The Duggars and CollegePlus

[mrs.b]

sanantone... couldn't help but notice that you evaded answering the question here. I too would like to hear your take on if this forum would statistically better or worse if College Plus had not come along?

CP's impact is statistically insignificant considering that there are millions of college students. It's hard to take you seriously when it seems that you're the only person who can't seem to figure out how to view the forum for free.

It appears as if you two are circling one another again.

I read Cyrus' point (in this quoted statement and numerous other posts) as stating that College Plus is of value to the education-seeking community by providing a service to individuals or families that otherwise would not have found the free services DF offers, either due to lack of resources or lack of confidence to implement the advice without direct, hand-holding guidance which few on DF will do because we're individuals with our own things to do, not paid employees who are here to do exactly that. Cyrus seems to be following the Emily Dickinson school of thought; helping just one individual justifies any expenses charged so long as those individuals can afford the fees (and the marketplace dictates that decision for each consumer), if they achieve these goals faster or for less than they otherwise would by going the traditional, butt-in-seat, per-credit timeline and fee schedule of traditional schools. A rough number thrown out from many DF members is the ability to complete an entire four-year degree for less than $10,000 start to finish. Add the $3,000 fee charged by CP, bringing the total to $13,000. That is still less than the ~$40,000 many traditional students will pay for a Bachelors, start-to-finish. I've read Cyrus' argument rooted in that justification of the overall expense savings; yes, they will save $3,000 less than DF followers, but they will save money over going the route they would have gone because they did not feel comfortable following free DF advice on their own for their own reasons.

Sanantone seems to be (in this quoted statement and numerous other posts) saying College Plus' $3,000 fee is exclusionary to individuals and families with similar goals who may not have the funds to pay someone else. I read sanantone's statement as saying College Plus' contribution is unimportant because, out of the millions of college students, only a small fraction take advantage of cost- and time-saving CBE options, and of that number, a significantly smaller number do so because of College Plus' contribution. Therefore, the exclusionary fee schedule is harmful to the marketplace composed of the statistically insignificant portion of individuals who might actually be seeking a full-service degree planning service.


In short, you're both right depending on philosophy and approach, by my interpretation of what's been said many, many, many times throughout this thread. While the thread reminds me of Republican and Democratic efforts to reach a consensus on anything at all in Congress that might benefit the public, I thought I'd toss in that quick summary to help it along in an effort to avoid higher education sequestration.