BellaOnline Forums Relationships Married No Kids I don't understand

Exactly. You CAN quit school. And you can also find ways to NOT pay (for instance, getting a TA appointment during your master's.)

You can also take as long as you want, i.e. taking one class per semester vs. five classes per semester. So you can decide how stressed out you have to be.

And ... getting an education means that you can move ahead - you have more job opportunities and advancement possibilities.

Oh I agree, but let me rephrase this... my education to date has cost somewhere on the order of 180k (for 6 years of undergrad and grad education). Almost as much as a child, as much as a house. I am very fortunate that my parents and grandparents paid for undergrad, which leaves me with 60k in debt, for only 2 years of grad school.

I was really worried that I wasn't going to be able to finish my thesis, but I couldn't back out and be 60k in debt and no degree at the end. Ok, technically I could, but that would have been a terrible option. Likewise, technically a parent can do all sorts of things, most of them are not a good option.

All I mean by that analogy is that some people are willing to go crazy in debt for a top rate education. One that in all honesty probably won't pay for itself, or at the very least one that will not pay more than a comparable education at a less expensive school. To me it is worth it, because it was an amazing experience to learn from some really big names in my field.

So in that light I can understand that for some people having a child is such a priority to them that they would do anything to make that work, even go into debt. I think some parents do that with their eyes wide open, and many probably don't think about it that way first.

But speaking of kids, house, and education...

There was a girl in my program, and her husband was in the business school. Their student loans were monstrous, I can't put a number to it, I just remember thinking "that's a house", so it was something on the order of $250k. They moved back to CA, and bought a house for $750k... AND she is not working because she TTC. I can't even fathom it. Essentially a million dollars in debt, and only one person working, and potentially a little bundle of expensive on the way. He has a good job, but not a high dollar business job as he got his business degree specifically to market environmentally friendly alternatives.

I guess I should be happy that I only have one thing (education) that I'm willing to shell out disproportionate spending for.

I love that phrasing! So incredibly accurate.. and not just in a financial light!