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Corps Tuition


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I remember we had to come up with $3600 a year in "spiritual partnership" in order to be in the corps. In the end it wasn't so much about having the "Spiritual Partners" as it was about the money. I was in the 11th in 1980. Did the costs go up over the years and if so how much did you pay?

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My first year in the 13th Corps it was $3600, and the second year it was $4,200. You got $100 a month tuition credit if you had ever been on staff (so those of us that spent our interim year at HQ got that for our final year), and I think it was $20 or $30 for each year you had been WOW ... can't remember exactly). It was really not a lot of money when you think about it (tuition, room and board-wise) ... but then again, they were getting free labor ... we used to laugh about it, saying, "I pay good money to work here!"

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Sort of a derail here..but talking $$ in the Corps.

My hitching partner and I were 3 to 5 minutes late to the designated rendevous point for the Lead bus. We made a phone call to the Lead house and the response of course was, "Your late. Hitch back to Emporia."

And we did...along with about 8 to 10 other folks who were late too.

(BTW: We all got stuck in Amarillo...real wierd. Were any of your on that Lead trip? 11th/13th corps...November i think?)

Well, it was still required that I go Lead. But since I "missed it" first time around, I had to chalk up $200.00 to go the 2nd time. (I guess everybody had to do that that didn't make it.) :blink: A spiritual partner bailed me out.

Now back to your regularly scheduled program....

Edited by I Love Bagpipes
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I heared about that and always felt sorry for those that had to turn around after all those hours on the road and then having to cough up more money to go.

I'm still wondering what corps tuition cost in later years. what did the 15th pay? how about the 18th or the 21st? Did they escalate the price drastically.

I remember hearing some B#LL $#!T that we were actually paying for a future corps person and that some in the past had already paid for us. I always wondered if that was the case why were people sent home for not having thier money together since it was allegedly paid for?

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:offtopic:

My hitching partner and I were 3 to 5 minutes late to the designated rendevous point for the Lead bus. We made a phone call to the Lead house and the response of course was, "Your late. Hitch back to Emporia."

And we did...along with about 8 to 10 other folks who were late too.

THAT REALLYYYYYYY SUXXXXXX!!!!!

(I bet the same bozos would've castigated Peter for sinking, after he walked on water too.)

Yup -- yer ALWAYYYYYYYYYYS WELCOME AT THE WAY

@#$%^&*()_!!!

<_< :asdf: <_<

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I was never WC so maybe I don't belong on this thread. I was ,however, FL so I thought I would offer some info. in that regard. ----We all were required to work a "9 to 5". ----Income from this was dispersed as follows; 1.) ABS ( actually in the written agreement so if you found yourself out of work it was a serious problem.) People would take any kind of job they could fit into the schedule regardless of their qualifications or the nature of the job. You had two weeks to get a job when you first arrived or you were shown the door. 2.) General fund -----This paid the rent on the 8 or so townhouses in our enclave. ( I'm not sure on this but I think gas, electric and water were part of this fund.) None of the 8 townhouses had phones but if you wanted to get one it would be your own expense. It was 1975 so there were no cell phones or internet. A couple homes had T.V. but there was rarely any time to watch. 3.) House fund-----This paid for things such as dish soap, garbage bags, bootie wipe etc. All personal items such as shampoo, shaving cream, etc. were each FL's own responsability. 4.) MANNA-----This fund was for the food co-op. If you didn't pay MANNA you had to sit at meals with everyone but weren't allowed to eat. ( Thanks John G. for bailing me out more times than I like to remember.---5.) Corps sponsporship------Not an absolute requirement but not participating was heavily frowned on. There wasn't much left for a social life but then who had one anyhow? Dollar amts.? I don't recall. It would probably seem like a pittance unless adjusted for 30+ years of inflation anyway.

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I really don't remember how much it cost me to be in the corps...my wife's parents (I was married at the time), were quite wealthy and paid for the whole shot.

I watched other people struggle to get their money together...some did and some didn't.

The bottom line was...it didn't matter how hard you tried, or how committed you were, or where your heart was at...it was how much money did you cough up.

Twi's middle name was filthy lucre. They sold "God" for money...and that was their main concern.

They were scumbags and lowlifes...

...they still are.

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Hello,

Janis Lang former 14th Corps. I paid $4300.00 to be in residence in 1983. My dad wrote a check because I didn't trust anyone to be a "partner". I figured if God wanted me there, He could figure me out a way to pay for it.

I did get kicked out, but I did do what I was accused of. I shouldn't have been there to begin with. What I did was not the issue, it was the lack of ability to have faith in God that led to my dismissal. I blame no one. I have a great time, I learned a lot and that is it.

