Was there an expectation for you to attend higher education? Have you attended any form of higher education? If so, how did you pay for it?
I grew up in a bubble with other immigrant kids who were pushed into college so not going was not an option. However, my parents never talked about saving or paying for college because I don’t think they knew what it meant. Fortunately, we were poor and my grades were good, so my undergrad was fully covered by financial support (scholarships, grants, part-time work). I lived off campus the whole time, mostly with a living / dining room, and learned to cook straight away, so I saved a lot. At first I felt like I missed college in my first two years as an antisocial nerd, but in hindsight I made the best use of the money. This boost prepared me for life and I believe that to some extent it was based on luck. I also got my Masters degree, and I know I only decided to do it after my vet told me that tuition fees would be waived if I had a certain position as a PhD student. I actually got a small monthly scholarship even though I didn’t have to pay for graduate school. Just before my first tenure, I took out a $ 5,000 loan, but immediately repaid it once I found a grader job. I then had teaching assistant or research positions for the remainder of my program so I graduated with no debt.
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