My partner (I hate the word "boyfriend" because we're adults, we are buying a house together, I'm a grown ass woman and not a "girlfriend") and I both enjoy video games, however, we didn't start gaming together until City of Heroes. He was a hardcore WoW-er and XBOX gamer, and I was more into Sims/Simcity/Civilization with some zombie shooters every once in a while. City of Heroes was something I loved (customizable to the MAX in terms of character creation) and we really got closer over, because it made me feel less like he was "leaving me" to play WoW (because he'd play COH with me, or I could play alone while he WoWed). COH is closed now, but I enjoyed Guild Wars 2 for a brief period (it gets repetitive quickly but is very pretty and the crafting system is fun for someone who isn't used to other games' crafting systems) and I LOVE an MMO called The Secret World, which is VERY MUCH story-oriented and worth giving a go. I think you should look at both games, and most importantly, ask her what she would enjoy playing. An honest conversation about what she likes, doesn't like, and what will make her feel "bad" is really important - most important is to listen to her and "read between the lines." I'm just as bad about quitting a game if I feel like my partner has advanced so far that playing with me is "boring" for him and I'm not invested in it personally. The nice thing about TSW is that quests are repeatable and you can "delevel" yourself really easily (there are no levels - equipment determines your "level") to go back and play with her and have it been on a more even level (so you're not one-shotting things that are killing her). It may also be that she will enjoy a game like the new SimCity or The Sims 3, or Civilization, or Magic the Gathering. These are the games I play when my partner is shooting stuff in Call of Duty (which I play every so often - but there's the issue where I feel bad because I "bring the team down" even when I'm playing well) or playing something I don't enjoy (he likes a lot more games than float my boat). Also, there are little puzzlers I enjoy - World of Goo and Zenbound are two that come off the top of my head. Look for the Humble Bundles when they come out - it's a great way to get a couple fun little games, and you'll get a better idea of what she enjoys if she dabbles in some different genres.

As a female, I say, YAY! In 2030 I'll be reaching my mid-40s and ready to raise children! I'm going to get some of my eggs frozen RIGHT NOW so that I won't have to worry about all those age-related birth defects. AND I'll be able to eat sushi, clean out the litterbox, and continue exercising normally while my baby grows somewhere that's NOT my body. This is a win. Go go gadget babygrower.

Except I'm sure that they can google the textbook that the assignments come from and find a "final result" file with no difficulty.

My Harry Potter cosplay will be complete! Win!

Yeah, I'm lucky when I can leave at 5 - I usually work 8 - 5:30 or 7:30 - 5... Making less money from clients = fewer employees = longer hours for those of us who pick up the slack.

See, that pretty much sucks, and I didn't know that. It would be a lot less politically divisive if they instituted some kind of general tuition (like other states have) effectively making STEM degrees and liberal arts degrees equivalent in cost. 8-10 semester hours is still (at $200/hour which is a completely made-up estimate based on my vague recollection of what some ... stuff... in the bursars office may have... anyway, I have no idea what the cost per hour is) is still $1600-$2000 ... which is a lot for me (as someone with a job) and more to a college student working to pay for school (or someone like my parents working to pay for my younger brothers school).

I never would have paid that in college. In fact, I'd have made a point to make as big a stink about it as possible. But, that;s just me.

I'm finished with school (and have been for long enough that I have no idea how many credits science labs are, since I took one, my freshman year, and tested out of the rest of the gened math/science/comp/language requirements, thanks) and was using the larger end of the aforementioned "4 to 6 hours" spectrum. Also, 129 hours divided by eight semesters is 16.125 hours per semester, so you should have, somehow, been able to manage to fit all your classes in under the general tuition limit. Part of an advisor's task is to make sure you schedule your classes so that you don't have to pay extra, starting before you ever sign up for a single course. I didn't have to worry about that (I ended my freshman year with something like 60 credits between CLEPs, AP courses, etc.) and frankly, if you don't pursue options like those, it's your own fault (or that of your advisor, who should make you aware of ALL of this). CLEP tests are something like $80 or $100 but they save you three hours worth of credit courses and free you up to take neat things outside your strict degree area.

I'd like a source for your proposal that "scientists contribute more to the overall economy" than news reporters, teachers, etc. As for "only smart people" being admitted to public colleges, generally public schools accept anyone with an average ACT score (the public school I went to accepted students with C averages and a 14 on the ACT) so... anyone willing to put forth minimal effort can get into a university (even if they have to go to community college first) so... both your points are ... less than persuasive.

There are a lot of ways it "could" be done and a lot of them would work well in a perfect world... but not in this world. Nepotism and bigotry will always tangle up and taint programs like the one being proposed. "I think teachers are important because my wife is a teacher" is how these things go - yes, teachers are important, but so are software engineers. Should every teacher get to go to school free (regardless of what happens after they graduate, which this program doesn't take into account, even if they decide to become child care workers or private school tutors or housespouses) while every software engineer should have to pay just because one person (or ten, or even a hundred people) think that they should?

I don't necessarily disagree with you. Mostly I just like to argue.

Establishing residency takes a year in most states. If you have relatives in a state you want to attend school in, you use their address after taking a year off after high school to save money for school/dick off wherever you feel like.

General tuition for state institutions where I live means that you can take between 12 and 19 hours per semester for the same cost. Over that is an extra $200 or so per hour. Which meant that I took six 3-hour liberal arts courses per semester (18 hours). I could have, however, taken three science courses per semester (with labs) for the same amount of hours (six) or a combination thereof. Single-hour courses (requisite phys ed, volunteer work, etc.) is even covered within general tuition. You only pay "extra" in STEM degrees IF you elect to take more classes than the recommended courseload to graduate early. Maybe it's different in Florida. Also, if you RTFA, which I did AFTER that specific post, it's not just STEM degrees, it's anything that the advisory board decides is an "area which has jobs to provide" so basically, they get to decide. Bet it's their kids/grandkids degree fields that get lowered first.

This solution would be totally unfair to people who are studying to be teachers, nurses, social workers, news reporters and a whole host of other essential non-STEM careers. I know the world isn't fair, but if this goes into effect, there will be a shitstorm. You cannot have "selective pricing" of tuition in a public institution for specific fields, especially if it is perceived that they are white-male-dominated fields. Also, what happens if someone changes their major?

Changing the cost of tuition is going to lead to some really nasty battles in the school and political systems. Easy solution: make the grants available for STEM students. My out of pocket tuition was zero because I had scholarships and grants and worked hard.

Who the hell works 9-5 anymore?