Excargodog

Picking, yes. Being forced into it? Not so much. My oldest was at one point contemplating going to Pepperdine University. The discussion became a learning experience - for both of us. Her primary motivation to Pepperdine, it seemed, was that it was in Malibu and they have a beach there.

So we sat down and talked, about costs ($75K a year at Pepperdine) versus other options (she can take enough concurrent college level courses at the high school she will be attending to enter college with junior standing) and career viability of various majors (industrial engineering will probably be a better career choice than a PhD in Lesbian Poets of the 16th century).

So right now she’s taking junior high school courses to set her up for taking her entry level college courses in high school, then perhaps a year at a local community college before going to a good local state school - still not cheap at $30K a year - but she now has a reasonable plan for a meaningful degree, and I’m happy to fund it for her and her sibs.

I figure I owe my kids a little help in life. Their mother enlisted - she knew what she was getting into - the kids were drafted.