, and $80,498 for those students who don't. In 18 years, the total cost will have shot up to $101,426 for students living at home, and $137,013 for those who live somewhere else. That's a lot of money just to, well, find yourself. At that price, I might decide to stay lost.

 

But it's not all bad news.

 

The report says that the huge rate of return on an undergraduate degree more than makes up for the enormous costs involved. University grads make more money than those who don't pursue a post-secondary education.

 

According to the 2006 Census, an undergraduate degree means a median annual income of almost $19,000 more than those with just a high school diploma.

 

If a higher future income isn't reason enough, the report also says a university degree reduces your chances of being unemployed. Nothing guarantees you a future job, of course, not even a degree. But it's an additional and important tool to have for the future. The report says a degree also means less time on the unemployment line as well. University graduates find new jobs faster after they lose a job.

 

A few of my friends thought I was weird for knowing exactly what undergraduate degree I wanted, right from the start of my post-secondary education. A few said they wouldn't really know until they had gone to school for a while and, you know, sort of tried it on for size. Some of them have changed their majors. Several times.

 

I think it's great that they didn't have to continue to waste time or money pursuing a degree that wasn't right for them. After all, what's the point of spending all that time and money pursing a path that doesn't lead you to where you eventually hope to be?

 

Picking the wrong degree is an expensive mistake that many of us, myself included, can't afford to make. But we need to be able to recover from that mistake if and when we make it. We need to find a way to better support students, while they're still in high school, to help them avoid making that mistake in the first place. Otherwise, too many students will continue to find themselves in university before they're actually ready.

 

 

 

Tagged with cost, undergraduate, degree, income, expensive, mistake | Comments (4) |

How to avoid the two biggest costs of university

Kathy Dobson, October 21, 2009 at 2:26 PM

Kathy Dobson

When my two oldest started at the University of Waterloo last year, it was assumed they would be living at home.

 

With the University of McMaster, Toronto, Waterloo, Sir Wilfred Laurier and several other universities within driving distance of our home, spending thousands of extra dollars every year (for each kid) just wouldn't have made sense.

 

Residence might teach important life lessons, such as independence and responsibility. But those life lessons cost you. Big time.

 

According to a special report released by TD Bank Financial Group last week, the total cost of a four-year undergraduate degree for a student living away from home is $80,498. Living at home saves almost $30,000, with a four-year cost of $53,356. And the cost is only going to go up. In 18 years, the projected cost of a four-year undergraduate degree is $137,013 for those students living away from home, and $101,426 for those who stay at home.

 

To be honest, I thought it would be more.

 

Never mind worrying about partying, drinking, a poor diet, or those other negative stereotypes often associated with living in residence.

 

Living away from home is a huge expense, and the larger student loans required could follow your child for years. For parents who plan to pay their children's way through university, they had better start saving up in advance. Way in advance. Heck, once your child is in high school, it may already be too late. The best time to start saving might be even before they're born. Especially if, like me, you have more than one. Or two. Three, four, and well, you get the picture.

 

Of course, who knows how many of my children will actually attend university in the end. At least one of them might decide to attend college and go into the trades. Or start their own business. Just as long as none of them decide to become a professional student, I'm ready to support their decision.

 

Residence is expensive enough. But there's an even bigger expense parents might need to watch out for. Your child spending a few years 'finding themself' in university. Or deciding to switch majors after a year or two. Maybe more than once.

 

I have a friend whose son decided to switch degrees, after spending two years in his program. I think it's great that he was able to change his career path before it was too late - before he had completed his degree, or invested several years in job that he didn't like. And self-exploration is great. If you can afford it. In my family's case, there's no wiggle room. With student loans and part-time jobs, my children need to make a straight path through university.

 

Switching degrees isn't necessarily a mistake. But it's an expensive decision.

 

Of course, it's always an option to do a general year before declaring a major and investing (or wasting) a year in any particular program. But that's still a year's worth of tuition, textbooks, and other student fees.

 

The most cost-effective way to tackle university: tons and tons of research. It might sound obvious, but knowing what you want - or don't want - could save you tens of thousands of dollars.

 

For some students, it might be as simple as acknowledging that they just aren't ready yet. They need to go out into the real world for a year or more before committing the time and money to a path in university that still isn't clear in their mind.

 

And for some, the road might never lead them back to school, and that's okay, too. As parents, we need to recognize the fact that for a lot of reasons, university isn't for everyone.

 

Tagged with education, money, cost, report, td, save, undergraduate, bank | Comments (9) |