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how did you pay for College?

Athena18

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I feel blessed to have money in my RESP to pay for University.
My parents have been very diligent in contributing to it since I was a baby, as have relatives. Also, we have many ways to earn scholarships and government grants as well. My school offers monetary awards for various activities and high grades as well.
I also am excited to be going to my school of choice beginning a year in September. With scholarships and my RESP, I should be able to complete my education without financial hardships. I'm thankful for that.
Next year, I plan a year at bible college just for my own interest. (My grandparents offered to pay for it if I went so I jumped at the chance.)
 
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sundewgrower

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Money.

Still paying those stupid loans. Sometimes I want to scream.

In my opinion college should be free for the middle and lower class, and super expensive for the upper class. I'm talking like a couple million dollars worth.
The biggest issue is if we hit the upper class then their incentive to continue working and running things won't be very good. Yes, they're rich, and I have personally seen their second or third homes which cost 20-130 million. They have money to burn, spare, and use however they want to the point it usually screws them up.. But the thing is. They don't usually have a life, they have the assets, and in the end they are driving the economy. If you strip it all away that's not a good deal. Of course that then goes into how much more you should pay and etc..
 
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blackribbon

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I got rid of that doctor when I got my ACA plan. Good riddance, really, because he did a lot of sketchy things.

But my new doctor is just as slow, and the doctor of everyone I know is the same way. At least this one is less sketchy- I was so relieved when I found out I only had to get one vial of blood taken for a thyroid check! My old doctor would take three, and it was enough to make me pass out cold.

When I asked the new doctor about the difference, he told me that the extra two vials were only needed if I was getting a complete hormone workup, which I most definitely was never getting. This was corroborated by a few other people I asked, and it's scary. I developed a phobia because of those three vials :(

One vial is enough for a thyroid check. I draw them all the time. The different vial colors are for different blood tests. Who knows what else he was testing? Whatever he was doing, he was running up your bill....which is probably why it took so long to get an MRI...I suspect he only used one company that was giving him a kickback.

Some test by nature take time...others are literally "waiting in line"...I have waited 6 months to see a specialist for the first visit but never that long after becoming a patient.... but emergency care, like a potential stroke, should never take multiple months in the US. There are plenty of options and MRI scanners.

However, 3 vials of blood is almost nothing...we can lose several pints before it becomes an issue which is why giving blood isn't an issue for healthy people. Do you have a diagnosed thyroid problem that is being treated? If so, how often are you having your thyroid levels tested?
 
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blackribbon

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Money.

Still paying those stupid loans. Sometimes I want to scream.

In my opinion college should be free for the middle and lower class, and super expensive for the upper class. I'm talking like a couple million dollars worth.


Why should they be free for only part of the population? Usually, college aged students aren't wealthy...just their families are. Just because daddy is rich doesn't mean that he is giving me any money.

If we were going to give away higher level education, I would only be willing if it was awarded on merit...both based on intelligence testing and how well, a child took advantage of the free education they were already given in grades K-12. Most the countries whcih do offer free education have requirements to get in...they don't just give it to anyone. Your career options may also be limited based on testing....so free tuition but not free choice of majors.
 
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MehGuy

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Why should they be free for only part of the population? Usually, college aged students aren't wealthy...just their families are. Just because daddy is rich doesn't mean that he is giving me any money.

If we were going to give away higher level education, I would only be willing if it was awarded on merit...both based on intelligence testing and how well, a child took advantage of the free education they were already given in grades K-12. Most the countries whcih do offer free education have requirements to get in...they don't just give it to anyone. Your career options may also be limited based on testing....so free tuition but not free choice of majors.

If their parents are unwilling to pay the money the kids with rich parents will have to perish.

Sad the thought that they won't get a break for once..

Many of them are spoiled brats, and them cleaning toilets and flipping burgers would be satisfied justice.
 
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Blue Wren

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A friend told me, that some of the top universities in the US, they have programmes so that students who do not come from rich families, they can attend for free. I do not know, the income specifics. Stanford, she said, has this now. I think students, they get jobs on the campus, to help. I'm not so sure. It is, quite crazy, how expensive, universities, in the US are. I am glad, some can help.

