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Yes, that's part of it. And that you are forced to take "fluff" classes to get a degree. I remember one of the reasons I didn't get my AA. I had to take a 1/2 credit of "gym." That's not what it was called, but that's what it was.
I guess that's where we disagree. I don't consider it fluff. I think it just depends on personalities. I can find the good in a lot of situations. I've never heard of a gym college class!
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That's why I surround myself with a great group of highly intelligent people. We meet once a week to drink a little wine and discuss everything from the economy and world politics to the origin of man. Some have advanced degrees, some never went to college, but it's a really great group of people and always a stimulating (and intellectual) conversation.
Agreed. I think it's difficult to randomly run into experts in whatever field, tho. Any way, you just had a terrible college experience. For one, it sounds like the schools you went to were just cr&p, which is too bad. That's a rip off. Two, you seemed to have lacked direction and were all over the place. That's a bad combo if you're going to crappy schools.
My dh started out in community college and transferred when he finished his associates. We did it for the money because we needed him to keep working and attending uni p/t just isn't a good idea. That CC was so disorganized. There was no guidance and his advisor just wasted his time. I think most CC's can be good for vocational endeavors like nursing or whatever, but not so for degree seeking students. One or maybe two semesters at most and a student should transfer out.
It's easy to see a successful journeyman making $80k and think "that could be me," but how many failed along the way?
How many indebted college graduates have failed along the way and can't pay back Sallie Mae? The interest really adds up on those student loans if you can't pay them back. Like I said before, you can't get out of paying Sallie Mae. Even if you die, your family ends up stuck with the bill.
At least the journeyman who fails doesn't have Sallie Mae to worry about.
I know way too many college graduates who can't get jobs and some who have never worked in their chosen field.
I guess that's where we disagree. I don't consider it fluff. I think it just depends on personalities. I can find the good in a lot of situations. I've never heard of a gym college class!
It was one of the community colleges in NY. Crazy, isn't it?
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Agreed. I think it's difficult to randomly run into experts in whatever field, tho. Any way, you just had a terrible college experience. For one, it sounds like the schools you went to were just cr&p, which is too bad. That's a rip off. Two, you seemed to have lacked direction and were all over the place. That's a bad combo if you're going to crappy schools.
The community colleges were crappy. The university was a solid second tier school, but I agree, part of the problem was that I lacked direction.
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My dh started out in community college and transferred when he finished his associates. We did it for the money because we needed him to keep working and attending uni p/t just isn't a good idea. That CC was so disorganized. There was no guidance and his advisor just wasted his time. I think most CC's can be good for vocational endeavors like nursing or whatever, but not so for degree seeking students. One or maybe two semesters at most and a student should transfer out.
My husband did the same thing, and then transferred to a highly rank Tier 1 univeristy where he completed his engineering degree. He got lucky with a good advisor. I never even met mine!
When I was in CC I have no idea who it was, and at the University I couldn't get an appointment except on Tuesdays between 2:15 and 2:25 or something ridiculous like that--it was always when I had class.
Interestingly enough, mamy countries complete their equivalent degrees (to USA BS) in 3 years, rather than 4, although there are some that take 4 also.
That's because the route one would take going from primary school to university is a bit different (and there are pros and cons to instituting that sort of system in the US).
My point is that you don't need to pay $300 a credit hour to learn those things. You could check a book on history or politics out of the library and learn--without whatever slant the professor wants to put on it.
I'm not anti-learning, not by any means. I read at least a book a week, almost exclusively non-fiction, with my favorite topics being history, biographies, and sociology/anthropology related. I love to learn. But again, I don't think anyone needs to pay a ridiculous amounts to do so--especially when they are taking on debt as a result.
That's really good that you have the discipline for self-learning. Unfortunately, most 18 year-olds don't have that. Even intelligent young people who are fine kids have the intelligence but not the structure in their lives. I think back to when I was that age, and without the structure of a college program I wouldn't have taken the time to learn about history, biology, economics etc. To be perfectly honest, I'd probably be spending my free time hanging out with my friends watching sports and playing Zelda on my Super-Nintendo.
However, having projects, papers and exams will forced me to learn deeply about things that I would have never taken the time to before. Now I enjoy teaching myself about politics, world history and personal finance. Before I went to college though, let's just say it definitely wasn't my thing.. Most new freshman that I met in my program were the exact same way.
That's really good that you have the discipline for self-learning. Unfortunately, most 18 year-olds don't. Even intelligent young people who are fine kids. I think back to when I was that age, and without the structure of a college program I wouldn't have taken the time to learn about history, biology, economics etc. To be perfectly honest, I'd probably be spending my free time hanging out with my friends watching sports and playing Zelda on my Super-Nintendo.
However, having projects, papers and exams will forced me to learn deeply about things that I would have never taken the time to before. Now I enjoy teaching myself about politics, world history and personal finance. Before I went to college though, let's just say it definitely wasn't my thing.. Most new freshman that I met in my program were the exact same way.
Which is yet another reason for people to delay entering college. They mature and have the desire to learn, and are there because they want to be, as opposed to doing whatever mommy and daddy tell them they have to do.
In my opinion the "Gap Year" concept is one of the smartest ideas anyone ever had.
It's quite common in Australia for students graduating HS to take off for a year or so (a lot go backpacking around the world) prior to diving into university.
It was one of the community colleges in NY. Crazy, isn't it?
It's really odd. Although, maybe CCs are the go-between HS and uni. I don't know what to think of that requirement.
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The community colleges were crappy. The university was a solid second tier school, but I agree, part of the problem was that I lacked direction.
You're certainly not alone, hence all the discouraged folk that have degrees they don't need or want. I have a buddy (unemployed for almost two years now) that changed his major 8 times. He finally settled on art history because his parents gave him a time line for college and it was the easiest to get. He didn't have to pay for it, but geesh. 8 times! That's crazy. Now, a million years later, he's trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life. While I wish I started just a bit earlier, I was pretty old and knew exactly what I wanted. The whole experience flowed nicely.
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My husband did the same thing, and then transferred to a highly rank Tier 1 university where he completed his engineering degree. He got lucky with a good advisor. I never even met mine!
It's excellent he had that opportunity. You guys are in the money, so no problems there. My dh is not going to a high Tiered school. He did not qualify for scholarships, so that was that. I think our state schools are fine.
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When I was in CC I have no idea who it was, and at the University I couldn't get an appointment except on Tuesdays between 2:15 and 2:25 or something ridiculous like that--it was always when I had class.
I never paid attention to advisors appointment schedules. I was certainly kind to them, and tried not to be annoying, but I spent a lot of time hanging around. I became good friends with both my advisors and several profs.
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Most new freshman that I met in my program were the exact same way.
