Wednesday, May 18, 2011

My daughter is going to college and wants to quit because of costs. Is this a bad decision on her part?

she is 18, getting married in February and just found out that she is pregnant. Her fiance makes 40k a year. She makes less than 10k a year. She is a freshman in junior college. Her plan was to become a science teacher. But the nearest unversity is over an hour away. And costs $17000 a year. So she then decided to look into a 2 year degree that she can complete at the jr college level. Well, now she is pregnant and thinks that it would be better to find a full time job since they'll need money. She would have to drive 40 minutes to an hour away. And with limited work skills all she would be able to hope for is factory or retail. And that wouldn't pay for gas or day care. So I am talking her into staying in school and getting at least a 2 year degree (i.e. nursing, occupational assisting, dental hygiene...). Any advice? She has a lot of potential. i told her that she may very well have to take out student loans. Her BF doesn't like that idea. Her Pell wasn't much and I paid the rest.
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By dropping out, she will have to rely on boyfriend to support her and her baby for as long as she doesn't have more than a high school diploma. That being said, it isn't a good idea for someone to be in college and not want to be there - that and the added stress of a baby will guarantee her failure. Keep in mind that getting back in school is a heck of a lot harder when someone drops out in the middle or after they fail all their classes. (Her financial aid gets suspended and/or she may be required to pay it back depending on what happens.) Better let her re-enroll in when she wants to and when the baby is old enough to be in daycare. My advise to you is to let your opinion be known, but support her in the decision she makes - whatever it is. If she opts to drop out, she can always go back later and your support now may help you be able to influence her later. THEN you can stress to her the importance of education and the need for her to be able to support herself and her baby just in case. Yes - in a perfect world no one would be downsized or laid off, no spouse would become disabled or die and divorce or separation would never happen; but your daughter needs to realize this now that she is a parent. At 18 she doesn't realize this like you do. Love her, support her, and congratulations on being a new Grandma.
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