It is hard, to get a place, in some of the best universities in Sweden, also, but, once you are in you needn't worry about tuition. It is very expensive, still, to pay for your living expenses. It's very rare, for students, to still have their parents paying for their way, after 17. This is true, whether your parents are very rich or not. It's just, not so common. Some students, they will keep living at home, but their parents, they do not provide money to get a flat, if they move away. At least, most do not. So, to pay for high living costs, many will take loans. I am glad, I can live at home, as the university is not so far away.
 
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KitKatMatt

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However, 3 vials of blood is almost nothing...we can lose several pints before it becomes an issue which is why giving blood isn't an issue for healthy people. Do you have a diagnosed thyroid problem that is being treated? If so, how often are you having your thyroid levels tested?

3 vials are enough to make me pass out and one time I stopped breathing, so it's kind of a big thing for me. It terrifies me to get blood drawn, but even more when it's more than one vial.

I have hypothyroidism and take synthetic thyroid hormone to help keep my levels good. I used to have tests four to five times a year because I had growths on my thyroid, but they all went away so now I've gone down to once a year.
 
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sundewgrower

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3 vials are enough to make me pass out and one time I stopped breathing, so it's kind of a big thing for me. It terrifies me to get blood drawn, but even more when it's more than one vial.

I have hypothyroidism and take synthetic thyroid hormone to help keep my levels good. I used to have tests four to five times a year because I had growths on my thyroid, but they all went away so now I've gone down to once a year.
I almost passed out from three or four vials a few years back.
But then a few weeks ago I got a metabolic panel, thyroid test, and allergy test. So a few vials. But it seems like whatever anxiety I was unknowingly dealing with wasn't there, and I was fine.
It does depend on who is drawing the blood, the lady who does my mothers 6+ times a year for her thyroid is really good, and it didn't hurt. But if you land the wrong one I'm told it's far from pleasant.
Thyroid stuff is terrible. I'm fine, but my mother suffers from it to the point where her quality of life is severely effected to say the least.
 
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KitKatMatt

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I almost passed out from three or four vials a few years back.
But then a few weeks ago I got a metabolic panel, thyroid test, and allergy test. So a few vials. But it seems like whatever anxiety I was unknowingly dealing with wasn't there, and I was fine.
It does depend on who is drawing the blood, the lady who does my mothers 6+ times a year for her thyroid is really good, and it didn't hurt. But if you land the wrong one I'm told it's far from pleasant.
Thyroid stuff is terrible. I'm fine, but my mother suffers from it to the point where her quality of life is severely effected to say the least.

So far I've been lucky with getting people who do the draws very well. They also try to calm me down by talking about things, which is really nice of them.

The only impact that I'm aware of with my thyroid problems is that I want to fall asleep all the time. I have next to no energy, and even the thyroid hormone I take doesn't help that.

I'm sorry to hear that it's so severe with your mother. It's definitely not something to be taken lightly, since it controls so much of the body.
 
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SnowyMacie

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Free. It is never free. In countries where students don't have to pay to attend, it is paid for by taxing the rest of the citizens. Nothing is free.

If we did decided to make it free by taxing everyone at a higher rate, (actually why community colleges cost less because they are subsidized) will the student body really focus on getting an education or just goof off because it is free. I'd look at how much effort the average high schooler puts into make the most of his/her free years of school and say, I don't think I want to pay more taxes for that.

I'm not sure where you live, but high schoolers are required by law to be there. I'm not saying we make college mandatory, but I would be more than okay paying higher taxes if it meant college cost less for students. Welcome to the 21st century, you can't work a part time or even full-time job and pay for college anymore, unless you are content with taking two or three times as long or just stopping after you go to community college. What's happening right now is the government is doing the same thing banks did pre-2008, they're lending money to people who can't pay it back because they can't find jobs. Eventually, the bubble is going to burst.

How big is Denmark? It is much easier to establish that kind of cohesion in smaller populations. I think a socialist society might even work in a community no bigger than a very small town but it gets harder and harder as the group grows bigger.

Socialism is never going to work in the United States because we're have too much consumerism and we're way to individualistic, even compared to other Western societies. We, American society has a whole, sees any sort of dependence on other people as weak. I remember watching a documentary on Great Britain and this one lady sums it up perfectly "Americans are taught the government is against them, Europeans are taught to the government should provide for them."
 
