Quote:Don't want to derail the topic, but I really don't like the idea at all.  Ending school at 16?  Few kids are really ready to start college at that age (or trade school or community college).  This would also limit what High Schools teach significantly.  You're cutting two years of high school with this.  Not to mention making it harder for students to earn sports scholarships.

 

 

 

You do know that it's really easy to end up with 40k in loans in 4 years from tuition and books alone, right?  The average tuition for in-state residents of state and public colleges is $9000.  It's higher for out of state students, and much higher for private colleges.  Throw in books, and it's not hard at all to reach $40k in 4 years.

 

Id prefer a school system abstant of sports programs to be honest. I know its a culture thing but we waste to much time on remedial things like letting students develop their athletic ability to earn a scholarship. I don't remember all the details but the entire purpose of ending traditional high school at age 16 was to prepare kids for one of two possibilities preparing for higher education (your doctors, lawyers, engineers of the world) or for blue collar work ( your welders, construction, automotive workers of the world). That's not to say they can't change course or their mind later, but usually by 16 it's pretty evident to everyone including the students what type of field they're headed towards. I knew by 16 I wasn't going to be working in an office or going for a college degree, I had a hard enough time showing up for high school much less the discipline or desire to pursue a higher education. 

 

It was later in life after having kids and needing to gain an advantage in the work force that I pursued a college degree. 

 

as for tuition I know you CAN use up 40k on education alone. I also know you can easily obtain a similar degree for a fraction of the cost. Going through a state school or community college you can get a college degree for under 15k with books (I rented mine from the library most semesters). The reality is most kids look at a 5k loan each semester as a spending budget, they max out the loans and figure out how they can spend the extra 3k they didn't use for tuition. 

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