DR. WALLACE: I'm a high school senior, and my parents have made a point of telling me recently that they will only be giving me minor financial help for my college costs. They explained to me that if I choose to pursue a college degree in the field of my choice, it will end up being my degree, not theirs, so the bulk of the financial responsibility now that I'm 18 years old should lie with me.

I have a wide variety of friends in school, some that are in my exact situation, while others have parents that are paying outrageous sums to send them to lavish schools where they will no doubt party more than they will attend classes.

And it's also true that I have other friends who are already seeking jobs and have no interest in going to college at this point.

I do want to pursue a college degree, but I'm not sure I can finance my way through school with only a moderate amount of help from my parents. Do you have any suggestions on what I should do given my situation? — Limited Financial Assistance, via email

LIMITED FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE: Based on the story you have shared with me I feel you're a perfect candidate to plan on attending a junior college for the first year or two in your pursuit of your ultimate university degree. Community colleges keep tuition costs down and generally help students get started in college when they don't have a large budget to work with.

Most communities have these junior colleges within a reasonable distance from metropolitan centers, and whether you're living at home or plan to live in a small apartment, at least your college costs for the first two years may be workable even on a small budget.

During this time, you can seek to get into the rhythm of being a regular college student and working part-time at whatever job you enjoy that you feel will provide you the best opportunity to earn enough revenue to support your college ambitions and your living expenses. I have faith that you can do this if you truly have passion toward pursuing your goal of higher education, and I fully encourage you to go for it. Take any and all assistance your parents offer and thank them sincerely for it. From there, buckle down and work hard to grind it out. I trust you can do this, and your ultimate success will truly be rewarding to you in many ways, some of which you are not even thinking about yet right now.

I WANT TO CHANGE DATES

DR. WALLACE: I'm a 16-year-old girl who has recently been granted permission to start dating. I've only been on two dates so far and I was not impressed with either experience. But this has not deterred me from wanting to go on further dates, so I recently accepted an opportunity to go to a school dance with a 16-year-old boy even though I don't know him very well.

However, since that dance is three weeks away, I've been asked out for the exact same evening by a 17-year-old boy I really like who goes to the next high school over from our town. Now I want to cancel my first date and go to the other school's event with the other guy. My mom is telling me that it's not appropriate for me to cancel a commitment I made to the first boy. What do you think? — Dating Dilemma, via email

DATING DILEMMA: I agree with your mother completely. The first boy asked you out in earnest and you accepted, so therefore you should follow through and go out on this date with him and keep an open mind. Who knows; the two of you may have similar personalities and get along very well together.

And even if you don't end up wanting to date this first boy any further, you have the rest of your life to potentially date a boy from the other school or any number of other boys as well. It is important that you establish a sense of personal responsibility and integrity when it comes to your social life. Keep your commitments, and keep your options open as well. There's no reason why you can't keep this current commitment and still potentially let the other boy at the other school know that you might enjoy going out with him to a different event some other time.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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