Too Many Americans Are Going To College

Quicksearch

Blog Administration

RSS Readers

Sunday, December 17. 2017

Too Many Americans Are Going To College

Do you agree with that? Many people today are going to things called colleges like junior colleges and trade school colleges to learn careers in things such as nursing, practical electric, cooking, hospitality, criminal justice, emergency medical service, and all sorts of other practical fields.

Too Many Americans Are Going To College

Posted by The Barrister in Education at 13:54 | Comments (11) | Trackbacks (0)

Trackbacks

Trackback specific URI for this entry

No Trackbacks

Comments

Display comments as (Linear | Threaded)

At current prices, yes, too many are going. Learning anything is worth something. Focus on cost though, whether college, apprenticeship, thegreatcourses.com, or a book.

It has been a great disservice by politicians to say a degree is worth a million $. All that has done is tempt colleges to take a full slice of that.

#1 DS on 2017-12-17 15:08 (Reply)

Agree that too many are going to college-college.

Those other things that you describe - which all seem to have a vocational bent to them - aren't "college" to me. They are the natural and better replacements for what "college" has become.

Too many people are spending too much time and money on becoming proper 1600's-Europe ladies and gentlemen. The most common excuse - that "college teaches you how to think" - was maybe valid back when you could do four years for $20k. Now, at $200k, you can just buy a couple of ladies and gentlemen to help you think and have money left over.

#2 bobby b on 2017-12-17 15:35 (Reply)

I remember when it wasn't automatically assumed that everyone went to college.

But then there was a draft ... and one good way to get out of it.

That wouldn't explain why too many women go to college, though, as they were never drafted.

#3 tom swift on 2017-12-17 16:22 (Reply)

Things will change quickly when employers stop foolishly using a lack of a 4-year degree to filter out job applicants.

Or when bright applicants figure out they can lie about it and not get caught. Who checks?

#4 forest on 2017-12-17 17:10 (Reply)

As I have said here before, yes, there are too many people going to college today. Many of them get useless degrees.

#5 Dangerous Dean on 2017-12-17 18:25 (Reply)

The only programs I can see from here that still have some value and validity to them are those program in STEM fields. A degree in Afro/American studies, or a degree in women's philosophy, etc., etc. does no one any good. A class or two studying these subject s would be fine filler courses for liberal arts degree, but to spent two years only working on these subjects will a student with neither the grace acquired from studying the complete scope of philosophy, nor the insight that came from analyzing the great classics in literature. The behavior encouraged and supported on campus sure as heck does not make the student a more pleasant contemporary in the work force.

#6 faculty wife on 2017-12-17 20:05 (Reply)

You can get a degree in Afro/American studies by watching the local news.

#6.1 Arty on 2017-12-17 21:43 (Reply)

The problem is not with the kids and their parents, but with the colleges and universities. Professors are overpaid, adjuncts are underpaid, too many useless classes, too much indoctrination. There should not be classes with the label "studies". But then professors are complaining that the students they get don't know anything and are unprepared for college work. Too much college money is going to frills like climbing walls, landscaping. Somehow the basic purpose of a university gets lost. Western Civ has been dropped for more trendy nonsense. You can see the results in today's young 'journalists' who don't appear to know any history, economics, or that Western Civilization that they dropped.

#7 The Elephant's Child (Link) on 2017-12-17 20:59 (Reply)

Depends. If the goal is to waste some of the most productive years of the young and to enslave them in eternal debt, then no, to many aren't going to college.

Let's face it, many colleges, especially the "elite" ones these days do not permit open discussion of, most intellectual topics. They do not impose rigor of thought or even permit real study, which involves brooding, mulling and asking difficult questions. The modern campus no longer brings together students with a common intellectual challenge and no distractions.

Those going to your, apparently disdained, junior colleges and trade schools are at least learning to do something of value for others, unlike those matriculating at most of the "real" colleges. Perhaps the latter will be able to leverage the illusion of being educated into an opportunity that they can then develop via the employable abilities to had before freshman orientation.

#8 JK Brown on 2017-12-17 22:32 (Reply)

What does it mean when a university accepts 97% of applicants?

#9 Apple Pie on 2017-12-17 23:16 (Reply)

The situation is crazy.

The mindset came from the old days it seemed that college educated people were more financially successful (possibly reversing the cause and effect: that the brightest and most ambitious were the ones going to college).

In any case, the magical solution was have everyone go to college so everyone will make good money. The problem is, there are only so many jobs that require advanced education, but this mindset has raised to bar for everyone -- and it's especially hard for people from low income backgrounds, putting off employment for 4 more years is a big burden on their family.

#10 jay on 2017-12-18 06:01 (Reply)

Add Comment

Name
Email	(Your e-mail will not show in your comment)
Homepage
In reply to
Comment	By commenting on this site you agree to the site rules listed here. Email addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for email notifications. Quick reference guide: [i] italics [/i], [b] bold [/b], [u] underline [/u], [url] (web address) [/url]. More tips here. Enclosing asterisks marks text as bold (word), underscore are made via _word_. E-Mail addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for E-Mail notifications. To prevent automated Bots from commentspamming, please enter the string you see in the image below in the appropriate input box. Your comment will only be submitted if the strings match. Please ensure that your browser supports and accepts cookies, or your comment cannot be verified correctly. Enter the string from the spam-prevention image above: BBCode format allowed
	Remember Information? Subscribe to this entry

Maggie's Farm

Our Recent Essays Behind the Front Page

Categories

Quicksearch

Links

Blog Administration

RSS Readers

Sunday, December 17. 2017

Too Many Americans Are Going To College