I agree with you that living expenses would be expensive or at least similar to any big US city, I was strictly talking about tuitions cost.
- Thread starter LIZ87
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Is it that bad in DR??
I agree with you that living expenses would be expensive or at least similar to any big US city, I was strictly talking about tuitions cost.
The study abroad is certainly no savings - our son did study abroad [through Rutger's University] in Italy for his junior year, and we had to pay his US tuition in full as if he was going there, plus the costs for airfares and for food and transportation, because they didn't have dorms and put them into shared apartments scattered around the city [he was in Florence]. Ended up costing us close to double $$ that year.
And, of course, mama had a good excuse to go visit Italy, so that added to the bottom line.:cheeky:
AE
My son is currently in his second year at Trinity College in Hartford, CT.
His yearly tuition plus room and board is 52,000 USD a year!
I think it depends on the program in the University. I did a study abroad in UPR-Mayaguez (University of Puerto Rico) and I just had to pay the price of tuition there (a real saving !). It could also be that technically UPR are fully US accredited for obvious reason.
My living expenses were not exactly cheap, but much cheaper than NYC (than again everywhere is
aranoid.One thing I made specifically clear was that I am not trying to got to DR because of a guy. Guys come and go no matter where you are in the world. People get the misconception that US is the way it use to be and it isn't that way anymore. Hey, I am proud you worked hard to achieve your goals but like you did it; others can as well. Thank you for the advice.
You have to understand the mentality of many of the posters here. This is it:
"Of course I live here but only because I am so much smarter than everyone else, I am so special and a know-it all. It is impossible for anyone else to be able to do it. Only I know all the secrets. Only I have the skill. Everyone else will fail because they are idiots, incapable of making their own decisions and learning about the country and culture like I have. They have no common sense. They are fools. They will all be taken advantage of."
That about sums it up for most of the posters here. However, there are some people that actually give good, unbiased advice and information in a helpful way. You just have to read enough posts to figure out who they are and ignore the rest. Of course, I am the only one smart enough to be able to do this. You will fail miserably.
LOL...WOW... No matter where you come from or any walk of life you can make it anywhere you go. Is it all about how bad you want to achieve your goals and if you put your all in making i happen. Everyone will always have their opinion.
suarezn: I'm very much aware of what the job market is like. Canada is doing a bit better than the US at the moment (but we still have an unemployment rate of 8.1% according to Statistics Canada vs. 9.6% in the US as per the US Dept. of Labor), and it's increasingly difficult for Canadian university graduates to get jobs in their field in CANADA... so please enlighten me here. What, specifically, am I missing?
There seems to be this idea out there that a university education is superior to that of a technical college. I remember my high school counselors saying this. After 5 years working my tail off getting my degree, I had no good job to show for it... so I had to create my own. I should have gone to college and spent 2 years learning a trade instead. I'd be much better off financially today. I didn't qualify for financial aid or student loans because my dad made too much money (even though my family lived paycheque to paycheque). So I worked my tail off during summers and part time throughout school. I have ZERO student debt as a result.
I don't agree with the European model of free university - the cradle-to-the-grave mentality that permeates throughout Europe is directly contributing to its economic decline. It's simply not sustainable and creates a society of entitlement. Nor do I agree with the American model where one must bury oneself in debt. Americans do seem to love their debt... Canada seems to have a bit better system with a combination of the two systems whereby the government will subsidize the tuition to where the average yearly costs are around the $7000 for tuition and books. It ain't free... but it's managable.
Emily, I gotta agree with you regarding the usefulness of an undergraduate degree from ANYWHERE... I certainly have never worked in my field of study... ever. I use my education in different ways... like to critically analyze the insanity and BS all around me.
People, if you want your kids to do well, encourage them to go to a technical college and learn a TRADE! I'm deadly serious about this. Don't waste your time with university unless the profession you want to get into requires it. And don't waste your time with a DR university... period. If you can't get your kids into a private school in the DR (for elementary or high school), get them back to the US, Canada or wherever you're from. The public schools and universities in the DR are a joke.
There seems to be this idea out there that a university education is superior to that of a technical college. I remember my high school counselors saying this. After 5 years working my tail off getting my degree, I had no good job to show for it... so I had to create my own. I should have gone to college and spent 2 years learning a trade instead. I'd be much better off financially today. I didn't qualify for financial aid or student loans because my dad made too much money (even though my family lived paycheque to paycheque). So I worked my tail off during summers and part time throughout school. I have ZERO student debt as a result.
I don't agree with the European model of free university - the cradle-to-the-grave mentality that permeates throughout Europe is directly contributing to its economic decline. It's simply not sustainable and creates a society of entitlement. Nor do I agree with the American model where one must bury oneself in debt. Americans do seem to love their debt... Canada seems to have a bit better system with a combination of the two systems whereby the government will subsidize the tuition to where the average yearly costs are around the $7000 for tuition and books. It ain't free... but it's managable.
Emily, I gotta agree with you regarding the usefulness of an undergraduate degree from ANYWHERE... I certainly have never worked in my field of study... ever. I use my education in different ways... like to critically analyze the insanity and BS all around me.
