At the age of eighteen, when she tested into the Shihchien Junior College of Home Economics, her parents went to the neighbors in hopes of being able to borrow money for tuition fees, but met instead with cold indifference-- "Your family being as poor as it is, how can you even consider letting your daughter study for a useless 'MRS' degree?"
十八歲自基隆女中畢業後，楊甄寧考上實踐家專家政科。私立大專學費高，父母為她向鄰居借錢，結果錢沒借到，對方還很不以為然地說：「家裡這麼窮，還讓女兒念什麼『新娘學校』？！」