jesussaves, What a lot of these ex=Bethelites (and J-dubs in general) don't know is that they could recieve free rides in college. There are so many avenues to pursue grants and scholarships -- its a lot of paperwork -- but I finished my 4-year undergrad program with only $8,000 in loans (no interest). I could have accepted less in the way of loans, but I chose to maintain my quality of life and pay it back later. And most of this money wasn't to pay for tuition and books and stuff--it was to help us pay rent and food and so forth while I wasn't working. The tuition and books and all that was usually always paid for by my grant/scholarship package. Now, with my new professional career underway, $8,000 in federal loans is hardly anything to worry about. In fact, my credit goes up just due to my having it and gradually paying off. What I had to learn when I went back to school was that it's not like there's a system out there that doesn't want you to succeed. When you go to college, you're surrounded by teachers, administrators, counselors who ALL want you to succeed, especially if you've been through tough times in your life. It threw me for a loop when I realized that there were all these *worldly* people who wanted me to succeed, but most in the congregations gave me a hard time for trying.
