My name is Steve and I thought I would just take a minute to tell you about an amazing opportunity that I had. I’m a young high school student from Manchester, England and I wanted to continue to study in a University. Though I didn’t know where I should go, or what I should do? Then I heard about a company from Canada called Loons Can Learn. It is a company that knows of all the University and Colleges in Canada and worked with me to figure out which Universities I should apply to. It was amazing! They had a small question sheet where I told them all about my schooling plus everything that I liked and didn’t like about all the provinces that Canada has.

After a very short time they wrote back to me and gave me a suggested list of which Universities I should apply to and which province they were in with the information of the land to go along with it. Once I had applied to all of my Universities I chose one of them and it was in the province of Ontario. I thought that I would be finished with the Loons Can Learn Company, but boy was I wrong. Once I had picked a University they came at me with advice on Immigration, where I should live, when I should take my flight, and get this; when I came over on the plane they met me at the airport and gave me a welcome package! A package which had information on Canada and the provinces, about the residence and area that they had helped me choose, how to get around the city I had picked plus different ideas for seeing it and Canada in general.

They provided more and me with all the help that I needed. I can’t thank them enough! If any of your are even thinking of what to do after high school or where should you go I have a major push for Canada because it is the most diverse country in the world and it has every thing imaginable in Universities and Colleges. If you want to check out the website that helped me I’d be glad to give it to you ~ http://www.loonscanlearn.com ~ or if you want to contact me for a bit more information about anything I would be glad to give you my e-mail. It is steve2567@live.com

Thanks everyone and good luck with your hunting!

Steve

I think that college is a good idea if you’re in the right program, or, barring that, that you’re clear about why you’re going. If you don’t really want to be there, you’ll subtly sabotage yourself. I saw lots of students acting like they were in “Thirteenth Grade,” and others wasting the best years of their life in soul-draining minimum wage jobs. There are other options. Wouldn’t it be better to take an internship, or a series of internships over a year or two-year period, and listen to online lectures in your spare time?

I got divorced, sold the house fro a nice profit, then spent 3 years of my life in some more sales jobs and was at ground zero in life. I went back to school at age 29 and finally figured out my path: exactly what I was taking classes for at age 19.

I needed to learn a lot of things before I got back to my real path. I have the insight, maturity and skills I did not have at age 20.

College wasn’t for me at 20. It is for me at 34 and looking forward to finally finishing my degree and doing something I enjoy.

regardless i agree w ur parenting technique.

“Finding Yourself” is a joke. This is not 1969. At best it is self-indulgent BS. At worst it is an excuse for sloth and failure.

When my kids graduate they have 2 choices – the military or college. If they want a trip to Europe on me it will be:
1. After they accomplish something – like graduating from college or finishing an enlistment.
2. Well after they are 21 – American kids leaving the country before 21 is pretty much certain to be several weeks of binge drinking.
3. Mature enough to fully enjoy their trip – and this is not 18.

Even if you don’t know what you want to major in, taking 2 years of math, english, and speech won’t hurt you.

As far as looking for something you are passionate about…That is the best case if it makes you money, but there is nothing wrong with going after more money and less passion. I could introduce you to a bunch of art (photography, music, drama, etc)majors who, in their mid 30’s, wish to god that they had got useful degrees when they had the chance.

While it is a diminishing effect – money does indeed buy happiness, or at least lack of money buys unhappiness and stress.

1. you should go to college right out of hs if you can get to any respectable college, if not, putting some joke state school, community college on ur resume will get u no real value in the future, just something to put my coffee on. make urself useful and go work in construction or some other blue collar job.

2. finding urself is a joke, this pt should only apply to people who are smart enough to go to a good college but need money to do so. highly worth it, it’ll pay dividends your whole life. ur family wont likethat u went to ‘find urself’ if they have to chop firewood to heat their home

3. “you need to major in X because that’s the only way you’ll make $40K straight out of college.” it really sucks if you picked something u didnt like in college to make 40k, 40k is sad. do something u like but be smart cuz you can’t live w/o money, or start a family, or save much like this site tells u to.

I like your idea of traveling after college & before work. That added maturity and knowledge one gains from putting travel off till after (or during) college has value.