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Hi Janis:

Sounds to me like you cleaved to the good and shunned the bad. You should be proud of your self for being able to do this. Its a very admirable trait that not many have.

Thanks for the info, it looks to me like in 3 years the price went up $700 which was reasonable. I wonder how far it got up to and even today what the corps is paying (dollar wise).

In your few short sentances I can tell you are a great person!

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I wish I had a dollar for everyone going in the corps who asked me to be a spiritual partner. Every year, people I hardly knew would suddenly be my best friend.

I used to wonder how in the world anyone could get corps money together that way. Most everyone I knew in the way were stuck in minimum wage jobs, with barely enough money to keep a roof over their head ( said roof housing 4 or 5 other people with lousy jobs). It was always stressed that being a spiritual partner should be above and beyond abundant sharing. Had to make sure HQ got the first cut.

Anyone who had an actual career with decent money were the biggest targets, of course.

I sponsored several people over the years, usually only 5 or 10 bucks a month, and that was not easy to do. I was happy to help someone who I knew well, and wanted to help,but it really got old ( and pointless if they knew how broke I was) to get hit up at every state function by struggling apprentice corps who I hardly knew.

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...Of course when you talk about "tuition", a person generally thinks about a college or university...

...The way corps "tuition" provided very little "bang for the buck":

1-It was an unaccredited "education"

2-You were required to become part of a FREE workforce...doing everything from cooking and cleaning to taking care of the grounds, carpentry work, concrete work, and even babysitting and cleaning the houses of the "leaders"

3-The curriculum consisted of a rehash of classes we had already taken and a few "extras" thrown in, like how to pack a suitcase, basic spelling, and and even teaching men how to shave properly!

4-A significant part of the day was spent at "study hall", when we were required to sit for several hours in our chairs (that were properly strung), not being allowed to go outside for a smoke or anything else.

5- The corps "training" was designed to keep people half exhausted all the time and to break them down so that they could be controlled more easily for the work of the cult.

To call the way corps training an "education" is a far stretch...that they charged "tuition" is a crime.

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FREE AT LAST---------- "how long was the FL program?"---- It was a two year commitment. One of the unique features was that first year and second year were not segregated. The first house I was in was 4 first year men with a second year married couple. Some limb staff aso lived in FL housing. Mainly it was 6 men to a townhouse or 6 women . The only coed aspect was when marrieds lived with singles or other married couples . My second year, families with children were added to the mix though children were not required to participate at the same level of intensity as adults. RE: phones --- they were permitted but they were very expensive and virtually every call would be long distance. With 6 people in a home, you can imagine how that could get out of hand. Add to that the possability you could be moved to another home on a moments notice and the phone point became moot. The only payphone available,albeit still "long distance" was at the nearby truckstop, called (you guessed it) WAYSIDE TRUCK STOP.-----GROUCHO------I agree with you that the lack of any real academics was a vast disappointment.-------But on the bright side: I got an ambiguously sounding handle from it. No wait! Did I say that was the "bright" side?

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OUTTHERE-------I wasn't sure if your request for $$$ info was directed toward me. I hit the highlights on post #10. The only actual $$$ amount that comes to mind is $6/wk. for MANNA. It seems pretty silly now but I think I only made about $2/hr. at my "9-5". I do recall once calculating the rent on 8 townhouses against the general fund paid by 50 people and being astonished by the overpayment.There was rarely much left for anything other than the laundromat and lunches which we had to buy ourselves, as well as gas for the car. (35--45 cents a gallon?) ---A bit of humour in the mix: MANNA coordinators always seemed to be female so we called them ( informally, of course) MANNA MOMMA'S--Ain't nothin' in the world tastier than homemade familia made in 100 lb. batches. YUM YUM!!

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Clammy--------A little boy talked to GOD one day.---"GOD how much is a million dollars?"----Well son, to me it's like a penny.---"GOD how long is eternity?"-------Well son, to me it's just a minute.-----"GOD can I have a penny?" SURE son, just a minute.------------GOD doesn't give a rat's patutti about green paper. He can return it to you " Pressed down, shaken together, and -------well, you know the rest.

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Corps tuition - the cost?? How about 3 years of my life??

That equates to:

8760 hrs (per year) times 3 (years) = 26,280 hours

Let's see, what was my time worth back then, maybe $10/hr???

So it looks like it cost ME ALONE $262,800.00, plus whatever amount my "sponsors/partners" contributed...

What has the gospel cost YOU????

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