My daughter deserves the absolute best college, which may be the problem

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | Saturday, May 10, 2003 | Tom O'Boyle

[Willie Green]

My daughter and I are standing at a pasta bar, on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, when the chef asks what pasta I would like as my main course.

They all look scrumptious, but I finally settle on penne among the four alternatives before me.

[giotto]

If I ever get me some anklebiters (G-d forbid) and they wanna go to college I'll say "Fine, you go do that, I'll see you in four years..."

LOL! But let us know how you feel about this when you DO have some anklebiters. I too was an expert on child raising before I had any.

[contessa machiaveli]

who could forget the quad on the first day of school...we were always among the last colleges to begin classes.

[dark_lord]

If Freepers ever banded together we could form a nonprofit corporation that would float a bond issue to buy a small junior college. The corp could then heavily leverage teleconference facilities to acquire the services of heavy duty professors from reputable universities to teach courses long distance. Get accredited from a major college association and go into business. Low everhead, good professors, and low costs.

This is not a new idea of course. There are some schools that do this but the few that go 100% distance learning do it in reverse - students stay home and the instructors are centralized; or maybe both are distributed. Such "universities" are usually focused on "certificates" rather than 4 years degrees, or on single programs (eg. MBA) and quality varies highly. Most kids want a party school and the parents if they want cheap just go in state community college and then state school; and if they want good just go for the "rated" schools -- ivys and etc.

But a Free Republic university....as time goes one we should have enough critical mass to float such a concept.

[Dan from Michigan]

Best thing I ever did was take a year off for experience.

[Mamzelle]

Very creative--I like it!

[El Conservador]

I've got a word for that: Engineering

I thank God every day for making me choose Civil Engineering as my major.

[El Conservador]

[nevergore]

Thank God my daughter is going to the Air Force Academy this summer......

Besides the price (it's free - actually, after you finish paying for your kid's college some of your taxes goes to give my kid a free ride), the values, morals, ethics and self sacrifice the school empasises are a refreshing alternative to state university and college system....

NeverGore :^)

[oldironsides]

I wonder if anyone mentioned the problems around Univ. of Penn to this proud mother? It is indeed a worry to send a
youngster into Philly.

[Satadru]

Applied sciences is good. But we need more people studying pure sciences and mathematics.

[DeFault User]

I have yet to find one thing 'liberal' about democrats. As far as I'm concerned, the real Liberals are Conservative to the Core. (flame away lol).

Liberal, at one time, used to mean that your mind was liberated and capable of creative and rational thought. A "liberal arts" education endowed you with a wide arrange of knowledge and the ability to think as well as draw lessons from the past, develop a richer and deeper understanding of life from literature and art; and (hopefully) apply them to some useful endeavor in life--which probably required graduate school.

As pointed out elsewhere on the thread, that is seldom the case now. A liberal arts degree is often worthless because an employer cannot be assured that such a graduate can think, solve problems or write and speak proper English.

Politically, I almost prefer to think of myself as a Jeffersonian liberal, a believer in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution and the innate right of humanity to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. As you pointed out it is now the "Liberal" who wants to fit society into a mold, restrict liberty and control thought.

[quebecois]

I graduated from an Ivy League school in the late 80s. The cost was obscene and the liberal arts were completely replaced by naked marxism. And the tuition there has doubled since I gradated.

At some point, middle americans are going to begin to wonder why they should blow their life's nest egg by sending their kid to a school where he will be bombarded with liberal propaganda.

Education is today where the media was circa 1985. People are well aware what is wrong and who is causing the problem...but they don't yet have an alternative. I'm eagerly awaiting the appearance of the academic equivalent of EIB and Fox News. If you think that the lefties are upset about the loss of their media monopoly, just wait until they see the children of middle america going to schools that they don't control.

[Pukka Puck]

Cara

He misspelled Clara.

[Pukka Puck]

"Cara worked incredibly hard in high school, pulling more all-nighters in one semester than I did in four years of college, and I am proud of her."

Having to pull an all-nighter shows poor self-discipline and planning skills and is nothing to be proud of.

[Pukka Puck]

"the considerable sums Penn will soon extract from mom and pop (and Cara too) for membership in its club."

Where in the hell did Cara get considerable sums at 18 years of age? If she has that much money I would let her go to Pitt or Penn State and pay for it herself.

[Pukka Puck]

"Or the effect such factors as "legacy" can have on admittance."

Hmmm. I guess affirmative action doesn't mystify him a wit, even though affirmative action is a much large factor in admission than "legacy".

[KC_for_Freedom]

Our son selected Auburn University in Alabama ond of a handful of schools that still has a Core program. Thanks be.

[Newbomb Turk]

Thank God my daughter is going to the Air Force Academy this summer

the values,

Is sexual assault of women an Air Force Academy value now too ?

I am not flaming you I just wondered because my daughter was going to go until this years revalations.

[Pukka Puck]

Chemical engineers get paid well for their internships. They make good money without a graduate degree as well. And they don't have to have a degree from an Ivy League school to get a job, either.