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No BS I don't even wanna go to UDC anymore after reading that.
How can the university of the nations capitol be that bad.
There are two or three coffee shops/restaurants right next the UDC campus. All have outdoor seating. I would recommend you have lunch and observe. Perhaps you will figure it out.
University of Dumb Children (UDC) is what the natives call it, UDC has such a negative stigma here and around of country. It's sad that the only public university in the nation's capital is perceived so poorly. Many of the colleges on that are on that list are located in areas where the economy and wealth of student body in terms of education and resources is nothing to brag about, however can we really say the same for UDC? So why is it so bad?
I was talking to my Aunt this weekend who is a long-time DC resident and she told me that UDC at one time was a great school with highly trained professors from top universities around the world. She said that the school ran into problems trying to keep enrollment up and money coming in so they began accepted students from "more deserving" backgrounds and the dropout rate went up and the quality of education went down.
The problem with UDC is that it operated as a community college and is the only public university in DC. They accepted kids who came from the dilapidated DC public school system and were expected to rectify the lack of education these kids received all those years as well as provide them with a decent college education so they could compete with the better private institutions in the area. This was a huge burden and a bad starting point for the school to begin with.
I only hope things improve with the recent opening of the Community College of DC. Now kids coming from underprivileged neighborhoods (most of the time from east of the river) can hone skills before going on to the collegiate level and improve the overall ranking of the school.
University of Dumb Children (UDC) is what the natives call it, UDC has such a negative stigma here and around of country. It's sad that the only public university in the nation's capital is perceived so poorly. Many of the colleges on that are on that list are located in areas where the economy and wealth of student body in terms of education and resources is nothing to brag about, however can we really say the same for UDC? So why is it so bad?
I was talking to my Aunt this weekend who is a long-time DC resident and she told me that UDC at one time was a great school with highly trained professors from top universities around the world. She said that the school ran into problems trying to keep enrollment up and money coming in so they began accepted students from "more deserving" backgrounds and the dropout rate went up and the quality of education went down.
The problem with UDC is that it operated as a community college and is the only public university in DC. They accepted kids who came from the dilapidated DC public school system and were expected to rectify the lack of education these kids received all those years as well as provide them with a decent college education so they could compete with the better private institutions in the area. This was a huge burden and a bad starting point for the school to begin with.
I only hope things improve with the recent opening of the Community College of DC. Now kids coming from underprivileged neighborhoods (most of the time from east of the river) can hone skills before going on to the collegiate level and improve the overall ranking of the school.
I must disagree with your aunt. UDC has not been around very long (1976), relatively speaking, and has never had anything but a lackluster reputation. I do not know if it has changed, but their admission standards were soley graduating from a DC public school (no mean feat) and scoring 200 on the SATs (also not very difficult).
Such standards, if you would call them that, are simply not going to produce a school with students exhibiting the necessary critical thinking and reasoning skills that would comprise what we generally term a college education. You can put lipstick on a pig, but...
The fact that it is no challenge at all to gain admission, yet so many drop out says it all. These are kids whom are simply not college material- not everybody is as such. I also do not see where a community college would do much better, unless it focused more on vocational training and certification rather than a transitway to a 4 year college.
I must disagree with your aunt. UDC has not been around very long (1976), relatively speaking, and has never had anything but a lackluster reputation. I do not know if it has changed, but their admission standards were soley graduating from a DC public school (no mean feat) and scoring 200 on the SATs (also not very difficult).
The fact that it is no challenge at all to gain admission, yet so many drop out says it all. These are kids whom are simply not college material- not everybody is as such. I also do not see where a community college would do much better, unless it focused more on vocational training and certification rather than a transitway to a 4 year college.
What do you suggest? I certainly hope you aren't suggesting that DC shouldn't have any type of community college-like institutions. Not everyone has a right to go to Georgetown but everyone has a right to an education. Every community in the country has some type of open enrollment institution why should DC be any different?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ahales
I am totally against Open enrollment at the University level.
Well if there's no community college there has be somewhere that the poor and non-ivy league can go to get an education. I don't know just sounds well...elitist. Easy for you to say that if you've already got your degree.
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I don't know. I guess I'd be in one of those statistics as well since I didn't graduate college until I was 26. Not everyone can do the traditional 4 year route. Come to think of it I don't think I have any close friends from my hometown in Georgia that graduated in 4 years if at all. Life happens. Finishing school in 4 years is a luxury not a birthright; nor is it an indication of laziness or stupidity.
Again, I don't know. There's more to a school than how many graduated in 4 years although I realize that a school's drop out rate gives more leeway than that.
Does University of DC need to clean up its image? Yes. But denying those from less than stellar backgrounds the chance to redeem themselves and make a better life is NOT the answer.
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