{UAH} Sending Our Children to College

Community Members.

 

My oldest son graduates from High School this year and my wife and I have spent the last 8 or so months in a literal turmoil over where he should go to college and trying to address all the associated implications - most specifically how to pay for an annual total bill (tuition, books, board, lodging, etc.) of over $60,000.00.  I kid you not, I literally fell out of my chair when it finally hit me that the cost of sending one child to a good college can cost $250,000 (one quarter of one million dollars) - for just an under graduate degree.

 

I decided to reach out to some parents of kids also in the same predicament to see if they too were experiencing sleepless nights and what steps they were taking.  What I discovered was eye-opening.

 

My children attend a school were over 90% of the seniors graduating this year will attend college next year.  Of the 10% who will not, some are special needs students for whom college was deemed too rigorous, and a couple are going into the military.

 

But this is where it became interesting.  I would say that about 40% of the students at the school are Chinese and while many of them come from rich families where the cost of college will not be a problem, there are a significant number who do not.  But the Chinese community here is very strong and they have an organization which, among other activities, pushes very aggressively to help the children of all its members go to college.  To this end, they hold multiple workshops and events during the year to help the children of their members get into the best colleges and finance the process.  They bring in experts on financial aid and actively pursue scholarship opportunities.  This year, the organization will help send close to 100 students to top colleges around the county and all will be going on fully or largely funded scholarships

 

The other thing that happens is that the students who have been helped by this organization are required to come back to help and mentor the subsequent generation of students.  They do this in a number of ways including tutoring, advising them on college life and helping with the filling out of paperwork.

 

In at least 2 past UNAA conventions we featured workshops intended to help members of our community with this process.  In the 2010 convention in DC, we lined up several speakers who brought quite significant written material for distribution.  Not a single person (parent or student) showed up for the workshop.

 

I think it would be conservative of me to estimate that we have at least 5,000 student members of our various communities who have gone through this process and, as such, have very valuable insight and information that would be of incredible help to both parents and students facing the challenges of going to college. 

-    What colleges should they go to? 

-    Why that college?

-    How can they get into that college? 

-    How can they pay for it? 

-    How to survive, avoid pitfalls and thrive in the college environment. 

-    Why pick a particular major? 

-    For those who have already graduated, what is life like after college? 

-    What is reality of the overwhelming student debts we constantly hear about?

 

So let me back pedal a little here.  When I finally came to and picked myself off of the floor, I immediately pulled the plug on my son's first two college choices which would have sent him out of state and added to the already outrageous costs (over $60K per year).  I am happy to report that he will be attending a good private college here in California for which we have already secured several good scholarships, and working to pursue others.

 

So I will conclude with a challenge.  As a Ugandan community (or as individual local Ugandan communities), how strongly do we feel about helping "all" of our children attend good colleges and helping them find good scholarships?  How strongly do we feel about helping and nurturing our future generations.

 

From a very proud (and anxious) Daddy.

 

Moses Wilson