Like any other "normal" high school graduate I have thought long and hard over whether I should go to college or not. The path of decision has taken me around many curves, and up and down many trails. Honestly I'm not sure what I am supposed to do. I think the decision is even tougher for a girl than a guy. Guys have to provide for their families. Girls, at least ones who think the same way I do, believe in staying home and taking care of their families. The question then is whether it is worth it to go to college and "learn" (which I think you can do outside of a classroom anyway, BTW) and get a degree while also going into debt, or should you forget it and just stay at home learning more about doing the things you will want to do for your own family should God choose to provide you with one. Debt is a HUGE thing for me. My parents have always tried to teach me that debt is NOT a good thing. They have also told me that with four children at home they can't afford to pay for college and that it would be my own responsibility, should I choose to go that direction. My own question has been whether debt for a college degree that I may or may not use be WORTH saddling my future spouse with?
Here is my conundrum, I guess. I don't know if I WANT to go to college! I completed my high school studies early by working hard and combining my junior and senior years of high school. That is easy to do when you home school. However, it meant that I was officially finished with school by the time I was barely 17. I knew (and my parents knew as well) that I was not mature enough to attend college away from home at that point in my life so, with my parents permission, I took a year to work on my sewing and homemaking skills, and to just try and make a final decision on what I wanted to major in IF I decided that college was the right thing for me.
I completed my SAT in November of last year and was only partially happy with my score. I received above average scores on the reading and writing sections but scored right at the below average/average line on math. I don't like math but I love reading and writing (which, BTW, is funny because my English & my grammar is terrible... ) so that really wasn't a shock to me. I now have a choice of retaking the math portion but I don't know if I even want to bother.
As far as college majors go, I had been tossing around an art major for a few years with a focus on either Interior Design, Fashion Design, or Art History (because I love museums) but I still wasn't sure which route to take. I also knew I wanted to minor in something but was torn between French (a language that I had three years experience in already "trying" to learn and that I knew would definitely be needed if I was going into Fashion Design), Business (because if I ran my own business then I would need to know what I was doing), or Education (because I might want to use my creative talents in the future to teach my own children, or maybe in a home school co-op).
I don't like classrooms. I really don't like traditional school settings. I don't like debt (I did say that already, right?!). This made the decision for college even harder for me. I prayed about it and asked God for guidance. In the end I chose three schools that might be an option. The first two were Berea College in Kentucky and Warren Wilson College in North Carolina. Both schools are part of the work consortium college network which basically just means that I would be able to receive a scholarship for my tuition at the school and then be able to work at a job on campus to pay for my books and other expenses (room and board and so forth).. pretty debt free set up there :-) The third college was our local community college here in town. I had my SAT scores sent to each school but after even more prayer I felt like my best option would be Berea.
Berea was the school that had absolutely everything I wanted and would work with me on an independent major. I completed my application process, including an interview and tour of the school in January. I received word a few weeks later that my application for the scholarship and admittance were denied. They were very kind in their encouragement about all the extras I had included on my package but were quick to let me know my math score really needed to be better.
I prayed about finishing the application for Warren Wilson but after speaking to several people about it and viewing some videos of the school I just felt it was more of a liberal school than I wanted to go to. They seem very "new-agey" I guess. With some iffy "Womens (aka Feminist) World View" studies that I would have to take at least ONE class course in... I was DEFINITELY NOT interested!!
The community college is still an option I suppose. My father wants me to sign up for classes in the fall but says he is willing to work with me on it. I don't think he expects me to take a full load of classes (I am able to take inidividual studies -- ie. cake decorating, etc. -- separate from a degree studies course...) but I know he doesn't want me to be a "slacker" either. I would much prefer working with a seamstress as an apprentice but it is almost as if every door I try to go through lately gets most definitely closed. It can all be very discouraging!
I did have a good talk with my cousin and it seems she is having some of the same decision making problems as myself. I guess I feel better about that at least! Maybe it is just a girl thing.... or a non-feminist, Christian girl thing at least! Who knows?!
--A Victorian Cowgirl
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