Back to School

So after some years of going around and around about the subject--and, I thought, deciding against it--The Artist announces that he'd like to get an art degree after all.

Sure, why not. We both know that I was supposed to get to go back to school this year. We both know that any money invested in grad school for me will have a greater ROI than money spent on art school. But I don't have time. I'm maxed out with days at the office and time on the road, two kids, a house (that we now hope to buy), the novel, new commitments to my church, him.

He's making art--but not making any connections. He's also getting feedback from only three people--two of whom were born in the 1990s. ("That's really cool, Dad.") Going back to school would at least expose him to more ideas (living, breathing opinions, not just the library of books he consumes) and perhaps clarify his direction.

But where? And how to pay for it when we have yet to buy a house?

Because I'm an educational elitist (aka a Grinnellian), I think he should go to Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA), which is a real art school and has the best reputation. It's also $17,000/year and would involve a daily commute into downtown Portland. Two strikes against.

So it's likely that if he goes, he'll start at Clark College in a two-year program. It's just down the street and perhaps he'll be a big fish in a small pond--or maybe he'll be surprised and challenged. It's good either way. And my bureaucracy skills may mean that financial aid will pay for most of it.

I'll get to go to graduate school someday. We even discussed my taking a year off and just doing it--full time, no holds barred. Except that there are no 1-year MBA programs in our area.

Maybe I'll just have to overlap him. I suppose one advantage of multiple family members in college at one time is maximum financial aid. Just about the time The Artist gets out of school, The Star will be starting and The Magician is just two years behind her. My head reels with the potential debt--but it's just money. I got off easy the first time, graduating with no student loans (thanks mom!)--but we're about out of rich relatives.

I'm hoping that if he goes back to school, he'll stop bringing up Victoria College of Art and how he was kicking-ass in art school and had an incredible mentor, until I made us move back to the U.S. Maybe this is the cost of my redemption.