Stu Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 3 minutes ago, jeffmolnar said: It’s not feasible to just “make excellent grades work nights and weekends” to pay for college in 2019. It hasn’t been for quite a while now. Maybe 1-2% of people will get full ride or close to full ride scholarships from academics. That still leaves a huge amount of young people who have one path to a college education — student loans. But screw them, right? You got yours. Back when it was easy. I have three grandchildren currently attending university. Did they take out loans? Nope. Is anyone in or out of our family paying their way? Nope. Are they each on scholarship and working jobs to pay for university (just like gramps did)? Yep. And last time I checked this is the year 2019. So..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 1 hour ago, HolyNOLA said: The eating is subjective. We ate very well at the second corps I marched for. I can't see how it could have gotten any better. And housing. Are corps not staying in high school gyms anymore? You keep leaving out things like extra instrumentation, staff, props, etc. These things can directly be tied to rising costs. Again, it's not fuel. instruments, props and uniforms are a drop in a bucket in the budget. high schools rarely give themselves away for free now. More and more aren't even for rent. the 4 biggest costs on a corps budget: food, fuel, housing and insurance. go look at guidestar and the 990's. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 4 minutes ago, jeffmolnar said: I think their argument is that we had all of those same obligations 15 years ago and tuition was substantially cheaper — despite higher fuel prices. What hasn’t gone up in 15 years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HockeyDad Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 12 minutes ago, jeffmolnar said: It’s not feasible to just “make excellent grades work nights and weekends” to pay for college in 2019. It hasn’t been for quite a while now. Maybe 1-2% of people will get full ride or close to full ride scholarships from academics. That still leaves a huge amount of young people who have one path to a college education — student loans. But screw them, right? You got yours. Back when it was easy. Whee. This thread is going on quite an odyssey. There’s a lot to unpack on your post but I’ll leave it alone. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 53 minutes ago, Old Corps Guy said: That all depends on how you work with the high schools. Over the past several years, I have hosted multiple corps and worked with the school administration to have a successful stay for both the corps and the school. The approach is to use it as a learning experience for the students of the high school. When students have an opportunity to see how their early marching days can advance to "Marching Music's Major League" they learn and become motivated to improve. Most years, we didn't charge the corps anything and only a few times did we charge just to cover salary for the custodians if they weren't already scheduled to work that day. We also worked with the corps to have "Open Rehearsals" where we sold concessions and actually made some money for the band program. On a few occasions, the corps even opened up their souvenir tent and made some money. It is all in how you approach the administration in the first place. Once you get a good consensus, corps don't get hit with the major expense of housing. you're in a rare position these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffmolnar Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 5 minutes ago, Stu said: I have three grandchildren currently attending university. Did they take out loans? Nope. Is anyone in or out of our family paying their way? Nope. Are they each on scholarship and working jobs to pay for university (just like gramps did)? Yep. And last time I checked this is the year 2019. So..... This is called an anecdote, gramps. But even if it's true (and I don't believe it is, but let's go with it for the sake of discussion) then your 3 grand children are exceptionally high achievers who were lucky to receive generous financial aid packages. Most kids will not have that option available. Your grand children are the exception, not the rule. The vast majority of young people will not be in that position when they graduate high school. You can't just ignore the plight of the masses because a handful of exceptional individuals can make it work. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Corps Guy Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 (edited) 12 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said: you're in a rare position these days. It is a mindset issue. We have schools that respond with high expenses or other difficulties for a multitude of reasons. Corps need to approach schools requesting housing as an opportunity to teach and give an opportunity for the band programs to even make a buck or two. I have visited many rehearsal sites all around the country where I would gladly have paid a couple bucks for a Gatorade or water while I am watching a corps rehearse. It can be a win/win if approached the right way. I know it has been for us for many years. Edited July 1, 2019 by Old Corps Guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake W. Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 48 minutes ago, Stu said: Moreover, it is the most narcissistic fool of fools who takes on massive student loan debt, and instead of paying down that debt, pays 3k to 5k per year to march corps. You're being incredibly naive about this, Stu. All available sources state around 70% of students graduate nowadays with student loan debt. It's a huge problem facing our economy and every generation other than yours. If you gatekeep marching corps to kids without student loan debt, then you cut out 70% of college kids in America, and our activity would be gutted. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 (edited) 24 minutes ago, jeffmolnar said: This is called an anecdote, gramps. But even if it's true (and I don't believe it is, but let's go with it for the sake of discussion) then your 3 grand children are exceptionally high achievers who were lucky to receive generous financial aid packages. Most kids will not have that option available. Your grand children are the exception, not the rule. The vast majority of young people will not be in that position when they graduate high school. You can't just ignore the plight of the masses because a handful of exceptional individuals can make it work. Not ignoring plight. There are a lot of other means of securing an education than going massivly in debt. It is just far far better to work at a job and pay for a smaller less expensive school than to go over 100,000 in debt for a piece of paper to hang on the wall with a supppsed prestigious name on it. Moreover there are colleges and universities which take needs based youth and their education is provided in excange for working on campus. Yes here in 2019. Look it up! Edited July 1, 2019 by Stu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 1 minute ago, Jake W. said: You're being incredibly naive about this, Stu. All available sources state around 70% of students graduate nowadays with student loan debt. It's a huge problem facing our economy and every generation other than yours. If you gatekeep marching corps to kids without student loan debt, then you cut out 70% of college kids in America, and our activity would be gutted. I did not say prevent. I said it was stupid and irresponsible to go massively in debt with student loans and pay for corps instead of for that debt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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