College and EX-JW Discontent....Questions and Stats

by teenyuck 55 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  teenyuck

  *Many* ex-JWs say that they were robbed of an education due to the WTBTS and as a result, they feel that their families and the WT screwed up their life by depriving them of the opportunity to go to college and therefore, earn a high salary at a job they love.

  Here is a link to the US Census which shows that approximately 26% of the US population graduates college. Page 5, towards the bottom, shows the college graduation stats.

  http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/education/tabA-2.pdf

  Since only 26% of the *average* US population graduates college, why are *so many* on this board convinced that they:

  1. Would have gone on to collge....

  2. Would have graduated college.....

  3. Would have a *great job, earning lots of money* if they had had the opportunity to go to college.

  Saying you were deprived of college is a broad statement. Do you know if your parents had a college fund set up for you? Did you have a secret stash of money you were going use to pay for college?

  Since so many of us grew up in poor to low-middle class families, how were you and your family going to fund your college education?

  The academic issues are equal to the financial. If you don't have the grades and qualifying classes, you are not going to Harvard, Ohio State University, Northwestern, or other top tier schools. Did you take the SAT or ACT? Did you get good to great grades in high school? Were your parents focused on academics and did they really push you to get all you could from the educational system?

  4. Were you prepared to go to a community college, take out loans, ask for grants, work to fill out the financial picture; all to pay for your education?

  Thoughts and comments would be greatly appreciated. If you had a scholarship offer, please provide details....what college was it at, what discipline/acedemic area was to be studied, etc.
• 

  teenyuck

  You were allowed to play sports Michael, which is strange...especially at the level you obviously were in HS.

  Did you debate/argue with your parents? How long did you pioneer?
• 

  teenyuck

  Your experience is slightly different from the average JW kid who was raised in the troof, never allowed to play sports and had little hope for a college education.

  You made a choice, which your parents have to take some responsibility for since you were still a child and living at home. They should have at least made/forced/encouraged you to try it for 1 year and if you wanted to pioneer, do it then.

  If you had gone on the school, assuming you did not make it to the big leagues, what would you have studied? Since most athletes don't make the pros, a back up plan is a good idea. What was yours?
• 

  cat1759

  Teenyuk,

  Most in my age bracket new the end was coming. My parents owned their own business. Some of us didn't finish high school so some of your questions are mute points. As explained before we believed when the family wanted to move to serve where the need was great there were no decisions made by the children at that time.

  Just finishing high school would have been much better in the job market, at least for me.

  I don't blame the GB or my parents blind faith. When all is said and done we are left to pick up the pieces and move on. We all do what we can with what we have. It just would have been nice to have some choices.

  Cathy
• 

  teenyuck

  Cat, read the stats from the Census....

  If, as your profile says, you are approximately 44, according to the charts, in 1977, approximately 64.9% of kids graduated HS. That means 35% did not. Yours is not an unusual story. Perhaps not dropping out for Armageddon, however, dropping out was common.

  In 2002, 84% of kids are graduating HS. 16% are still dropping out.

  Which all goes to:

  Why do *many* on this board claim/blame the WTS/parents for their lack of education?

  Between 16%-30% of kids are not graduating over the last 25 years. Why would a JW kid be any different?

  Funding college is a major issue also. Who was going to fund it and did parents have a plan?
• 

  maxwell

  I guess this question doesn't really apply to me since I did receive a full paying scholarship and I took advantage of it. But I did want to comment that I've heard numbers similar to those before. I've never believed college was the end all answer. There are ways to be financially successful without college. I have known a few successful JW who had no college education. One was a contractor who built houses. His work was/is so much sought after that he had to turn down jobs. Another had a very successful landscaping business. Again they were so good, that they only accepted the jobs they wanted to do. I know a guy who cleans windows of high rise office buildings. He does >50K a year. Not rich, but a pretty good haul for a single guy. I think that's great. I can see him hiring people to work for him one day. People knock McDonald's jobs but if a person can stand the stressful hours and job pressures, rising up through the management chain in some fast food chains can work out pretty well as far as money goes. How much does a good mechanic make? I rarely complain about how much I pay a good mechanic. Do I want to get under the car and do this work or do I want to let this professonial do it?

  Then you look at the other side. A college degree is definitely no guarantee of making more money or of a "good" job. When I graduated it took another 4 months before I was able to land a job that paid enough for me to move out of my parents house. The biggest problem for me was interviewing skills. I was fortunate enough to have a few people to help me out with my interviewing skills. If they had not been there, I might have been in a totally different situation. Of course right now, the job market isn't so hot so that will work to the disadvantage of someone who's looking for a particular type of job. And certain majors or job areas always have an overflowing talent pool. I think some parents and educators think college is the only answer. It is not. There are other equally respectable paths and college is certainly not a guarantee of anything. A degree might let you apply for a different set of jobs, but there are other hurdles to overcome.
• 

  No Apologies

  Okay, here's my story.

  I could easily have gone on to college based on my academic record. Actually, my grades would have been even better if I had had the goal of pursuing higher education. Since I knew that was not very likely, I sluffed by and still got A's and B's.

  Financially it would have been tough. No JW parents have a college fund set up for their kids, at least not 10 - 20 years ago. Why, the end is right around the corner. I was assured that I would not even graduate high school because of the imminent approach of Armagedden.

  I did end up with a scholarship to attend a two-year Vocational School course in computer programming. However, I turned it down to pioneer, despite having no real way to support myself.

  My wife(also raised JW) was a straight-A student. She graduated high-school early so she could pioneer and support herself by cleaning houses.

  I finally went back to school ten years later. It was not easy after being away from the classroom for so long, and it was not cheap. But it definitely has helped me financially. Of course, I am ten years behind my colleagues, career-wise. Pioneering also meant forgoing having children, so I often wonder where my wife and I will be 20 or 30 years down the road(if Armageddon doesn't come first, of course).
• 

  cat1759

  Teenyuk,

  What were the stats for 1975?

  Cathy
• 

  teenyuck

  Then you look at the other side. A college degree is definitely no guarantee of making more money or of a "good" job.

  That is very true. It helps with the qualification process for certain jobs, however, the area you live, the degree you chose, the type of job you try for and the company you work for all will determine whether or not a job is *good*. Same thing with money.

  As for financing.....

  There are many options other than scholarships.

  I was not an A or even B student. I was a B and C student. I ended up going to a community college for 2 years. I took out student loans, got a Pell Grants (based upon need) and worked.

  http://www.ed.gov/prog_info/SFA/StudentGuide/2000-1/pell.html

  http://www.studentloanalliance.org/history.htm

  While JW parents did not plan for college or have funds set up ( my mother did not...she decided during May of my senior year of HS I should go to college) there are ways to go, if you try.

  Between loans, grants (need based) and working, it is possible to cover costs....I lived at home the first two years and lived in the dorm my Jr. and Sr. year. I saved alot by living in a dorm. I was one of the oldest people there. There were three men on my floor (I lived in a co-ed dorm) that were in their late 20's; they were all freshman....
• 

  teenyuck

  Cat, in 1975, the graduation rate for HS, was 62.5%.