After my sermon to seniors yesterday about the evils of senioritis, another problem surfaced today. With all of the budget cuts in Georgia, state colleges and universities may have to make drastic reductions in the courses they offer and the people they employ. As in most states, we are experiencing troubling times, and I didn’t know just how worried some of my students are until today.
Last week The University of Georgia, a popular school for many of my students, announced that if the proposed state budget is approved, UGA will have to make major cuts, including retracting the admissions offers they have already extended to 500 freshmen!
What do you do if you are 18 years old and you have worked hard for years in order to win acceptance into UGA and then you discover there is a chance that your acceptance will be revoked?
What do you do if you are 18 years old and NOT accepted in the first round of admissions at UGA and you find out they may not admit additional students?
As I tried to ease the worries of many of my students, all I could do was emphasize that other than voicing our concerns or protesting budget cuts, we have little control over the legislature; we only have control over ourselves and what we do. “Study hard, do your best work, and prepare for college,” I cautioned, “and you should be just fine.”
I don’t think UGA will cut 500 students they have already admitted into the freshman class.
I hope I am right. My students are much too young to have to endure such troubles even if some of them are already coasting until spring break.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010 Edie Parrott
2 comments on this topic
13. March - 5:41 pm
I hope the university doesn’t take back those 500 people they accepted. Now it’s March. If those students lose their places, they’ll have to scramble for alternatives.
What happened to the conventional wisdom that more people go back to school in a tough economy?
16. March - 4:04 pm
That would have devastated me at 18. Talk about broken promises! Keep us updated. I feel that many promises are being broken all too easily in our society lately.
16. March - 7:35 pm
I agree, Theresa. If UGA does retract the invitations, I suspect people will revolt and the legislature will find money to help these kids.
16. March - 7:37 pm
I can’t imagine how I would have dealt with such a situation at the tender age of 18. I’m just praying that everything works out for these kids. They have worked too hard to face such hardships – regardless of the economy.