Bailey's latest college post

[devilsadvocate]

Thought it was really interesting and encouraging to see her talk so frankly about wanting to go to a brick and mortar college even though it is not yet a sure thing that she will be able to go:

bighouseinthelittlewoodsblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/ivory-tower-dreams.html

:clap: I give a lot of kudos to her mom for being able to accept the idea that going to college might be God's will for Bailey. I hope that the money issues work out.

[browngrl]

Good for her for admitting the truth. I think a lot (may be most) SAHD secretly want to go to college and all the vehement arguments that they forward for why they SHOULD NOT go to college a just a thinly veiled attempt to convince themselves that staying home is what is right.

[Lostie]

I'll keep my fingers crossed for her. She seems genuinely sweet and she obviously has more than a couple of braincells in her head. I've not followed her before, but I might just have to now.

[Effie]

Yay this:

You know, I've found it interesting that everyone here is very open to alternate paths for SAHDs. I thought I was the only one. :

[devilsadvocate]

I think a lot (may be most) SAHD secretly want to go to college and all the vehement arguments that they forward for why they SHOULD NOT go to college a just a thinly veiled attempt to convince themselves that staying home is what is right.

I can believe it. I think Bailey is lucky that her parents are apparently reasonable people who are willing to support her decision. That probably makes all the difference!

Even if Jasmine Baucham or the Botkin girls really do want to go to college, I can see how they might be afraid to tell their families that. If you feel like your dad would say "No way!" and you have no idea where to begin in getting financial aid or filling out college applications, I imagine it's easier to just focus on trying to defend the SAHD lifestyle.

That's why I think the best thing is to not get angry at these girls for saying things about how being a SAHD is great, but try to give them some glimpse of how it might be possible for them to get out of that life if they want to.

[Joykins]

National Merit Scholarships are pennies on the dollar for higher ed. I was awarded one and even back in the 1980s it didn't go far. Yes there is other money out there for the kinds of people who academically qualify as Merit Scholars but that is HIGHLY dependent on the school/program, and other qualifications of the person with the high test scores--the more the school is full of highly smart people the less $ there is for just being smart. There were some places I had a free ride and in other places I had pretty much bupkes (in fact I didn't even GET IN everywhere and I was a National Merit Scholar. Ha.). I ended up going to a school where I got about 1/4 of the tuition off (and not the one that awarded me the scholarship).

That said, I hope she gets enough $ to go to college, she's bright enough and could probably do with the broader horizons.

[YPestis]

The problem I see is this common misconception amongst fundie homeschoolers that their education is "superior" to all these nonhomeschoolers and public school students. She posts that she didn't take college courses to dress up her transcript because it would be a "rehash of 8th grade". The blogger brags about how she actually learned the "hard stuff" because she wasn't college bound. That's the exact type of hubris that will get her into academic problems in college. I'm glad the blogger found her dream college. She still needs to shed the myths fed to her that her restricted education will make her into a star college pupil. I only see the opposite happening.

[defrauding]

That said, I hope she gets enough $ to go to college, she's bright enough and could probably do with the broader horizons.

What broader horizons? She plans to go to Hillsdale.

[Joykins]

What broader horizons? She plans to go to Hillsdale.

She's coming from homeschooling, right? I don't know much about Hillsdale, but even at Patrick Henry it wasn't all march-step.

[Katiebug]

She's coming from homeschooling, right? I don't know much about Hillsdale, but even at Patrick Henry it wasn't all march-step.

Hillsdale is regionally accredited, so there's a basic level of quality to the education obtained there. They're in the top 100 liberal arts schools in the country. I "know" someone online who went there for undergrad and has gone on to a master's and a PhD from other schools with no difficulties.

It's certainly going to be a more well-rounded and rigorous education than CollegeMinus would be.

[VodouDoll]

National Merit Scholarships are pennies on the dollar for higher ed. I was awarded one and even back in the 1980s it didn't go far.

Yeah, I think mine in the late 90s was a one-time payout of $2,000 or something. Not much at all. But saying you're National Merit on other scholarship applications is definitely worth something and can put you over other contenders.

I didn't take classes at the local college that would have made my transcript look trim but burdened me with repeat stuff I learned in eighth grade. I actually studied the hard stuff, volunteered and reveled in my writing obsession.

This kind of attitude drives me nuts. You can - hell, for what you're paying, you should - study hard stuff in college, Bailey! If college is a retread of 8th grade for you, then you are doing college wrong. Because I guarantee you were not producing college-level work when you were twelve. It's arrogant and ignorant to claim so.

[demgirl]

Hillsdale is listed as "unranked" by US News and World Report and doesn't seem to appear on their list ranking Liberal Arts schools whatsoever, so I'm not sure about the claim it's in the top 100 liberal arts schools. I'm having trouble finding any statistics about graduate school acceptance or employment post-graduation.

