Why Parents Should Let Their Kids Pay Their Own College Tuition

…but ever since Peet’s Coffee bought Caribou, they’ve decided to limit new “Caribou” locations to places where the name means something. In other words, you won’t be seeing too many outside Minnesota going forward.

But of course, since Jim shares the name, maybe he can help change that. :^) I would heartily agree that Cari-Peet’s beats the heck out of Charbucks.

In our situation, this was the only option. We had four daughters to get through college, and a smallish pastor’s salary. Our girls all worked and saved money for college. All worked jobs while attending college. All worked during the Summers. None of this was sufficient. We committed to paying whatever our hard-working daughters could not cover, and the Lord blessed that commitment. We did not go into debt, nor did our daughters. At the time, it seemed like a miraculous intervention by God. We believed that if we (all the family) did our best, God would supply the rest—and He did.

I remember observing during my own college years that most of the students who did not have to work did no better academically, and usually worse. There’s nothing like working to teach the value of your education. There’s nothing like working to teach you not to waste time. There’s nothing like working to teach you how to manage your money.

Pastor Barkman,

I can only speak to the anecdotes I know, but from my time in college, I knew quite a number of those having to pay for their own school. You are correct that not all of their grades suffered, but I know plenty of those whose grades did suffer, as they never had time to study or sleep between college and how much they had to work. I know one friend of my daughter’s now, who worked two jobs during school, and whose grades did not *greatly* suffer, but who still owes a significant amount that it will take years to pay off now that she is finished. I wanted to avoid that for my children to the extent I was able. Perhaps they won’t value their education as much as yours do, but who is to say for sure? I do agree that having to work as hard as your kids did will definitely teach them some great life lessons.

Do potential employers really care what the applicant’s GPA was?

[Ron Bean]

Do potential employers really care what the applicant’s GPA was?

I’ve head potential employers look it up to make sure it was entered accurately. I suspect it matters more at the beginning of a career, and perhaps the biggest thing is whether one is honest about it.

[Bert Perry]

I’ve head potential employers look it up to make sure it was entered accurately. I suspect it matters more at the beginning of a career, and perhaps the biggest thing is whether one is honest about it.

The few times I’ve had to evaluate GPA on prospective employee resumes, I’ve looked for above average if there is a work history, but not a specific number. In the case of someone fresh out of school, that number was much more important. So, in my limited experience, I’ve treated it just as Bert said. Being an engineer, I depend on HR to verify any info if we are interested in proceeding further. The time I spend with a prospective employee (since I interview for technical expertise) usually gives me a pretty good ballpark idea of whether they lied about GPA or not.