[speaker001:] okay
[speaker002:] my daughter this week uh as part of a uh in her high school Humanities Humanities course she has been taking a little sub course that was offered where they actually write off you know and request their um preferred college they had to write to a minimum of three preferably five
[speaker001:] that's probably a good idea
[speaker002:] and I think she did four and they actually had typed little letters requesting you know catalogs and what not and figure up mileage expenses and
[speaker001:] all kinds of little
[speaker002:] trips home and they had to figure one airline uh trip home and at least one car trip home per year and gosh you know
[speaker001:] like I said it's good that that if you visit at least four or five colleges before they even you know go to attend go down there and visit for the weekend they do have those programs where you can go down there
[speaker002:] uh-huh have your kids gone to state schools
[speaker001:] uh well no uh actually uh my my daughter is quite young yet but uh I went to a state school uh and I find that overall they're probably much cheaper
[speaker002:] uh-huh uh-huh  yeah
[speaker001:] and the quality of education's probably I would say is not much different than what'd you get at you know most of your like A&M Texas and uh you know Vanderbilt some of those
[speaker002:] uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh
[speaker001:] I think there are some difference but probably in size in in in capacity of classes and that sort of thing but all in all the education level is just as good if you if you participate
[speaker002:] yeah yeah  my folks kind of had a an unwritten rule there were nine of us and we all just worked real hard to get through college we did but if we went to state schools we got virtually no help if we went out of state we got a lot more help from them um and kind of the premise being that um if you you know part of college is being far enough way that you can't come home and do you laundry and come home for all football games and
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] that kind of thing so I think that that's was some of the focus although I think they relaxed that I was one of the older ones because it got expensive they you know its some
[speaker001:] yeah well I tell you what it it's expensive of course I worked my way through and uh I think that is a good idea in some cases except that now a days it's just so expensive
[speaker002:] its just so expensive and you know this little exercise we did this week with out daughter we just cringed it just oh you know the chances of her being able to go her father's and I alma mater are pretty slim I'm afraid you know it uh
[speaker001:] well yeah it it it it can be cost prohibitive real quick you know I I wanna be able to at least I wanna pay my pay the tuition
[speaker002:] and
[speaker001:] you know give her transportation if it's necessary and course I'd like her to live in the dorm if it's possible
[speaker002:] uh-huh  I just really believe in dorms for at least the first year depending on the child but you know I
[speaker001:] but I don't want her to have to work I I would I would I don't mind if she has a little part time job to earn a little extra spending money that sort of thing
[speaker002:] and of course summer work and
[speaker001:] and summer work and things like that unless she just tends to go all the way through but uh I don't want to to have her to feel financially you know burdened uh and not you know concentrate on studying and that sort of thing
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] but uh I know like I guess probably one of the things that that I've I've learned is that to try and pick a college where they have at least three different degree plans that you would like as an alternative you start one you don't particularly like that one
[speaker002:] uh-huh uh-huh  and that's okay
[speaker001:] you have something to go through because if you have to change colleges then you lose hours and then you have to go through all that uh preliminary uh applications yeah you know a lot of times you know people will go to a college when they get there they find out gosh I really don't like this at all
[speaker002:] oh and some a lot of things just don't switch they just don't switch
[speaker001:] and there's nothing there that they want other than that so they are faced with having to do all that and that can that can throw as much as a year out of your degree plan
[speaker002:] yeah  that's really a very viable suggestion I haven't ever really thought of it like that although as you outlined it certainly makes perfect sense it just
[speaker001:] but uh that was one of the things that that I that I encountered uh so I I know yeah so and then also the other thing is going to a junior to the junior college
[speaker002:] you know from from experience well it's  uh-huh uh-huh
[speaker001:] for at least two years to get all you preliminary courses your Math your English History Government all the things that that are time consuming uh and some of the course that you can take on television
[speaker002:] uh-huh uh-huh
[speaker001:] and get those out of the way before you even start a four year college because a lot of those course especially English and History
[speaker002:] so much less expensive and
[speaker001:] well less expensive but not only that but a lot of those course they there're extremely difficult if you're starting out in a four year degree plan at a four year college they're extremely difficult and they go a little faster and and in junior college they go a little slower and you do learn you know a little bit more self paced and uh
[speaker002:] uh-huh uh-huh well the uh Collen County Community College that we have out here is just growing by leaps and bounds we have been so impressed with it and uh you know my husband and I both have taken advantage of some the continuing education uh programs through it and as a family we've you know been involved with some of the arts things and you know that it's provided I've been really impressed but there was just that little piece of me you know going back to my own experience of oh gosh you know if my kids go there I'll never get rid of them I mean they'll never going to be on their own how long am I gonna you know have kids in my house