But, um... it's not Crown College, so... yea?

[Black Aliss]

Yay this:

I do sometimes think I'm the only one who thought Meredith wasn't missing out on anything by pursuing other interests instead of going to college. I personally think the right time to go to college is when there's something you really want to study. For lots of people that's as soon as they graduate from high school. For me it didn't happen until I was in my 30's. (Naturally my own children rebelled by getting their BS degrees in 4 years or less)

Otherwise you can get a good education by reading and I'm sure Stephen has a fine collection of books that Meredith has not yet read. As Matt Damon's character said to the Harvard preppie in Good Will Hunting, "you dropped a hundred and fifty grand on a f****n’ education you coulda' got for a dollar fifty in late charges at the Public Library."

[kaetrin]

She's coming from homeschooling, right? I don't know much about Hillsdale, but even at Patrick Henry it wasn't all march-step.

Joykins, did you go to Patrick Henry?

[Joykins]

Joykins, did you go to Patrick Henry?

Oh, no, I'm basing that on reading mostly (_God's Harvard_ etc) and discussions with my MIL (who lives in P'ville, is a fundy and knows some of the players). I know a lot of faculty left because of academic freedom issues a few years back. I went to Penn State.

[pomology]

National Merit Scholarships are pennies on the dollar for higher ed. I was awarded one and even back in the 1980s it didn't go far. Yes there is other money out there for the kinds of people who academically qualify as Merit Scholars but that is HIGHLY dependent on the school/program, and other qualifications of the person with the high test scores--the more the school is full of highly smart people the less $ there is for just being smart. There were some places I had a free ride and in other places I had pretty much bupkes (in fact I didn't even GET IN everywhere and I was a National Merit Scholar. Ha.). I ended up going to a school where I got about 1/4 of the tuition off (and not the one that awarded me the scholarship).

That said, I hope she gets enough $ to go to college, she's bright enough and could probably do with the broader horizons.

Haha, true story. My National Merit Scholarship pays for $2000 of my bajillion dollars (okay, more like $42,000) tuition. Not including room and board, of course. And I have another $6000 from my school. Combined my scholarships are less than 20% of my tuition. So while I'm glad to have a National Merit Scholarship, it's barely a drop in the bucket of what it costs to go to my selective private liberal arts school.

I'm also curious where Bailey lives and how hard to is to be a National Merit Scholar there, because it is widely divergent in different states (I've always been proud that my home state has one of the highest cutoffs).

All that being said, I hope she gets the money she needs, because even if she goes to a school that reinforces most of the fundielicious thinking of her family, the very idea that she's not being a stay at home daughter doing nothing is good in the long run.

[kaetrin]

Oh, no, I'm basing that on reading mostly (_God's Harvard_ etc) and discussions with my MIL (who lives in P'ville, is a fundy and knows some of the players). I know a lot of faculty left because of academic freedom issues a few years back. I went to Penn State.

Oh, okay. Your wording made me think maybe you had, and then maybe we'd know each other. :)

[Wolfie]

Haha, true story. My National Merit Scholarship pays for $2000 of my bajillion dollars (okay, more like $42,000) tuition. Not including room and board, of course. And I have another $6000 from my school. Combined my scholarships are less than 20% of my tuition. So while I'm glad to have a National Merit Scholarship, it's barely a drop in the bucket of what it costs to go to my selective private liberal arts school.

I'm also curious where Bailey lives and how hard to is to be a National Merit Scholar there, because it is widely divergent in different states (I've always been proud that my home state has one of the highest cutoffs).

All that being said, I hope she gets the money she needs, because even if she goes to a school that reinforces most of the fundielicious thinking of her family, the very idea that she's not being a stay at home daughter doing nothing is good in the long run.

True, and she doesn't have the other achievements to get offered more scholarships to go along with the national merit scholarship. (My brother was offered a full ride to an ivy league school, between his national merit and other acheivements, but he chose to go to a well known public school closer to home. Only the one school offered the amazing scholarships. I got several scholarships with my national merit commended student status, but again, they just look better on applications than anything else.)

[Joykins]

Oh, okay. Your wording made me think maybe you had, and then maybe we'd know each other. :)

Sorry about that. I'm old because I graduated from college nearly a decade before Patrick Henry was founded.

[Joykins]

Back when I applied, the Ivies didn't offer merit scholarships at all. One of them told me that all their students had the ability to get merit scholarships, so there was no point in it. You could go on merit scholarship from other sources but if you got money through the school it was needs-based.

[VodouDoll]

It also looks like she's not going to go to Hillsdale unless she can manage it 100% paid for, no loans or cash outright. She said that's how she'll know it's God's will. That much scholarship money isn't going to be an easy get. It would be a shame if she falls short and, instead of taking out loans, takes it as a sign that Jesus wants her to do College Minus and gives up on her dream.