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JackofSpades

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It is hard, to get a place, in some of the best universities in Sweden, also, but, once you are in you needn't worry about tuition.

There are no tuititions here either. Students get about 300 - 500€ per month financial aid from state, but those who don't make enough progress in studies will lose their right to that aid.
 
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blackribbon

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I'm not sure where you live, but high schoolers are required by law to be there. I'm not saying we make college mandatory, but I would be more than okay paying higher taxes if it meant college cost less for students. Welcome to the 21st century, you can't work a part time or even full-time job and pay for college anymore, unless you are content with taking two or three times as long or just stopping after you go to community college. What's happening right now is the government is doing the same thing banks did pre-2008, they're lending money to people who can't pay it back because they can't find jobs. Eventually, the bubble is going to burst.



Socialism is never going to work in the United States because we're have too much consumerism and we're way to individualistic, even compared to other Western societies. We, American society has a whole, sees any sort of dependence on other people as weak. I remember watching a documentary on Great Britain and this one lady sums it up perfectly "Americans are taught the government is against them, Europeans are taught to the government should provide for them."

I moved away from Texas only 4 years ago, so most of my experiences are in your neck of the woods.

My beef is with colleges offering remedial classes. ??? stuff they should have learned in high school. I would have a very big issue with paying for people to learn what we already financed and they didn't take advantage of. I returned to school 3 years ago and sat through many freshman classes that were teaching stuff I wouldn't have been allowed to graduate high school without knowing...so that is even one step worse, these are "college-level" classes. "College" students who didn't have the basic idea of how our government works? you have got to be kidding. Freshman who didn't have a clue how to write a formal research paper?

Before I'd be willing to finance college educations for the masses, I'd want to see that there was requirement to determine that they were functioning on a college level.

The beauty of our system is that all people can go to college if they are motivated enough. If they didn't learn it the first time, they can pay to learn it as adults. And, yes, community colleges are affordable. People can work and pay as they go. I watched over half of my nursing class do just that...most while raising children and often many of them as single parents. No, they didn't have any luxuries or "play" time, but they were motivated and did it.

How would the system be better if we paid for people to go to college in fields where there are no jobs? I would hope if you are struggling to make your life better, you have taken the time to make sure that you are getting a "useful" degree. Something that will lead to a job. There are way too many people who are going to college and graduating with degrees like ancient history or psychology who do not have a plan for how this will make them employable. Meanwhile, nobody is getting trained in trades such as electrician or diesel mechanic in which there is a demand and often pay better than jobs that are now requiring college degrees.
 
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blackribbon

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There are no tuititions here either. Students get about 300 - 500€ per month financial aid from state, but those who don't make enough progress in studies will lose their right to that aid.

People don't want to admit we have that here in a different form. It is called merit based scholarships. The best students can get money to finance their college educations at little out of pocket. However, only the best and brightest get these and they aren't found at drunk frat parties on Friday and Saturday nights.

In your countries, can ANYONE go to college for free? Or is that opportunity only offered to a select number of qualified students? Also, could a 35 year old man who has had a factory level job suddenly decide to go to college to become an engineer or a nurse? Let's see if we are comparing apples to apples or maybe apples to tomatoes.
 
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keith99

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People don't want to admit we have that here in a different form. It is called merit based scholarships. The best students can get money to finance their college educations at little out of pocket. However, only the best and brightest get these and they aren't found at drunk frat parties on Friday and Saturday nights.

In your countries, can ANYONE go to college for free? Or is that opportunity only offered to a select number of qualified students? Also, could a 35 year old man who has had a factory level job suddenly decide to go to college to become an engineer or a nurse? Let's see if we are comparing apples to apples or maybe apples to tomatoes.

Bolding mine.

I'll be sure to tell the doctors and lawyers that were at the drunken frat parties I attended.

If I end up back at the Anderson School at UCLA I'll also mention it to Professor Roll who wrote the recommendation that got me a couple of fellowships. Did I mention we both made most of the Thursday beer busts when I was in Grad school?
 
