Did free college exist when you were growing up?

[sightseer 895]

There's an episode of the Andy Griffith Show called "Andy's Investment".  Its about how Opie wanted to become a dentist but Andy couldn't afford it so Andy took a second job operating a laundromat and then later Opie overhears a conversation and decides that he should just study hard to get good grades to qualify for the tuition free state college.

This apparently ended before my time as I never knew of any free college -- not even the local community college was free.

So, did any of you living in the United States have access to free college (based on good grades)?

just curious.

[vgbaron 3,615]

Yes, there were local community colleges that were free. Some were just two year curriculums but were quite good. And of course the scholarship programs would reward excellent students with free tuition.

 

[johnbow72 2,722]

Nothing free back in the 70's . 😖😖

[sightseer 895]

Thanks for responding.  By the time I got to college age, I needed a Pell Grant to afford the nearby state college.

I saw that episode and was amazed that that was actually an option at one time.

[hs118 707]

i went to state college from 1974 to 1978. Tuition was not free but $375 would get you 18 credit hours of classes. Books were another $200-300. 

[sightseer 895]

2 minutes ago, johnbow72 said:

Nothing free back in the 70's . 😖😖

at least they outlawed pay toilets 😄

[johnbow72 2,722]

1 minute ago, sightseer said:

at least they outlawed pay toilets 😄

No Unisex either ......

[charliearon 3,023]

There was East Los Angeles Junior College back in the fall of '67.  They changed it to just East Los Angeles College when I started.  No tuition but had to pay for books.

[JRMurray 214]

I’m Canadian, so I can’t comment on tuition in higher education in the USA. I’ve been a university administrator for more than eight years (Associate Dean) after teaching in post-secondary for a long time, so I do have some knowledge of higher education in my province (BC), Canada, and North America in general.

I did my undergrad degree right out of high school in the late 1970s, my masters in the 1990s, and my doctorate between 2013 and 2018, and to my knowledge, post secondary has never been free in Canada. Education in general is a provincial matter in this country, so there is a good deal of variation among the provinces and territories when it comes to grants and other supports for students: we don’t have Pell grants, for example, and we don’t have Titles as you do in the States.

If anyone has any questions about how post-secondary works in BC (specifically) and Canada (in general), I’d be happy to try to answer.

[W2DR 1,860]

I attended college in California in the early 1960's. There was no tuition in either the community (2-year) or state (4-year) schools. I attended both. The only cost, other than books, was for a student body card. $34/semester at the community college and $70/semester at the 4-year schools. No tuition regardless of course load or grades. In fact, you could attend any community college even if you never graduated from high school - as long as you were at least 18 years old. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[goates 576]

34 minutes ago, JRMurray said:

and to my knowledge, post secondary has never been free in Canada.

While it isn't free, it is still heavily subsidized, and there are many scholarships available.

[birdguy 3,943]

Not in the early 1950s when I graduated from high school.  

The rich kids got draft deferments and went to college.  We po boys waited for the draft or enlisted to go to war in Korea.

When I got out of the Marine Corps I thought I'd go to college on the GI Bill.  I enrolled as a freshman at a local junior college and was going to major in business as soon as I got the undergraduate work done.

But one afternoon they were having a football rally, something I wasn't interested in.  So I went to the soda fountain in the drug store across the street and had a cup of coffee.  One of the upper classman came in and asked why I wasn't at the rally.  I told him I wasn't interested  just wanted to go to classes.  He asked me what yer I was in and I told him I was a freshman.  He asked me why I wasn't wearing my freshman beanie.  I told him I was too old for that kid stuff.  So he wrote me a ticket and I had to appear at the student council court the next day.  I was told I had to wear the beanie at all times when I was on campus (I never wore it) or at the drug store hangout across the street and for punishment I would have to run laps around the track.

I told then to get (WNA), that I had just come back from war and if they wanted to play silly kid games I would introduce them to the Marine recruiter.  I walked out and never went back.  Less than a year later I re-enlisted in the Air Force and continued my military career.

Later, after getting out of the Air Force I got a job in industry as an electronic technician.  In less than a year I was promoted to development engineer and had to start wearing a tie to work.  I earned that demonstrated ability is as good a college degree.

If college had been free my life would have taken a much different track.   I would have gone to Humbolt State in Northern California and become a wildlife biologist.

BTW, I did use up my GI Bill education benefits learning to fly and getting a commercial rating.

Noel

 

 

Edited November 6, 2021 by birdguy

[stans 703]

Not in my neck of the woods during the 1980's.  I did put myself through 4 years of college, obtaining a BS in biology, by living at home and working a part time job.  Given the increases in tuition, I don't think it is at all possible to do that these days.

 

[Camsdad13 64]

It existed then and exists now. Nothing is for free. You either pay for it or work for it. The United States Military provides free college. My son is in the Army earning E-5 pay right now. The Army pays his tuition at The Citadel. He’s a Junior at The Citadel and will be a second Lieutenant upon graduation next year. He just won The Presidents Award for academic and Military excellence. He just turned 21. 

Edited November 6, 2021 by Camsdad13

[F1Fan 121]

1 hour ago, Rob_Ainscough said:

No, assisted, but not entirely covered. 

IMHO, college/university education should be free ... an educated population is a more productive population and who knows, maybe there would be a lot less QAnon cults around.  My girlfriend of many many years ago got rejected from Stanford on a engineering path because she couldn't afford it ... she ended up going to Berkeley instead (she had scholarship money).

Cheers, Rob.

 

Bingo!  I couldn't agree more. 100% this from Rob.