Fans of Counting On know that a college degree is not at the top of the priority list for members of the Duggar clan, but can the same be said for those that marry into the famous family?
Nearly every Duggar marries young and then immediately starts to have children, with secondary education not appearing to be an option. Twenty-one-year-old Josiah Duggar is the most recent member of the family to announce an engagement, and many are wondering if his 18-year-old fiancée Lauren Swanson is pursuing a degree. We don’t know much yet about Swanson, but if she is hitting the books, it would be quite the surprise.
Earlier this month, Duggar and Swanson announced their engagement after courting for just six weeks, and the couple says they are excited to take this next step in their relationship.
The Duggars and Swansons have been close friends for years, and the two families have a lot in common. The Duggars have 19 kids, and the Swansons are expecting baby number nine. Both families also homeschool their children.
Josiah and Lauren’s relationship has been on the fast track since they started courting in January, and according to their registry on the Knot , they have set Tuesday, August 28, as their wedding day.
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So, with a big wedding to plan, it doesn’t seem likely that Lauren will be enrolling in college classes anytime soon. However, the Duggars do have an alternative approach to education, so she might take the same route.
After finishing their GED’s, some Duggar kids have taken online college courses to further their education through a program called College Plus. Michelle, the mom of the family, says that it is a distance learning program with a coach that helps you with your courses. However, the focus isn’t getting a degree, but rather gaining experience and acquiring skills.
According to Romper , Lauren hasn’t revealed any plans or goals she has for after she gets married, but it would be a surprise to fans if college was an option for her. If she and Josiah follow in his siblings’ footsteps, she will be expecting her first baby at this time next year instead of taking college classes.
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Fans have raised concerns in the past of a Duggar spouse missing out on furthering their education. Some believe that Ben Seewald missed out on getting his degree because of an early marriage and immediate fatherhood.
But, until the members of the family share their educational goals with fans, we can’t be sure about what they want to accomplish. And, since Swanson is still very young, she has plenty of time to further her education if she chooses to do so.
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As for Josiah, he has never mentioned college on his Instagram account, but he did attend a program called the Alert Academy, Romper reports. On its website, the Academy describes itself as a Christian training and service organization with a mission of equipping individuals with the tools to prepare them for God’s calling.
Josiah has said that Alert was one of the best experiences of his life and he learned important lessons in the program.
Catch Josiah Duggar and Lauren Swanson in new episodes of Counting On , Monday nights on TLC.