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Gnarwhal

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My beef is with colleges offering remedial classes. ??? stuff they should have learned in high school.

I'll admit that I agree with this. I've always thought it contradictory, ironic and perhaps even inappropriate that upon entering an institution of higher learning, there are students who don't even have a proper grasp of the English language.

I'm sympathetic to international students, but otherwise if a student cannot compose a sentence with proper grammar and syntax, why are they in college? I mean, I and most of my friends and peers had that nailed down by seventh grade.

I'd like to see greater access to college, but diminishing the standards by which admission is allowed is not how I would go about it. We need to be doing everything we can to lift the student population up to those standards, not dragging the standards down to accommodate them. High expectations and high academic discipline. We're capable of this, our history proves it, but culturally we've become so interested in inclusion that it's at the expense of true academic rigor and worthy performance.
 
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JackofSpades

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People don't want to admit we have that here in a different form. It is called merit based scholarships. The best students can get money to finance their college educations at little out of pocket. However, only the best and brightest get these and they aren't found at drunk frat parties on Friday and Saturday nights.


How big percentage of students end up getting merit based scholarships?

I think our system of financial aid for students sounds different in sense that you don't have to compete with others for that. You just need to meet requirements set by the state, which are in my opinion not very high, if you're motivated and studying normally. So it's possible in theory that everyone in a class could have the aid.


In your countries, can ANYONE go to college for free? Or is that opportunity only offered to a select number of qualified students?


Anyone can apply for any school, and those who are most qualified for it, get in. How qualified you are is a mix of your grades in earlier studies and how well you do in entrance exams.

How difficult it is to get in, depends mostly on number of people trying to get in that particular school. Some schools are ridiculously easy to get in, while some are ridiculously difficult. It really comes down to how popular it is. For example it's very difficult to get in university to study law or medicine. Entrance exams are very hard for those.

For everyone who ends up getting in, it's free.


Also, could a 35 year old man who has had a factory level job suddenly decide to go to college to become an engineer or a nurse?

Sure, if he meets the requirements to get in, like does well enough in entrance exams. It's not uncommon for adults who get unemployed to do that.
 
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SnowyMacie

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My beef is with colleges offering remedial classes. ??? stuff they should have learned in high school. I would have a very big issue with paying for people to learn what we already financed and they didn't take advantage of. I returned to school 3 years ago and sat through many freshman classes that were teaching stuff I wouldn't have been allowed to graduate high school without knowing...so that is even one step worse, these are "college-level" classes. "College" students who didn't have the basic idea of how our government works? you have got to be kidding. Freshman who didn't have a clue how to write a formal research paper?

Before I'd be willing to finance college educations for the masses, I'd want to see that there was requirement to determine that they were functioning on a college level.

This is public high school education's, and society's overemphasis on college degrees fault. To what degree and what caused the other, I don't know. I remember my senior year in high school, we had to write a 2 page paper over summer reading and all of my classmates were like "2 pages!?!" I remember they were all in shock when I wrote like seven. I also had several discussions about this in college as well, college is slowly becoming, if not already became, the new high school. From my understanding, high school actually used to be somewhat difficult for the average person. Now, I took advanced classes, and had a GPA of 3.5 giving basically no effort whatsoever. Modern high school is a joke, I don't know anyone that would say otherwise. The entire education system in the United States needs an overhaul, not just the expense of college.


The beauty of our system is that all people can go to college if they are motivated enough. If they didn't learn it the first time, they can pay to learn it as adults. And, yes, community colleges are affordable. People can work and pay as they go. I watched over half of my nursing class do just that...most while raising children and often many of them as single parents. No, they didn't have any luxuries or "play" time, but they were motivated and did it.

Yes, community colleges, not universities. One of my supervisors has an associate's degree, but doesn't know if or when he'll be able to actually afford to get his bachelor's.

How would the system be better if we paid for people to go to college in fields where there are no jobs? I would hope if you are struggling to make your life better, you have taken the time to make sure that you are getting a "useful" degree. Something that will lead to a job. There are way too many people who are going to college and graduating with degrees like ancient history or psychology who do not have a plan for how this will make them employable. Meanwhile, nobody is getting trained in trades such as electrician or diesel mechanic in which there is a demand and often pay better than jobs that are now requiring college degrees.