I think the main thing here is providing an environment that will foster their self actualization or “finding themselves”. It’s really a much more complex process than backpacking across Europe. This gives them life experience, and may indirectly lead to finding themselves. Depending on various psychological factors, many people never really find their true self. Exposing them to culture, giving them oportunities to explore areas they are interested in, and encouraging them to do what they feel is right will be more help than anything. On the other hand, many kids who are not expected to continue their education see it as a ticket out. I would not hand them the account at 18to do with it whatever they want, the things that are important at 18 are not important at even 20 or 25 and so on. They may go for years and then decide they have found their calling. And then what? You need to expect something out of them, just don’t try to make the choices for them. I was lucky to have a college fund set up for me and at 18 I was living on my own and more responsible than some @18 but decided to take a break and a few years later, found there was no chance without a degree. I went back and struggled with that 1st semester. decided to take less classes and it was much better. Belive me, it’s hard to take time off. I think this can actually be less helpful in the long run. And for some, it’s better to wait until they are independant students, espeically if their parents make too much money.

And there are other things to consider. Encoraging them not to sow their wild oats is important. I know so many girls who got bogged down because they had children before they were really mature enough, had the resources to support children and other issues. A lot of times they just don’t realize. And a lot of young men end up fathering a child, and are stuck with someone they were only looking to have fun with and vice versa. And then they start to realize that their morals and goals in life don’t line up. But what do you do? Live off the state? Say “I love my kids…I hate my kids…I love my kids…” It hapened to just about all my friends and they are stuck in poverty when they could have waited a few years. There are so many things to consider, and it’s going to be different for every young adult. However, college is really the way to go. Even many entry level jobs that don’t pay much more than minimum wage want a degree and some experience too. This is why it is wise to let them decide what they want to do, but if you don’t expect them to do their best, they might not. And at 18, they really can’t decide for themselves, they are just not mature enough, they don’t understand the realworld.

Unfortunately the above statement is not necessarily true. For years I tried to make a “living” as an actress/writer/performance artist and it only rarely worked – I almost always had to do other jobs in order to pay my basic expenses (like eating.)

However, that doesn’t mean that people shouldn’t try to pursue their passions. The starving artist in a garret trip can be fun when you’re young, it’s an experience anyway, and I’m glad I did it (even living in an artist’s squat in Amsterdam with only a space heater and no hot water – imagine the winter – it was a very creative time though.) Most of us grow out of that though, you can only live that way for so long, then you move on.

So passion is good, travel is also good and it is unfortunately not encouraged enough in this country. The “gap year” is an important institution in most European countries as well as Israel and some others. Taking a year out between high school and college or between college and working life is an invaluable time where you can grow as a person and really begin to understand the world in a visceral way, immersing yourself in other cultures and world views. I highly recommend it, particularly traveling beyond Europe to Asia, Africa or South America – learn other languages, other philosophies, see what it feels like to be a minority.

Lisa, drunk and stoned backpackers are not limited to Americans, nor is that behavior limited to backpackers – ever been to a frat party, or been on the beaches of Florida or Galveston during spring break? That’s far, far scarier.

I did the backpacking around Europe thing at age 20. I did it on my own and it was a wonderful experience. I did it then because I was uncertain at the time where I wanted my education to go. I was going to be making the community college to four year university transfer soon, and I was hesitant about my majors and goals. So I took a break. I got a lot out of that trip because I had studied quite a bit of European and art history, and I understood the significance and context of much of what I was seeing for the first time. (Since this is a PF blog, I should also mention that this trip was primarily self-funded and I had been working during and since high school.)

The “break” extended when I ended up living and working in another country for three years. I saw an opportunity to live a different sort of life and I grabbed it. That was far more meaningful than any trip (and ultimately far more meaningful than my university experiences, before and after).

If it were my kid … I’d encourage them to follow their dreams but also provide some guidance to them. Volunteering or some special job situation would be best if they feel ambivalent about starting college right off. But I don’t have kids, I don’t know what they will be like, so I’m open to what comes.

That’s completely nonsensical. Most children in America are deeply sheltered – an independent experience can be incredibly valuable at bringing who a person is into full blossom, without the pressures of college life and the requirements of good grades in a program of study that you’re not committed to.

I’m saving money in a 529 for my son – when he’s 18, the account becomes his to do with what he pleases. If he chooses to take a year off to join a volunteer corps, I’ll be the first one to applaud his decision. If he decides to go to college, I’ll applaud that, too. The point is, the decision is his, not mine – all I want to do is point out to him the benefits and drawbacks of different paths and let him decide. College is not the path for everyone, and it’s irresponsible parenting to tell your child from day one that they will go to college, period.