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] staying up till you know two or three in the morning
[speaker001:] well I think it's I think it's important that they do get away you know not necessarily so far that you can't get to them but at least
[speaker002:] that's right that's right
[speaker001:] you know a hundred miles or or even two hundred miles where you can at least go down there on a on a like a month a one month basis or they can come home
[speaker002:] yeah yeah that's
[speaker001:] you know and it's not real expensive uh you know uh lot of times they can share rides coming back and forth if they you know have people in the local area that live near them but uh
[speaker002:] well and you know I think if they know that they can't get home all the time then they they're more brave they know they are going to have to forge some new relationships and you know be
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] able to make new friends and they don't just hold on to the old hobbies and old the old activities they're a little more adventurous you know and
[speaker001:] you know none of did that we all stayed right close to home and of course I was married the whole time I was in school but uh but it was uh it was still one of those situations where mom and dad were still around if you needed them and uh
[speaker002:] thoughtful uh-huh  so that  yeah yeah
[speaker001:] you know not that I could really depend on them much but they were still there and you're not far enough
[speaker002:] you it's nice to know well we always were we had a lot of family in the area extended family my husband and I both uh uh went to a church school and we didn't have our families there but we had extended families
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] and um um
[speaker001:] I know I guess probably one of the other things that I notice is that some of the colleges are very much uh encouraging you know the kids to participate in all the fraternities sororities and all the extra curricular activities much so because they they are money making things and they do support they do help support the school
[speaker002:] uh-huh  yeah yeah
[speaker001:] but I prefer colleges that don't stress that as the major focus
[speaker002:] yeah me too
[speaker001:] uh I I'd rather them go to the schools that focus on the academic part of it and that's a that's a that's a key now a days because a lot of the college promote the partying and the and the sororities and things like that and and once you get hooked you know you can really get uh locked up in that stuff and your grades suffer
[speaker002:] and your grades really suffer
[speaker001:] they really do uh I got wrapped up in that of course I was in you know athletics and stuff like that but it got so time consuming it got to be to where
[speaker002:] um uh-huh
[speaker001:] I had to decide either I was gonna just quit all that mess and go study or or or you know just basically skin through
[speaker002:] and at that point did you almost say gee I'm gonna have to get out of this school to do that
[speaker001:] uh well I quit I quit football I quit football because I just uh figured that it's not worth it what am I going to do with this after I get out I'm not gonna go pro football uh I'm not good enough I faced the you know faced that up front and say you know I'd rather get my grades and that's what I did I quit and went after after the grades
[speaker002:] have you been sorry
[speaker001:] no not at all so it
[speaker002:] we need to have you in our high school our Texas school system so really
[speaker001:] uh but but you know you a lot of kids get hurt and then they when they can't play pro ball anyway and then they don't have the education they should have what are they gonna do
[speaker002:] yep my uh
[speaker001:] and that's that's a that's a big thing right now that you that you're seeing is the athletics the a lot of them are playing before they even can finish college
[speaker002:] yep
[speaker001:] they're playing pro ball I think it ought to be be a prerequisite that they ought to have a degree with a certain amount of grade point average before they are even eligible for pro ball
[speaker002:] yep I agree because
[speaker001:] but they don't they wont do that
[speaker002:] I was just reading a thing in the uh this is off subject some what but in the Reader's Digest about uh athletes pro athletes and that uh that gotten on to drugs you know and invariably it was ones that didn't have the confidence to
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] you know some way or another to finish and realize that there was any other money anywhere except you know in dealing drugs but incredible incredible athletic abilities
[speaker001:] yeah well I know it's it's getting down to it's getting down to grade school now I think they really need to get away from you know from stressing the athletics and extra curricular activities and get even at the young age get get the politics and the money out of the athletics
[speaker002:] well a thing that we had here just recently
[speaker001:] and start getting back in the school
[speaker002:] and I I really I forgot to cut the article out I was mad at myself that I didn't because I wanted to follow up on it but there was man here in the Plano school system who had who has the premise that our grades in the metroplex in in you know some of these you know Irving and and uh Richardson Lake Highlands and Plano I think were his target ones are inflated artificially inflated grades
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] and he felt like those kids when they actually got in to college situations were not um able to pull the same