I was going to explain this point earlier, but then I saw this. The reason nobody wants these jobs, and thus are in high demand, is that (I don't know about yours) but in my generation we were taught from a very young age that you don't want a blue collar job. Those jobs are for people who don't do well in school. If you did want to be a construction worker, your dreams were not validated, but if you wanted to be an engineer, it was validated. There's nothing wrong with encouraging ambitiousness, but there's something wrong when you are encouraging changing ambitions.

However, only the best and brightest get these and they aren't found at drunk frat parties on Friday and Saturday nights.

I'll be sure to tell the doctors and lawyers that were at the drunken frat parties I attended.


I'll be sure to call my friends in med school, law school, and even seminary the times they were drunk at parties weren't real.
 
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Blue Wren

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My beef is with colleges offering remedial classes. ??? stuff they should have learned in high school. I would have a very big issue with paying for people to learn what we already financed and they didn't take advantage of. I returned to school 3 years ago and sat through many freshman classes that were teaching stuff I wouldn't have been allowed to graduate high school without knowing...so that is even one step worse, these are "college-level" classes. "College" students who didn't have the basic idea of how our government works? you have got to be kidding. Freshman who didn't have a clue how to write a formal research paper?

In the US, there are more students who school from home, yes? They might be smart, motivated also, but not have taken some more advanced classes, because their parents could not teach them those subjects properly. A girl, wrote here, about a friend, who had to take years worth of remedial classes, because her parents had not given her proper instruction. In Sweden, homeschooling is forbidden. It's not possible to do, unless the student is ill, or there is some other reason. More students have a similar teaching of subjects. It's also, a much smaller country, of course, so there is more unification, with what is taught.

I think some remedial classes have a purpose, and are not just because the student, was lazy or dumb. I've met many students, at the university where I am interning this year, who are taking remedial English classes because English is not their first language. They are strong, in other subjects. Many students at this university, are from Asia. They are very smart, at math & science. They take remedial classes, in English. Universities, in the US, they have quite a different structure, than ones, in other countries. Students, from China who plan on returning after they finish their degree, it is still compulsory that they take other classes. You must take this test, the TOEFL, to determine if your proficiency in English is strong. If it's not so strong, you must take remedial courses. In Sweden, we study only what relates to our diploma. I start medicine this year. I will not be required, to take any "general education" courses.

I do realise, there are American students, who went to American high school schools and graduated without the ability to do well at US universities. I assume, they are mainly who are you meaning. I just wanted, to discuss other reasons for remedial courses.
 
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Gnarwhal

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This is public high school education's, and society's overemphasis on college degrees fault. To what degree and what caused the other, I don't know. I remember my senior year in high school, we had to write a 2 page paper over summer reading and all of my classmates were like "2 pages!?!" I remember they were all in shock when I wrote like seven. I also had several discussions about this in college as well, college is slowly becoming, if not already became, the new high school. From my understanding, high school actually used to be somewhat difficult for the average person. Now, I took advanced classes, and had a GPA of 3.5 giving basically no effort whatsoever. Modern high school is a joke, I don't know anyone that would say otherwise. The entire education system in the United States needs an overhaul, not just the expense of college.

Yes, our public school system has generally paved the way for community colleges (and in some cases universities) to pick up the slack. I'm a perfect example of this, 10 years ago, I was a slacker. I was a stud in the humanities but a pathetic loser in the sciences. That's just how I'm wired, I'm not naturally good at the sciences so I gave little effort and took as many shortcuts as possible. I graduated high school without ever taking chemistry (a requirement for four year universities) and managed to get out somehow without even fully passing Geometry (my adviser worked it out so I could take an algebra course through the community college for high school credit).

So I graduated with a 3.0 (or just shy of it, I think) and didn't put out near as much effort as my peers. In fact, my senior year of high school I was done with school by noon.

I look back at that and am ashamed, I didn't think it was cool to be studious and disciplined in my studies and so I only tried at those subjects that came naturally to me anyway.

About 5-6 years after graduation I was sitting there, still in community college, spinning my wheels and having not advanced more than a semesters worth of units beyond where I had been when I graduated high school.

