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I am enjoying completely dominating the "recent comments" section

Hello fellow commenters!

posted by Artifact on October 1, 2006 at 5:26 PM | link to this | reply

thanks nonconformist, and good luck to your grandaughters too!

posted by Artifact on October 1, 2006 at 5:24 PM | link to this | reply

It's the same here. Two of my grandaughters are at university, they work as

well but they will still owe thousands of pounds by the time they graduate. Good Luck!

posted by nonconformist on October 1, 2006 at 1:59 PM | link to this | reply

Thanks Whacky!

posted by Artifact on October 1, 2006 at 6:40 AM | link to this | reply

Good luck with your job hunt!

posted by Whacky on September 30, 2006 at 9:08 PM | link to this | reply

Blanche, I may eventually

But there are several reasons I doubt that will happen.  1) I don't like it when people pigeonhole me into expectations and "paths" that have to be taken only because other important people have taken them, which is almost the sole goal of academia; 2) it is expensive, both in terms of money and time; and 3) and perhaps most importantly, I shouldn't need to go to school for the first third of my life in order to accomplish something with it.  If it turns out to be impossible to stay employed without a higher degree, I will starve to death and never regret it.  I also want to be a writer; I am hoping that with those two combined, I will be able to make it.

posted by Artifact on September 30, 2006 at 2:27 PM | link to this | reply

Artifact, don't panic, there has got to be a way to pay your loans off

Can I ask why you are adamant about not getting a Masters or doctorate in Archeology.  I hate to sound pessimistic, but in the social sciences, a graduate degree is almost a prerequisite to research, teaching or publishing. 

posted by Blanche. on September 30, 2006 at 2:03 PM | link to this | reply

Pat, that is the risk I have to consider

Almost half of my tuition is being paid by a merit scholarship that requires me to maintain at least a 3.2 GPA.  It is a matter of trying to find out what my limits are, and then, once I know, how much room I have left in which to enjoy myself.

posted by Artifact on September 30, 2006 at 2:00 PM | link to this | reply

TV, I would be terrified to do that!

I'm hoping I won't have that much debt when I graduate.  Saving up is a very slow business.  The good thing is that I am learning early how to regulate my spending.

posted by Artifact on September 30, 2006 at 1:58 PM | link to this | reply

Maybe you can handle the third job,

but if you spread yourself too thin, your learning may suffer - and if you drop out the loans kick in much sooner. I hope one of your jobs includes a meal now and then.  Archaeology is a pretty specialized field, but very interesting.

posted by Pat_B on September 30, 2006 at 12:22 PM | link to this | reply

At least you understand what you're getting into

I remember when I left school and got my first student loan bill, I thought, "What?  I have to pay this back?"  I mean, I knew... but I don't think I really knew.  And don't make the mistake my friend made.  She had about $50,000 in loans from USC film school and no way to pay it back so she just kept deffering it, racking up interest.  She now owes about $100,000 and she doesn't even work in film.  You're so smart to be saving up to pay them back after graduation.

posted by TVBlogger on September 30, 2006 at 11:53 AM | link to this | reply