Many Americans Too Broke to File for Bankruptcy

[Ghost of Cutten]

Quote from peilthetraveler:

Yes thats what I heard too. 50% of the people that actually graduate go into fields not related to their major. Hows that for a waste of money.

In many cases a degree is just a way of proving you can study or are clever. What you actually do to prove that is kinda irrelevant. Someone with a degree in ancient history from Cambridge is a much better bet to become a CEO or leading politician than someone who studied medicine in the online University of Palookaville.

College is also useful for making contacts, and just 'growing up' and getting a broader outlook on life in general.

Nothing I specifically learned in class at university was particularly useful for real life, but it was great for getting initial job interviews. The contacts made there were also pretty useful. Overall I'd say it was a better use of 3 years than other alternatives at the time.

Anyway, most education is self-taught by reading, experimenting, and thinking.

 

[tortoise]

Quote from Ghost of Cutten:

In many cases a degree is just a way of proving you can study or are clever. What you actually do to prove that is kinda irrelevant. Someone with a degree in ancient history from Cambridge is a much better bet to become a CEO or leading politician than someone who studied medicine in the online University of Palookaville.

College is also useful for making contacts, and just 'growing up' and getting a broader outlook on life in general.

Nothing I specifically learned in class at university was particularly useful for real life, but it was great for getting initial job interviews. The contacts made there were also pretty useful. Overall I'd say it was a better use of 3 years than other alternatives at the time.

Anyway, most education is self-taught by reading, experimenting, and thinking.

college in three years? aren't we clever ...

 

[Vinny1]

If everyone had to pay for college upfront, without student loans, tuiton would drop. College doesn't need to be four years. Three of those four years are spent taking courses that have nothing to do with your major, a complete waste of time and money. College should be just one year and you then earn your bachelor's degree. Even better, there should be no classroom attendance required; all you have to do is just buy your books relating to your major for a few hundred dollars, read them from home at your own pace, and then after one year, you earn your bachelor's degree, and college ends up only costing you $200 or $300 for some used books.

 

[piezoe]

Quote from shortie:

"education is not for everyone"

That is an astute observation, and I might add that there is a distinct difference between education and job training. There will remain, as always, a minority of citizens that are well-educated. A good education is expensive and not everyone will be able to avail themselves of one. Your best bet is to come from a family of means or to be truly poverty stricken. The latter category qualifies for grants that don't have to be repaid. Anyone in the middle ground is going to find it difficult.

There are limited venues from which an education can be had. Typical junior and community colleges, or for-profit colleges and universities cannot provide it. Nor can the school of hard knocks -- though that kind of learning is valuable. Sadly, some of the institutions that are quite capable of educating don't always step to the plate. In any case, the process of becoming educated requires more effort from the student than it does from the institution.

Many on ET obviously don't make the distinction between education and job training. They use the words "education" and "job training" as though they were interchangeable.

 

[QuikrRetirement]

Quote from zdreg:

your claim that college graduates are mentally disciplined and have a "deep understanding " of the sciences and math is dubious at best.

so is your reading of the post.

 

[zdreg]

Quote from QuikrRetirement:

so is your reading of the post.

be specific.

 

[noddyboy]

Quote from tortoise:

college in three years? aren't we clever ...

For most of the world, college is three years. Americans spend freshman year partying.

 

[the1]

+1 and +100 on the part about communication.

Quote from QuikrRetirement:

to those in the thread and on the site who think a college education is a waste of time, then it reveals it was or would be for you. And it was and is painful to read. Most graduates I see are happy they became educated and mentally disciplined. The opposite of "educated" is "ignorant".

There is something about learning "how to think" "how to solve problems" "how to expand your horizons" "how to learn" "how to become an expert in a discipline", "how to communicate", "how to learn about the world you live in. About deep understanding and training in sciences and math and language/English and writing and academic pursuits and history and other cultures/countries and a lot of other things that HS students just do not get. A mind, talent and skills are supposed to be developed and expanded.

Education is not just about getting a job.

 

[the1]

I disagree. Studying things like Humanities and Philosophy while you are pursuing a degree in computer science is extremely important because it teaches you how to think and helps you grow up much faster. I bitched my way all through Humanities but now that I'm a little older and a lot wiser I quickly realize that this class has helped me in ways I never would have imagined. How can you not get inspired by studying the amazing accomplishments of other human beings or learning about the land between the two rivers?

Education should be viewed as a life-long event. You don't stop learning when someone hands you a piece of paper after 4-years but so, so many view it that way. I can't tell you how many times I'd hear people walking around campus saying, "C's get degrees." Truly sad.

Quote from Vinny1:

If everyone had to pay for college upfront, without student loans, tuiton would drop. College doesn't need to be four years. Three of those four years are spent taking courses that have nothing to do with your major, a complete waste of time and money.

 

[Lucrum]

Quote from Vinny1:

If everyone had to pay for college upfront, without student loans, tuition would drop...

I agree, even paying as they go would be an improvement.
All the "free" money/credit has people paying too much for degrees they don't even need.