Growing up JW, I NEVER wanted to pioneer after high school, even though it was pounded into my head all the time.
I didn’t believe in the Jehovah's Witnesses, but I DID believe, unfortunately, the JW idea that one didn't need college to make a good living. That anyone could do just fine without it. I believed that it is was a lie that college is important. That it was really a silly waste of money! I really believed that!
And while I left the JWs as soon as I turned 18, I carried this little bit of misinformation out with me, and it took me years to realize my mistake.
(I’m going to school now, at 34 years old.)
1. Would have gone on to collge....
I think I would have gone to college if not for the JWs because I was a very good student and enjoyed school, I lived for school and worked hard for my A's…until I was about 16 or17 and realized it was a stupid waste of time. If I had not been told, and believed, that it was valueless, I am sure I would have gone all the way.
2. Would have graduated college.....
See above.
3. Would have a *great job, earning lots of money* if they had had the opportunity to go to college.
Not sure if I would be earning lots of money, but it would be a hell of a lot more than I earn now!!
Do you know if your parents had a college fund set up for you?
No, because I didn’t NEED college and college is a waste of time..so why would they save money for it??
Did you have a secret stash of money you were going use to pay for college?
I didn’t have any money, let alone a secret stash of money!
how were you and your family going to fund your college education?
Again, my family believed that college was not necessary, and in fact that it was a bad thing. (Dangerous for my ‘spirituality’ and all that.) They certainly were not going to fund my college education!
Did you take the SAT or ACT?
No. Why would a take them if college was just a waste of time?
Did you get good to great grades in high school?
Yes, I got A’s….. until I was 16 or 17and I realized it didn’t matter because I wasn’t going to college, and since I already knew everything I needed to know LOL!!!!!! I actually believed that!!
Were your parents focused on academics and did they really push you to get all you could from the educational system?
Not really. I could read, write and balance a checkbook, so they figured I was set for life!
4. Were you prepared to go to a community college, take out loans, ask for grants, work to fill out the financial picture; all to pay for your education?
Never crossed my mind.
If you had a scholarship offer, please provide details....what college was it at, what discipline/acedemic area was to be studied, etc.
I didn’t receive a scholarship offer, but let me tell you about my friend who did. 4.2 gpa (possible with lots of AP classes) for 4 years of HS, was elected president of the Honor Society, but had to step down because the elders said ‘no no!’…As a senior she was elected valedictorian…had to turn it down. Then she was offered a full 4 year scholarship to MIT. In fact she was offered several scholarships…and she didn’t even apply for any!! She turned them all down to pioneer.
Today, she is still a pioneer, married, working, and just got done putting her HUSBAND through college.
I will say:
The JWs tricked my parents and I into deciding against going to college. We should have been smarter.
-LisaBObeesa
