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Q: What If: College Grants Specifically For Non-parents
asked by: Cambion on January 10th, 2008
Active User, very eHealthy
I know people with kids tend to get a few grants just for proving their reproductive systems work, which are also grants that anyone without offspring can't lay a finger on.

Why not make a grant or grants available specifically to people who do not have children? This may make the teen pregnancy rates go down, and perhaps result in more students enrolling and completing their degrees. To be eligible for such financial aid, one must not have any children and must agree to not keep any pregnancies throughout the course of their college careers. Schools will decide how much of the tuition the grants will cover (so some colleges may make it so the childless grant pays for one's college education in full). Birthing and keeping any babies during the recipient's college years would mean getting the remaining grant money taken away and forcing the student to rely on other financial aid, paying out of pocket, or dropping out.

Of course, other things like the student's GPA and pre-college academic career would be factored in (because no one is going to fork over money for college for the lazy slob who crapped out a kid at 13 and who did vo-tech for five years because she was too stupid to take real classes).

Those with kids have the ability to have everything handed to them just because they have a baby, but often, those without children may get the short end of the stick...and this applies to much more than college. So, why not end the discrimination and give the childless and childfree a special grant? Having a kid doesn't necessarily mean a parent has a harder life than someone with no kids (especially when parents can get free WIC, welfare, SSI, food stamps and housing, while most non-childed people cannot).

Do you think such a grant would be successful? Do you think it may reduce the number of teen pregnancies, as well as the number of people who drop out of college because of pregnancy? Do you think it would successfully discourage the keeping of pregnancy in college, as well as encourage students to put their studies before their genitals?

And, as an added bonus, what if people who did keep babies in college were not allowed to apply for any grants geared specifically at parents because they violated the terms of the childless grant? This could be done just to prevent stupid people from having babies, dropping out, and then easily resuming their college careers ten years later. This part is not required, but just something I'm tossing around in my head.
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kaerbear
replied on January 10th, 2008
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angry much?
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sillyakchick
replied on January 10th, 2008
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Here's how i see it. I may not like teen pregnancy, and I get grouchy when they expect society to pay for everything because I have a hard time making ends meet what with paying for my kiddos insurance and being uninsurable myself. Despite that, I think that all of society has a bit of a responsiblity to see to it that the children being born today grow up to be valued productive members of society as they age, because when we are old, they will be running the country for us and will be produciing the goods and services we will utilize. they will also be the ones paying for our social security as we age. If we don't want a country filled with criminals and half wits, I think that it becomes a societal burden to help provide best case scenarios for the children being born in our generation. Consider it an investment in our own future, truthfully. I think everyone deserves a college education despite whether or not they chose to procreate prior to finishing their degree. If this is the measuring stick buy which we judge a worker's worth in this country, isn't it sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy to say that a college education is necessary for success in today's world and then deny education to the poor? It's like creating a caste system that people will be lucky to rise above, and even if they do it will take several generations for them to improve their standard of living.

Just my two cents.

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Tylanas
replied on January 10th, 2008
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I think it's an excellent idea upon my first consideration. Encouraging abstinence and/or safe sex through monetary rewards is great! I'd have had this award when I graduated if it existed.
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Birch
replied on January 10th, 2008
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Cambion, what are these grants? --->

Cambion wrote:
I know people with kids tend to get a few grants just for proving their reproductive systems work, which are also grants that anyone without offspring can't lay a finger on.
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Georgia59
replied on January 11th, 2008
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I think young parents NEED grants to go to college because if they get educated and get a good job, they will become self-sufficient and their family won't be relying on 'the system' their whole life. And even if they get grants, many people with children can't go anyway because they can't afford childcare or can't find a job that accomodates both their children and their education.

Maybe college shouldn't be so expensive so no one needs grants.
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Tylanas
replied on January 11th, 2008
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Like in canada Smile
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Georgia59
replied on January 11th, 2008
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right!
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Cambion
replied on January 11th, 2008
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Quote:
I think young parents NEED grants to go to college because if they get educated and get a good job, they will become self-sufficient and their family won't be relying on 'the system' their whole life. And even if they get grants, many people with children can't go anyway because they can't afford childcare or can't find a job that accomodates both their children and their education.


I'm not saying parents don't deserve grants, but I think people on the other side of the fence - non-parents - should be eligible for special grants. It seems a little unfair that someone who couldn't be bothered to be responsible about sex would get rewarded, and someone who was smart enough to not get knocked up would be eligible for one or two fewer grants.

What I don't get is why anyone would want to help fund a young parent's college education in the first place - parents are the most inclined to drop out, so why would anyone agree to fund the education of someone who is extremely apt to drop out anyway?
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kaerbear
replied on January 11th, 2008
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someone who has no kids already has an advantage. no kids. it's way harder to do anything when you have that massive responsibility.
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AyaMiyaki
replied on January 11th, 2008
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Why not make grants for rich kids who wouldn't normally be eligible? Make sure that poor kids can't touch that grant either... fair is fair! Let's also set up some white-only financial aid and scholarships.

