Getting in Without Freaking Out The Official College Handbook for Overwhelmed Parents

Chapter 1: Take a Deep Breath:The Ground Rules for Parents Secret #1 Relax: It's Only College Ever since your child's prekindergarten teacher praised their newfound ability to hold on to a crayon without stuffing it up a nostril, the march toward college seemed an inevitable progression. As high school approached, this progression probably became a preoccupation. You and your offspring have both dreaded and dreamed of this monumental episode. It seems as if everything hinges on what college they'll attend, doesn't it? But calm down: It's only college. That's right. Only. Come on, parents, you know the truth, though you've not yet shared it with your sons and daughters. College is the cheese-and-cracker plate of life--a fine, satisfying appetizer, but hardly the most savory or memorable part of the banquet that lies ahead. In terms of sheer proportion, the time one spends at college will comprise four years out of, say, eighty--roughly 5 percent of one's earthly existence (and that's not counting spring breaks, winter breaks, and summers off). This pales beside the amount of time each of your kids will spend pursuing a career or living with their spouse, let alone the time spent sitting in traffic, counting carbohydrates, and watching Friends in syndication. I know what you're thinking: No one succeeds without college--and by this you mean financial success. I can't blame you for your pecuniary concerns. College is an expensive investment. It had better pay off. No one wants to spend their golden years doling out a weekly allowance to un- or underemployed offspring. But consider the facts: Although college graduates do earn more, studies show that what one studies has far more economic impact than where. A recent National Bureau of Economic Research study showed that graduates of so-called selective schools boast no earnings edge. And, at last count, the four wealthiest Americans (all self-made) numbered three college dropouts and a graduate of the University of Nebraska. While there's no denying that going to college is a good thing, it also doesn't hurt to bear in mind that plenty of illustrious people throughout history never even attended college. This list includes Andrew Carnegie, Ben Franklin, John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, and Ernest Hemingway (which is too bad, because Ernest would have enjoyed a good keg party). Nine U.S. presidents either never attended or never finished college--among them George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Abe Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, and Harry S. Truman. The long list of ultrasuccessful men and women who never graduated college is rife with innovators, entrepreneurs, and people who, in general, accomplished what they did by thinking outside the box. This group includes David Geffen, Ralph Lauren, Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, Ellen DeGeneres, Tom Hanks, Walter Cronkite, Rush Limbaugh, Steve Martin, Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs, Dell Computer founder Michael Dell, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, MTV founder Bob Pittman, and Debra Fields of Mrs. Fields Cookies. Oh, add Senator John Glenn, who dropped out of Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio. Are you still convinced that your child's future success hangs entirely upon receiving a fat envelope from a first-choice school? If so, let me quote H. L. Mencken, who famously contended that the thinking process "has little to do with logic and is not much conditioned by overt facts." But what did he know? He didn't go to college, either. It's What You Learn, Not Where In 2000, male and female college grads earned 60 percent and 95 percent more, respectively, than high school graduates, according to the U.S. Department of Education. For families headed by two people with bachelor's degrees, the effect on lifetime income is $1,600,000. But, existing research shows that it's not so much which college one attends but what one does with their educatMatthews, Arlene is the author of 'Getting in Without Freaking Out The Official College Handbook for Overwhelmed Parents', published 2006 under ISBN 9781400098415 and ISBN 1400098416.