DR. WALLACE: I'm a 19-year-old young woman and I've graduated from high school. I have a good job and plan to save my money so that I can go to college when I'm 20. My parents don't have the funds to pay all my college expenses, but they will provide what they can. I love my parents very much and I appreciate the great job they did in raising me.

This is my problem. At work, I met a real nice guy and we have been dating for the past two months. He is 22 and a college graduate. My parents have met him and think that he is a nice young man.

When I was in high school, I had an 11:30 p.m. curfew. I thought that it was too early, but I lived with it. Now that I've graduated, my parents still demand that I be inside the house at 11:30 p.m. That means that when we go to a movie on Saturday night at 9 p.m., we sometimes have to leave before the film ends just to get me home on time. It also means that we miss out on that neat after-movie snack.

Please don't tell me to go to an earlier movie because Keith works late some nights and doesn't get off until 8 p.m. I know you can't change my parents' minds, but I know they will take your views into consideration. Do you think that I should have an extended weekend curfew now that I've graduated and have a job? — Unhappy, Peoria, Ill.

UNHAPPY: With age and maturity comes privilege. A 12:30 a.m. curfew when on a date would be reasonable for you.

YOU WON'T HAVE TO MAJOR IN JOURNALISM

DR. WALLACE: I enjoy your column and would very much like to be a syndicated columnist when I graduate from college. Please give me the name of a few outstanding colleges and universities that have strong journalism programs. I'm only an 11th grader, but I want to start planning my career. Also, please tell me the journalism school that you attended. — Tony, Springfield, Mo.

TONY: Some of the most respected journalism schools include Boston University, Northwestern University, Stanford University, the University of Wisconsin and — maybe the best of all — the University of Missouri in your home state.

But not all journalists have a degree in journalism. My undergraduate degree was in the liberal arts at Knox College and both of my advanced degrees were in the field of education. That's because I wanted to teach.

My advice to you: Enroll at the University of Missouri and major in journalism. Write to me when you do and I promise I'll use your talents to be a guest columnist for the day. The teens will supply the questions and you can respond with the answers. I know they'll be splendid.

THE PURPOSE OF HIGH SCHOOL IS NOT TO BE AN ATHLETE

DR. WALLACE: I'm unhappy that you favor high school students participating in athletics with less than a C average. After all, isn't the real purpose of schools to provide an education? It's not to play basketball or football. As a former educator, you should know better than that. — Teacher, Burlington, Vt.

TEACHER: I agree that schools should provide the best possible education for every student enrolled. If a student with five C's and one D can be in the school play, marching band or school choir, then he or she should be permitted to participate in sports.

I also feel that all athletic coaches should be aware of the athlete's grades and do everything possible to see that low grades are improved.

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 [email protected]. 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.