After all, the stupid breeders are only going to drop out anyway and continue crapping out kids because they're obsessed with humping their bibles...
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Tylanas
replied on January 11th, 2008
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Unfortunately, as sarcastic as your post was Aya, it's true.
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sillyakchick
replied on January 12th, 2008
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I don't think that kids should be punished for their parents' mistakes (as in oops we are pregnant, even though we used protection). I think it's commendable that they would even want to try to complete college while juggling baby and family life. If parents are actively trying to make a better life for their family then I think it is a good idea to give them support. (But I am not aware of any grants for people to go to college just because they have children) I think it's far better than sitting around relying on the government to take care of your family for all eternity.
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Tylanas
replied on January 12th, 2008
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There are ALREADY scholarships and programs for parents. They don't need ones. Who does need ones? Kids without kids. Yes, both groups are eligible for many of the same programs, but then there are specific programs that discriminate against kids without kids in order to help kids who DO have kids. So, since kids with kids have programs SPECIFICALLY for them, why is it WRONG for kids without kids to have programs SPECIFICALLY for them, too? Bottom line? It's not wrong.

Congratulating a kid for staying child-free through highschool is a great way to encourage safe-sex and/or abstinence as I already said. YES, it's "brave" and tough and "commendable" when a pregnant teen manages to raise a child and graduate college, but do we actually want MORE cases like that, or LESS?

We don't want to take away ANY of the programs already in place. We want NEW ones, specifically aimed at kids who do not have kids of their own.
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kaerbear
replied on January 12th, 2008
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sillyakchick wrote:
(But I am not aware of any grants for people to go to college just because they have children).


come to think of it, i don't know any either.
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Cambion
replied on January 12th, 2008
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Thank you, Eiri. I'm glad there's someone reading this who clearly has more than two brain cells.

I know there are grants available that everyone is eligible for, but I don't think it's right to let only certain groups of people get special financial aid without offering special aid to other groups as well.

Quote:
someone who has no kids already has an advantage. no kids.


Yeah, but someone who has kids also has the benefit of being eligible for WIC, SSI, food stamps, free housing and so forth, college or not. If you don't have a kid, pretty much the most government aid you can receive is food stamps, and sometimes you can't even get that. I know more than one person who went to apply for government aid because they'd hit hard times and they pretty much got told to come back when they have a baby because they otherwise didn't qualify for the benefits. I realize this doesn't qualify as grants, but do you see my point? Parents get great benefits across the board just because they proved to the world that they could have sex without protection. And they know that the more they spawn, the bigger their welfare checks will be, so they are aware that being irresponsible = bigger payoff.

Anyway, I don't want this topic to de-rail. I shall save the welfare debate for another day. Smile
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Birch
replied on January 12th, 2008
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Birch wrote:
Cambion, what are these grants? --->

Cambion wrote:
I know people with kids tend to get a few grants just for proving their reproductive systems work, which are also grants that anyone without offspring can't lay a finger on.


I think you may have missed this.

Could you please describe/name these grants for me? I am curious.
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Becky
replied on January 12th, 2008
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Re: What If: College Grants Specifically For Non-parents
Cambion wrote:
and must agree to not keep any pregnancies throughout the course of their college careers. .


This is ludricous. You can't possibly expect people to agree to end their pregnancy just to keep their grant. This is taking away peoples CHOICE. If they choose to keep the pregnancy then so be it- they will just have to apply for a different grant instead.
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Tylanas
replied on January 12th, 2008
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Well yeah, exactly. If they chose to keep the pregnancy they lose the nulliparous grant. Just like if you're on an academic scholarship and your grades fall.
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sillyakchick
replied on January 12th, 2008
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Cambion wrote:
Thank you, Eiri. I'm glad there's someone reading this who clearly has more than two brain cells..


That's just insulting people who don't agree with you and calling them stupid. Please don't call me stupid. I'm not.

Cambion wrote:
I know there are grants available that everyone is eligible for, but I don't think it's right to let only certain groups of people get special financial aid without offering special aid to other groups as well..


There are grants that everyone is eligible for? I wish I had been able to utilize them in college. I had no financial aid, no grants, nothing. And there are plenty of groups of students who get grants for all sorts of ludicrus things. Like being a "football player" even though they never once played the game. Or like being a first generation student. Or a native american student (even those last two don't guarantee grants, cause I was both and got no financial aid)

Cambion wrote:

Yeah, but someone who has kids also has the benefit of being eligible for WIC, SSI, food stamps, free housing and so forth, college or not. If you don't have a kid, pretty much the most government aid you can receive is food stamps, and sometimes you can't even get that. I know more than one person who went to apply for government aid because they'd hit hard times and they pretty much got told to come back when they have a baby because they otherwise didn't qualify for the benefits. I realize this doesn't qualify as grants, but do you see my point? Parents get great benefits across the board just because they proved to the world that they could have sex without protection. And they know that the more they spawn, the bigger their welfare checks will be, so they are aware that being irresponsible = bigger payoff.



Wow neat. Let me know how that works, because again i must inform you that having children is not a first class ticket to financial aid, food stamps, government assistance of any kind. I have no great benefits from having children except having my children. I think maybe you have the wrong idea about who gets what.
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