Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for December 19, 2014

Yup, just like I’ve been saying… – Balancing choices…. And as Frank points out, balancing budgets …

Well, as Steve Perry said in his song “Faithfully”, “and loving a music man ain’t always what it s’posed to be.”

“Teeter Tots”“Checks And Balance Statements”“A Hunger For Life And A Fork In The Road”“Time Is Money”“Hurry Up And Wait” (♫)“Questions” (♫)“Balancing Act”“Choice Words”or“The Pros And Cons Of Learning”

So the apple doesn’t fall that far from the tree, as they say. Luann comes by her interest in things artistic honestly; her Dad has an artistic orientation. -And for those who have been lambasting Luann during this arc, snarking at her for larking around and not buckling down immediately to an all-career-all-the-time curriculum: look how long it took her father to graduate. Yes, I know it was a lot less expensive to go to college back then. But it’s not that easy for a parent to condemn a child for the same traits he has…

Yeah…he really looks like he loves his job. Not stressed out, ever.

Not to invalidate Frank (he is, after all, better at dispensing advice than, say, Ms. Phelps…albeit marginally) Luann should really get a second opinion from Nancy.

Could even be a Goldilocks moment for Luann, where she gets it “juuuuust right”, as far as her plans and goals are concerned…. – …that is, a Goldilocks moment where you don’t get arrested for “breaking and entering”, “destruction of property”, and “freeloading”.. or for messing up someone’s bed… that’s just plain wrong !…

Draft dodger?

1/2 an Attorney?

To a gold digger it is… – Take your pick- Benjamin Tech, Grant State… Mint College…..Bank On U…..

("degrees of money’:) LOL, I wanted to say that, too…

This has been a “calm week”, story/strip wise. Makes me wonder if there’s going to be a “hard shoe drop” or a “left hook” waiting for tomorrow’s strip…. probably not, though….

Well, it took her, what, 18 years to get through high school? Don’t nobody hold their breath.

I would like to clear something up. In a previous post I said that Frank is a dentist. I confused him with Zits’s dad. I confused Frank with Walt, another ineffectual comic strip dad, and I apologize for the confusion.

Geez Louise, Frank! Just-What-IS-Your “Career???”

SEE? Here’s a GOLDEN Opportunity to Finally Reveal Just what the HEL…,uh, “Heck,” Frank does for a Living and Does Greg Do? Nothing!!!

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGH!!!!!!!!!

Frank took 6 years to get his degree because he kept adding classes in pursuit of his “passion.”How long will it take Luann, not because she’s looking for her “passion” but because she’s an academic blunderbuss?

Could luck with living within those time constraints, Luann! Maybe you will find your way sooner rather than never….

I’m waiting to see if this will lead Lu to try for a transfer to Moony Uni, as I don’t know if Pitts CC offers any Bachelor degrees. IME, CC’s usually do not.

Just don’t take out any Student Loans!

Luann has apparently shown some real skill in set design and other off-stage skills. Her future may be BEHIND the lights, not in front of them. Watch the credit roll for a movie sometime…there are a lot more people offscreen listed than onscreen.

Four “affordable” years? ONE year is not affordable! Get a scholarship and MAYBE you can pay for the textbooks.

I’m thinking Luanne will end up in either Architecture or Civil Engineering. (Ever see some bridges? They’re beautiful!) That combines art and practicality. Do I hear the ACOE calling?

Excellent advice!

Anyone else seen the LUANN BONUS at the top of the page?

Well yeah, a few of you have, but in case you missed seeing it the last few days, it’s there.

When my son entered college in 2008, parents were already being told that the average undergraduate degree takes 5 years. Plan accordingly.

MIT and other universities have put their courses online, free to the world. Obviously most of us need guidance even with that. Understand, there’s no degree associated with just learning from those free courses, but if you do learn it, you can CLEP the courses far more cheaply than attending any university. I think I saw where Khan is working with industries to put some useful courses out for the world..It wouldn’t be as much fun as attending traditional college with all the side interests and support, but learning is not inherently expensive. Those who choose to take the expensive route need not gripe about the expense.

A personal organizer was not offered as a degree, but it more than pays the bills.

The reason it takes some students 6 years or more to get a bachelor’s degree is not because it is the “new norm” at universities…. it is because so very many students now-a-days think that taking 12 credit hours a semester is a sufficient course load. 12 credits is the minimum hours required for most forms of financial aid, so students think this is a “normal” amount. The reality is that to complete a degree in four years, a person should enroll in 16 credits a semester, and perhaps as many as 18 a semester. That will give them a little bit of a cushion. In addition to this, the four year plan assumes that students a) choose their courses wisely, b) do not switch majors to have to redo a whole bunch of courses, and c) work to PASS their courses the first time through and not have to repeat a course(s). ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++90 – 95% of students would be able to graduate in a normal 4 years if they followed the above ideas. For most who take a lot longer, they are not viewing their college time as a “real job” and are not dedicating enough time to it… instead working too many hours or pursuing too many other non-academic things, etc.

Practical Passions.

A dad’s sage advice: “Do what I say, not what I did.”Applies also to campus life & marriage.

Nice, tame domestic arc for Frank and Luann. I think that Frank is too young to have been a draft dodger as suggested by argythree, that was during the Viet Nam era………..early 1960s. Some will always “run from”, others will always “run to.”

It’s complicated, though. I went in majoring in physics, went out as a computer programmer—but in my 30s I became an opera singer in my spare time, and in my 50s, I did some recognized research on Shakespeare.

Excellent advice that every father must give to his children.

I can guess where you’ve been reading recently. And I still wonder why there’s no color there…

Perhaps Nancy should give some input, too.^Frank would mess that program up. Garbage in….