[speaker001:] do you have some kids getting ready for college
[speaker002:] well I have uh uh basically have grown children I've got one that's that is a part-time college student and one that's college age but not attending so uh he did it
[speaker001:] you've sort of faced up to the problem then
[speaker002:] yeah he he did uh attend a little bit you know they took some classes and then decided it college was not what he wanted to do so
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] he went along the the older one the daughter who is older is going part-time and working full time
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] uh she's attending a community college right now and she would like to go on to a you know to a four year school go ahead and get a degree
[speaker001:] yes
[speaker002:] and uh that's you know one of her immediate long range objectives
[speaker001:] well I've got a bunch of little ones that are still growing up
[speaker002:] yeah uh
[speaker001:] so I'm sort of facing putting them through college about the time I'm also looking to retire
[speaker002:] oh yeah so you
[speaker001:] and uh
[speaker002:] uh
[speaker001:] I think my initial thoughts are going to have to sort of grade my advice according to uh you know how much motivation and drive and uh and ability they have when they start facing the college years
[speaker002:] right uh I I guess uh one thing from from my own personal experience uh the drive is the important or is I I consider to be the important part of going to college um I I was not an exceptional student by any means in high school I was not a bad student but was not an exceptional student and you know didn't really have uh any strong ambitions that required college but I did want to go to school did want to get the you know go ahead and get the college
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] and so I worked my way through college and uh you know I think that it was because I really wanted the degree that I you know followed through and went ahead and and went on even finished up going to college after I got married
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] and uh I like you said I think that uh the ambition and the drive is uh is pretty much key a key there
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] uh like I said we've got the one that's not going to college he he just does not have the desire to go at this time are I hope that some day for my benefit I hope that some day he decides he wants to go because it will you know make me feel better but uh whatever makes him feel best is what's important I suppose
[speaker001:] yeah well I think my reaction from my experience is that uh I picked a school that was too good
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] and uh so I had a fairly tough time getting through and they presented me with a lot of material which I just wasn't able to absorb and handle
[speaker002:] yeah and I I think that that's
[speaker001:] and uh so I think my first advice would be to go to a community college and to a a smaller school for your undergraduate studies maybe a state supported school and then if you have the necessary drive and still need the the intellectual mileage to pick a top of the line school for graduate study
[speaker002:] uh-huh I think that's a good idea uh and and too I guess uh looking at at what the the individuals interests are instead of just what uh what the popular degree plans are uh
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] I uh started out in in high school expecting to go into engineering and when I got into the mathematics and science classes I was not a bad student in those in those areas but didn't really have the interest in it so I changed my my career design over into the accounting and business field and uh I am a CPA
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] and I you know I'm pretty good at that but I it's not it was not something that I really thought long and hard and had a real you know a real strong drive toward um I'm not sure what uh what I would have done differently or what I would do differently now but uh I might you know I might go in a different direction if I were to start fresh uh you know think more about what my real interest were instead of what my you know instead of what was available or what sounded like a good money maker uh it's not always the important thing
[speaker001:] you know I think one it's very important to chose a career that uh to do something you enjoy doing
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] because I figure that's part of my compensation is is being able to do something I can take an interest in
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] uh I think one of the reactions I had uh was that I underestimated the amount of math that was needed for an engineering degree
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] uh you know my interest uh in high school was you know grabbing up a bunch of vacuum tubes and and building something that worked
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] and uh you know it was a matter of using cookbook designs and so forth and building up amplifiers or oscillators or making transmitters or receivers and uh you know I didn't face up to the fact that there's a you know an enormous mathematical basis for all of this
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] until I actually got to college and so it was a bit of a slap in the face and an uphill struggle although I didn't have that much trouble with math uh in high school
[speaker002:] noise yeah um an I guess another another area that uh in retrospect I would give parents a real strong advice on is the the study habits and preparation that students need
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] and and they need to start as early as they can you know not wait until they're a freshman in high school even to start developing good study habits and get the you know get the good basics uh you know the math and the the English and a little science and stuff like that that that uh so they really have a good background for whatever course load they're going to take
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] because uh I know in in my son's case his math background is is not very strong and we tried a lot you know to to help him but I think that the uh I think the educational system
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] uh the way things are are run in this area anyway it it's a little weak and you know as a result he doesn't he doesn't have the math background that he would need in college
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] and uh I think that's one reason that he's not interested he doesn't think he would do well
[speaker001:] well I was fairly lucky in uh going to a small town school uh I got a lot of individual attention from the the faculty that was there
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] they probably weren't the most brilliant people in the world but they uh were very personable and took uh a interest in people who were willing to study
[speaker002:] yeah uh I agree I think that makes a difference uh
[speaker001:] and so I
[speaker002:] I went to a small town school also my son went to a school that had like twenty five hundred students in it or something you know
[speaker001:] we have yeah yeah you get lost there
[speaker002:] and uh it's it's really well it really makes a difference as to
[speaker001:] there were thirty six students in my graduating class
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] uh but they you know we had a math instructor there and when I asked him questions about calculus and so forth he was incapable of handling it you know algebra was fine but you know if you asked him about differential equations or or something like that he didn't know what you were talking about
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] uh and when I went to take solid geometry I had to uh commute to a a larger town to Allentown Pennsylvania to take uh solid geometry an d the instructor there was was sharp enough to know or to realize that I was good at mathematical concepts but I had one lingering flaw left over from grade school and that was that I hadn't learned to add subtract multiply and divide correctly
[speaker002:] yeah and that that does make a difference that's what like I was saying you know you get those basics behind you to start with you know get a good foundation in uh those core type courses
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] and it it will carry you a long way if you know the the concepts and the the logic and just understanding what the what's expected of you
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] really makes a lot of difference in you know what you're capable of doing so
[speaker001:] yes all right well it's been nice talking to you
[speaker002:] yeah it's been nice I hope they got what they wanted on it
[speaker001:] well at least you have some some words they can parse there
[speaker002:] right okay
[speaker001:] take care
[speaker002:] I'll talk to you later maybe thanks
[speaker001:] bye