Success Without College Why Your Child May Not Have to Go to College Right Now--and May Not Have to Go At All

If your child seems indecisive about college, don't read the riot act, read this landmark book instead. College isnotthe only alternative. ANew York Timeseditor and concerned parent tells you why and helps you to find happy alternatives to starting college before your child is ready. As an educated, committed parent, Linda Lee harbored the usual expectation of a prestigious college degree as the illustrious preface to a top-flight career for her child. Some fifty thousand dollars and several disastrous report cards later, Lee recognized that her seemingly rational expectations were proving far-fetched and that her son was simply not ready for college. Moreover, she was shocked to discover that his experience was not the exception but the rule; only 26 percent of students receive a bachelor's degree within five years. Why, then, are parents led to believe that their children must go to college immediately and that it is the right choice for everyone? If not attending college worked for Bill Gates, Harry S. Truman, Thomas Edison, and William Faulkner, why can't it work for your child and what are your alternatives? Success Without Collegeis a groundbreaking book that reveals the surprising facts of why many bright kids are not suited for college (or at least not right after high school). Lee's accessible, knowledgeable style informs parents why this should be more a source of pride than shame by providing profiles of students and parents from around the country and their creative, positive solutions to the college dilemma. With a college education now costing an average of a hundred thousand dollars, maybe it's time for American parents to reconsider: Do you really need college to succeed? From the Trade Paperback edition.

Linda Lee<b> </b>is an editor and writer for the<i> New York Times</i>. She frequently contributes to the Style, Art & Leisure, and Business sections. The article she wrote for the education life supplement in 1998 entitled “What’s the Rush? Why College Can Wait” generated an enormous amount of mail. In addition to the more than eighty articles she has written for the <i>Times</i>, Lee is the author of several books. She lives in New York City.