I grew up watching “Full House” with my family and honestly, it’s hilarious that famous parents like Lori Loughlin (aka Aunt Becky from “Full House” for those too young to have seen the show when it was on air) wasted enormous sums of money paying bribes to get their kids into colleges. I wanted to drop in last week to share my thoughts on the matter but my second class of the year started up and I got busy. Today marks the end of week one so I have a few moments to check in and say hi.

I’m enjoying (like many other Americans around the nation) seeing their endeavors now blow up in their faces. As a parent, I couldn’t imagine trying to use a back door or a side door to get my kid into college. That action would fly in the face of everything else I tell her to show sincere effort to become successful.

It’s embarrassing the amount of effort being spent on getting kids into college, some that clearly don’t need to be there because either 1) it’s not their desire to be there or 2) they are not academically ready for collegiate settings to get in on their own merit or 3) it is absolutely not necessary for their career ambitions. Taylor Swift is a good example of someone who is widely successful without needing a college degree. It doesn’t matter if you like her or hate her, she has a good reputation (Trust me, I’m not paying a nod to her last album.) of putting in the work needed to become a success. She applied herself consistently to her craft and over time used one successful move to build the platform needed for her next move. 

I felt drawn to writing on this college admissions scandal, something a bit outside what I’d normally write about, because I am a first generation college student from a middle class family, and if I can get into college, these over privileged kids could have found a legitimate way to do it as well.

It is my hope my sentiments are not diminished by the fact I choose not to apply to any of the colleges named in this admissions scandal. There was only one school of interest to me while I was in high school and that was Florida Southern College. It was the only school I applied to and I was accepted, attending for an entire year before leaving to become a United States Marine. Upon return to college as a working adult when I separated from the Marine Corps, it was quite necessary to select a college from those in my surrounding area.  I am ok with that reality and NPR came out with a great article titled “Does It Matter Where You Go to College? Some Context for The Admissions Scandal” if you want a more professional opinion on school choice than what I can provide, but here’s some food for thought.

It takes a desire to be successful.

It also takes patience to know success is not a straight line trajectory and a college degree WILL NOT always open doors you think it will.

I’ve worked in higher education since October 2013 and it might frustrate some parents to hear you shouldn’t push your kid into college, but I’m saying it now. If your kid is getting “F’s” left and right because he or she doesn’t want to go to class, don’t push him or her into a collegiate environment. It’s a crappy thing for all the other students who actually want to be there to have that slot taken up by your child. Let them leave and return when they are ready. Let them leave and never return, if that’s the path your kid needs to take to become successful in his or her interests. I am sharing my story as a reminder sometimes the unconventional re-entry into school matters and sometimes it doesn’t. That’s ok.

I was a perfectly average kid in high school. Even though I lost my mom the end of my sophomore year to her battle with lung cancer, I graduated with a 3.75 GPA. I went to Florida Southern College, a school I loved, for one academic year before it sunk in that at that point in my life, I didn’t need to be in school. I took some subjects seriously and others not as much as I should. I was distracted by a lot of things in my life and it was better to leave than end up knee deep in student loan debt while I figured things out. The Marine Corps was mostly the right choice for my next move in life. I don’t recommend military service unless you look at it holistically because sacrifice to serve is multi-faceted. There are many gains as well, but I’ve covered those matters a lot. I will be brief today on what I gained financially.

My access to the Montgomery GI Bill made it easy to know I could afford college after my four year enlistment ended. I returned to the classroom because I was ready to be back in school. I knew I would be subsisting on ‘jobs’ instead of a career if I did not complete a bachelor’s degree.

The good thing is I had a ten year window in which to use said benefit so I didn’t need to enroll right away. It just worked for my goals at the time.

When I later graduated with two Bachelor’s degrees from the University of Wyoming, my GPA was a 3.0. I did well in classes I liked and when I didn’t do well, I can tell you I didn’t apply myself to my fullest capabilities. (Notice a trend from earlier?!)

Obtaining a full-time position after graduation was more of a struggle because the economy sucked in 2012 and I moved from Wyoming to Arizona. I felt it was difficult to stand out as an out-of-state candidate when other college graduates attended schools in-state and employers recognize what they are getting from one school versus an unknown school. This reality did not lead me to fail. Instead, I had to try harder. Here’s that issue of ‘merit’ coming back into play.

I showed my employer I could quickly become one of the most skilled persons in our office and I am not a slouch; I continued to broaden my skills so I could handle nearly any task assigned to me. I like people to associate my name with quality work.  I also took up a graduate program with my second employer after completing my undergraduate degree so it was interesting to take those of those lessons and use them to serve my students.

I will also be honest in saying as much as I love my first graduate degree and what I was able to learn from that experience but when it came to seeking a new employment opportunity, I was losing out to candidates with graduate degrees in business, counseling, and education. My second graduate degree in public administration is more practical than my first in social and cultural pedagogy but I do not consider my educational experiences as a loss. My first program was mostly funded by the bulk of my Post-9/11 GI Bill and a tuition waiver.

My first degree has been invaluable in helping me understand my military service, systemic problems in military communities and services for veterans, and many other things. I could not write the memoir I am writing today about my first tour in Iraq if I had not completed this graduate program and dealt with the professors who encouraged me to unpack my military experiences. I am also a better communicator with friends and family about my service and where I want to go from here. I have also used that time to grow this blog. I do not profit from my blog like other bloggers may do as it was not my intent to monetize my blog.

I will be interested to see how this college admissions scandal moves forward, but I will reiterate please do not send your kids to college if they don’t want to go.

I have another article for you to read as well because it’s a lot of fun. It was shared with me last week. Emily Petrarca’s Imagine Committing Fraud for a Kid and Then She Just Starts Vlogging speaks as well to the influencer culture going on nowadays. Perhaps the issue will spark another little documentary about the problematic side of influencer culture like Netflix’s Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened.

While we’re having a little fun laughing at the situation, please enjoy these photos.