People, if you want your kids to do well, encourage them to go to a technical college and learn a TRADE! I'm deadly serious about this. Don't waste your time with university unless the profession you want to get into requires it. And don't waste your time with a DR university... period. If you can't get your kids into a private school in the DR (for elementary or high school), get them back to the US, Canada or wherever you're from. The public schools and universities in the DR are a joke.
yes, i know US universities are expensive. i also know my friend is working and studying at the same time in the university of chicago or whatever it is called and she manages both. her salary is less than 50k a year and she pays her uni fees and a mortgage too. so it must be doable, right?
Less than 50k a year? That is still a TON of money to a university student. That's what a LUCKY grad can hope to make full time after a couple years of experience in their field. I don't know any college students making more than $20K a year here in the US (unless mommy and daddy are subsidizing, which lots do) and most university programs aren't flexible enough to allow for full-time jobs (luckily mine was flexible). That's why we all eat ramen noodles and starve to death in college!
My sister went to NYU. My parents paid half her tuition out of pocket, she got a few grants, and she still ended up with $40K of college debt. Then again, I chose a less prestigious school, my parents were able to pay all my tuition out of pocket, and I graduated with 0 college debt. So yes, it does vary, but the costs of a university education in the US rise steeply every year, while the "return on investment" seems to be declining. Personally, I went to school because I love to learn, and I loved my field of study. I wasn't terribly concerned with how much money I'd make with my degree...another reason why I went with a public university rather than a private one like my sister.
But I digress. If you're interested in grad school after you get your undergrad, I'd do some investigating at potential grad programs to find out if your DR university degree would make you a viable candidate or not. If the answer is yes, and DR universities are more affordable, what do you have to lose? It sounds like the quality of these DR universities varies greatly, but it seems like if you do your research and pick a reputable school, you should be fine.
It's doable with student loans. Our son graduated with only about $20,000 in loans, we had paid the rest on the fly. Our daughter attended a college close enough to live home, so she graduated with no debt. The girl our son is dating right now has over $200,000 in student loans. Yep, you read that right.
AE
i am grateful to have been born in a backwards thinking old fashioned europe
i am all for free education for everyone everywhere. the only obstacle from attending universities should be intelligence not wallet. in poland you have to pass an exam in order to start university and i applaud of that model (there are about 10 hopefulls for every seat in the medical academy and they are tested in biology, chemistry, physics, polish and chose foreign language to qualify the best).
howgh!
i am all for free education for everyone everywhere. the only obstacle from attending universities should be intelligence not wallet. in poland you have to pass an exam in order to start university and i applaud of that model (there are about 10 hopefulls for every seat in the medical academy and they are tested in biology, chemistry, physics, polish and chose foreign language to qualify the best).
howgh!
If you have read the general consensus to be negative, that must be telling. I am Dominican and I have left the DR until I see a radical restructuring of that nation's economy and a substantial decline in crime levels.
If the DR were truly a paradise, would you be reading all of us sour-pusses on this forum?
Think about that for a while. Let those thoughts roll around in your noggin. Chew on it, digest it and then reflect once again:
Why are so many Dominicans and foreigners quite negative on the DR? Many things have taken a turn for the worse there. Even this forum's owner Rob the Englishman who I have never read writing negatives regarding the DR has of late uttered some downgrades.
That should tell you something. I've been on this forum with a broken bifurcated account since May 2002 which Rob has not repaired. In that time, I have gone from a guarded optimist apologist to a persistently dogged determined pessimist regarding the DR. I don't like the change the DR has taken politically, economically, socially. I don't like it and I have facts to prove it. Visit the debates section and read my posts in the Recession thread.
The degree of negative intensity within posts regarding the DR may have some exaggeration due to emotional sentimentalism but take note of the quantity of negative posts and the expressions used. If you weed back some of that intensity, you'll notice a decided negative bias. I'd refer to that as the DR consumer/client/tourist confidence report. It ain't pretty.
To quote the Lord of the Rings, you can feel the change in the air. Most Dominicans like myself would like nothing better than to speak idyllic statements. We feel something is wrong and rotten. We sense it and feel it. Take note. Caveat Emptor
LIZ, there's a bunch of self called expert here in DR1 who hasn't lived long enough in SD or even attended top DR colleges who their passtime is to trash everything DR related in order to feed their egos. Don't listen to them.
I've worked in UNIBE and their system is really good, they teach you in English, way cheaper than the US and education quality can be comparable. I've personally met about 15 foreign students doing their careers there and they all were satisfied with the achievements made there.
If money is an issue to study at USA, then YES, I'd recommend you go down there to DR and finish your degree there, just choose UNIBE or PUCMM, don't look at anything else.
True.
None of them are in Poland, either.
Something about people in glass houses not casting stones, what was that old saying?
Look, Cambridge, Harvard and Yale have been trading spots for best three schools in the world for centuries. The other 7 billion of us have to apply ourselves, regardless of whether we're in the Ivy league or a vocational school. In the meantime, why don't you stop slamming the educational system (and virtually everything else in the country), especially since we've yet to see any evidence of your efforts to help make it better.
Or maybe you just forgot to share about your weekly tutoring sessions with the schoolkids. :tired::tired: