College-Bound Kids, Parents Face Big Debts
Unpublished correction: The name of Higgens Point is misspelled in this story. This information is from the Idaho Department of Parks & Recreation.
Maybe it was the prospect of many years of debt or the idea that my daughter Lindsay will start the second phase of her life soon. But the college fair in Spokane’s Convention Center disturbed me.
For three hours, Lindsay and I and hundreds of North Idaho and Eastern Washington students lived in a fantasy world where money and distance weren’t obstacles.
We roamed from Iowa’s Maharishi University of Management booth to exhibits for Oregon’s Lewis and Clark College and Walla Walla’s Whitman College.
Schools put out their glossiest brochures and most inviting photos. Admissions counselors handled kids with a mix of insouciance and desperation: We want to be choosy, but we need your money.
“You get money for your GPA,” a counselor for the United States International University, impressed on Lindsay after she frowned at the school’s $10,000-a-year tuition.
Every institution boasted that its graduates find jobs in their field, are accepted into graduate school, live long and prosper.
Like the times we tried on designer clothes with no intention of buying, we chatted with counselors at schools with $25,000-a-year tuitions. And those were the mid-priced colleges.
Lindsay collected 10 pounds of literature from Northwest schools. I grabbed a pamphlet on loans and the Mylanta.
Two days later, Lindsay was still dazzled at the prospect of college life. The fair had done its job and left it to her father and me to douse her fire with cold reality.
Nothing she found cost less than $10,000 a year. I paid $100 a semester for college in the 1970s.
I haven’t ignored the warnings over the last 15 years about saving for college, but I didn’t quite fathom the extent of the job. When did the cost of education climb so out of reach of the average family?
Lindsay is talented and lucky. I’m counting on her winning a scholarship or two. Her father and I earn enough to go deep into debt, which is good because we will have to borrow not only for her education but for her younger sister’s.
Lindsay will have to work and borrow on her own, too. She’ll finish college in debt, which is a big burden to shoulder when life is just beginning.
No wonder I’m disturbed. At least Lindsay will get her education. But it’s no wonder to me anymore why so many students don’t.
All warmed up
There isn’t much federal money this year for heating emergencies, so programs like Project Share are more important than ever. Project Share uses donations to help people with money troubles pay their staggering winter heat bills.
To warm up early in the season, participate in Project Share’s eight-mile Walk for Warmth Nov. 12. It’s along the Centennial Trail in Coeur d’Alene - from the boat launch at Higgins Point to the Beach House restaurant and back.
It costs $12, but that money will help someone stay warm. Entry forms are at Coeur d’Alene’s Footlocker, Sta-Fit and Black Sheep. Or call 664-3114.
Not just a job
It’s always satisfying to patronize a place that gives back to the community. Here are two more places to add to your list: Hastings Books, Music and Video in Coeur d’Alene and McDonald’s in Kellogg.
TESH is a non-profit organization that helps disabled people become as independent as possible. It chose Hastings and McDonald’s as its employers of the year because the two businesses have employed nine people from TESH programs since 1993.
Speed up
Hayden’s Jerry Elston boils when people drive 25 mph in a 40 mph zone and cops don’t ticket them. What traffic follies cross your eyes? Screech your gripes to Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene, ID, 83814; FAX to 765-7149; or call 765-7128.
, DataTimes