Luckily I got myself in gear and am finally realizing what it means to work hard, study hard and prioritize my education over a social life. I just wish my primary- and secondary school education had better instilled that discipline in me rather than me learning it and spending 10 years in community college.

I was going to explain this point earlier, but then I saw this. The reason nobody wants these jobs, and thus are in high demand, is that (I don't know about yours) but in my generation we were taught from a very young age that you don't want a blue collar job. Those jobs are for people who don't do well in school. If you did want to be a construction worker, your dreams were not validated, but if you wanted to be an engineer, it was validated. There's nothing wrong with encouraging ambitiousness, but there's something wrong when you are encouraging changing ambitions.

Yes, this is absolutely true. Most of our generation was instilled with a sense of duty that if we can do better, we should do better. Meaning, if we have even the slightest opportunity to attend college, attain a BA or higher and contribute to society as an educated individual, than we must do so.

Resigning ourselves to blue collar work is tantamount to forfeit or surrender on ones privilege of American citizenship.

In the US, there are more students who school from home, yes? They might be smart, motivated also, but not have taken some more advanced classes, because their parents could not teach them those subjects properly. A girl, wrote here, about a friend, who had to take years worth of remedial classes, because her parents had not given her proper instruction. In Sweden, homeschooling is forbidden. It's not possible to do, unless the student is ill, or there is some other reason. More students have a similar teaching of subjects. It's also, a much smaller country, of course, so there is more unification, with what is taught.

I like that Sweden forbids homeschooling, personally I think that route is too volatile. A persons education becomes subjective in those conditions, they will only be taught what their parents what them to learn rather than having an unbiased and well-rounded education. My ex-wife was home schooled for middle school (grades 7th and 8th) and I think it had a negative impact on her.

Not only that, but I'm convinced it has negative social implications too. I've known several home schooled individuals and they don't socialize well, at least not with their own age groups. One time my college church group hosted a combined worship night with another college group that's well known for having many home schooled students... none of them would mingle with us. We tried to connect with them but they remained in their home school cliques.

As flawed as public education is in this country, there is still a defined curriculum and structure that can be followed and the people instructing the students are professionals, not housewives who felt like taking it up as a hobby because they didn't want their kids to learn "that we came from monkeys".


I think some remedial classes have a purpose, and are not just because the student, was lazy or dumb. I've met many students, at the university where I am interning this year, who are taking remedial English classes because English is not their first language. They are strong, in other subjects. Many students at this university, are from Asia. They are very smart, at math & science. They take remedial classes, in English. Universities, in the US, they have quite a different structure, than ones, in other countries. Students, from China who plan on returning after they finish their degree, it is still compulsory that they take other classes. You must take this test, the TOEFL, to determine if your proficiency in English is strong. If it's not so strong, you must take remedial courses. In Sweden, we study only what relates to our diploma. I start medicine this year. I will not be required, to take any "general education" courses.

A rudimentary English course certainly serves a purpose for those whom English isn't a primary language. I absolutely support that. However, I don't believe there is an excuse for any student who has spent their entire life in the U.S. and yet cannot use the English language properly by the time they enter college. Even if English isn't their primary language at home, if they were born and raised here then they've had ample opportunity to learn the proper mechanics of the English language.

Unfortunately some subcultures promote variations of the English language and that supplants the proper use of it. For example, "internet speak", there are all sorts of idioms and shorthand terms that are infiltrating the verbal language, and it's disgusting in my opinion.

I do realise, there are American students, who went to American high school schools and graduated without the ability to do well at US universities. I assume, they are mainly who are you meaning. I just wanted, to discuss other reasons for remedial courses.

Yes, I believe that is where our criticisms are primarily aimed.
 
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JackofSpades

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How big is Denmark? It is much easier to establish that kind of cohesion in smaller populations. I think a socialist society might even work in a community no bigger than a very small town but it gets harder and harder as the group grows bigger.


I think what matters more than size is how homogenous the population is.

Wikipedia says that 89,6% of Danish citizens are of Danish origin. Also the Nordic history of having single state religion further helps to create standardized population with somewhat standard interests.

It's much easier to run standardized state-run programs, like public education, in country where everyone pretty much agrees about everything anyways.
 
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