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I think any rise of anti-college sentiment is, sadly, perfectly in keeping with dominance of Republicans, who always hope to cut education funding, and Trump, who is clearly one of the least educated presidents we've had in a long time. He's bragged about not having read a book since graduation, and has clearly not acquired any of the broader culture we hope for in a college-educated person.
I'm sorry, though, that you put it only in terms of its usefulness or "worth" in getting someone a job. Personally, I think there is great merit in education for its own sake.
This is exactly why there is anti college sentiment.
You politicize the argument. Liberal elite want to push the "dream" where the country can afford to educate everyone to a high level. For many there is no good reason to amass huge debt to attend a university just to have left leaning safe space agenda force fed, to graduate with a degree in a field where that knowledge is not valued by society.
I think that learning for the sake of learning is a great thing. But i refuse the argument that because the right is not putting up the funding that everyone is entitled to higher education.
Just about anyone with 2 working hands can go into the trades and out earn a " gender studies" graduate.
They will forever have employment, and will be able to retire.
I could care less if my plumber or electrician can quote Dickens. And i am certain he or she could care less as well. I consider that far more appealing than the advanced graduate who cannot change a light bulb.
College is not a bad thing. I have a couple of degrees.
I also have a couple trades under my belt.
So why do people attend college?
Many go with the intent of learning a discipline. Sadly many change their minds about what they want to do during their college career. This means additional classes to complete the degree that they end up with. I see this as a lack of direction on their part. Many times this is because of well meaning parents or teachers that push the student toward a particular outcome. As an example, a close friend that used to work in the medical field was pushed by her mom to become an RN. She was told what classes to take. My friend decided that she wanted to work in film. She told her mom that she wanted to work in the industry. (Around here that means entertainment.). Her mom thought that she would be wasting her time.
While working in a clinic during the summer time, she would take classes in film and writing during the school year. In time she graduated with a degree that would help her get a job in the entertainment industry. Most would say that this would be a waste of time. So few end up with jobs in the industry. It is a hard business to get into.
She ended up getting a job writing for a TV show. Since that time she has been working on the 5th season of that TV show and in her time off from filming works on a couple reality shows and a cooking show. For her the dream worked out. One thing is cool having a close friend post on her social media about the shows and the red carpet events.
Others may want to do something that people think won't work out for them. We recently hired a 20 year old guy that had been told to go to school and get his education. He had been going to school and hated it. He wanted to work with his hands. He wanted to find a job that could support him and that he could grow with. He has no student loan debt and has decided that he likes working in the facilities industry. He should be able to do fine here and will have an income that will allow him to live in a high cost of living area. It will take time to get there, but the same would be true if he had continued on with his education.
My thoughts are not that an education are bad. its just not for everyone.
I wonder if this is what dumbed-down America really looks like. If so, it's not a pretty picture. As a rule of thumb, everyone should aspire to learning in general and to the specific education that bests suits them. Those who want to know about electrical work should learn about that, and the same can be said for those who instead fancy library science or even the knee-jerk clichés of basket-weaving and gender studies. Let your own curiosity be your guide and butt out of everyone else's business.
That we pass such a huge share of the costs of post-secondary education on to students themselves should be seen as a national scandal.
I wonder if this is what dumbed-down America really looks like. If so, it's not a pretty picture. As a rule of thumb, everyone should aspire to learning in general and to the specific education that bests suits them. Those who want to know about electrical work should learn about that, and the same can be said for those who instead fancy library science or even the knee-jerk clichés of basket-weaving and gender studies. Let your own curiosity be your guide and butt out of everyone else's business.
That we pass such a huge share of the costs of post-secondary education on to students themselves should be seen as a national scandal.
That we pass such a huge share of the costs of post-secondary education on to students themselves should be seen as a national scandal.
Markets are ALWAYS more efficient when the actual costs of the good or service being delivered are borne by the final consumer. This includes the market for education.
What disturbs me isn't the facts presented by those who say College is a waste of time, it's what they omit. What I've notice is omitted about college are college loan interest can be written off on taxes,after 10 years college loans can be forgiven for public/nonprofit employees, a lot of jobs require some college classes, government certifications requires a college degree and not all colleges are liberal.
I know some colleges and seminaries are very conservative and they offer degrees that have regional accreditation. In southern California a few I can think of are the Master's Seminary and Azusa Pacific University. Texas has Baylor College which I know has very conservative professors in the liberal arts. Rodney Stark is a very conservative professor at Baylor who heads the social sciences department.
Some people are saying that college doesn't get your a job, but most jobs at hospitals that aren't doctors require community college classes and certification. Many jobs in automotive and child care require college classes to meet requirements.
It's true that if someone just gets a college degree thinking it's going to get them a job that person isn't thinking critically. People need to know the full path to the job is all. College cost can make it not worth the effort, but that's only if you don't plan well. If a person becomes a doctor or a lawyer and borrows $200,000 and gets a government/non profit job after 10 years they can have all the debt forgiven. I would say that's a great deal if someone becomes a doctor by the time they're 30 years old because by the time they hit 40 years old the debt gets forgiven. They will have a big IRS bill to pay assuming they're not insolvent and can't get is fully forgiven. Even then they can easily get out of the IRS money owed if they're making a high salary.
Borrowers can write off student loan interest every year too. I write off around $1300 a year on my student loans. So the principle gets paid off still and I normally don't owe the IRS any money. For years I claimed 2 on my taxes when I didn't have 2 just to even things out. So we can factor student loan interest out since it's a tax write off. It's really not big deal if you're paying your loans off.
Here's an example of what I'm talking about with the anti-college rhetoric:
Your post makes zero sense. If you rack up $150,000 in debt to obtain a degree, that tax deduction you get for interest on your college loans is chicken feed in comparison.
In truth, no one is anti-college. What is an outrage is the degree to which costs have risen since 1970, roughly 4 times the rate of inflation. To give you a basis for comparison, everybody deplores the rise of healthcare costs, which have risen at a pace roughly 2 times the rate of inflation during the same period. Why does college get a free pass and healthcare does not?
And colleges have not done much at all to arrest this rise in costs. As another example, the ratio of college administrators per 100 students has risen by roughly 60% since 2000. And this is at a time when every private institution in American life today seeks to wring ever-higher levels of efficiency. So these bloated tuition bills are the direct result of higher education being indifferent to being cost effective for the average student and his or her family. Thirty-five years ago, I managed to cobble together a partial scholarship, a grant, and a part-time job and managed to pay the large majority of my tuition at a private college. Today, it would be impossible for my children to afford that same college today under those same circumstances.
I am personally a huge advocate for a liberal arts education. Study after study shows that liberal arts graduates start out more slowly when it comes to earnings, but ultimately pass more career-driven majors. The reason for that is that liberal arts teach you more than a job. It teaches you to think critically and to turn abstract information into a workable thesis.
BUT, with the cost of tuition reaching absurd levels, colleges are beginning to price themselves completely out of reach for students and families, turning themselves into luxuries for working-class and lower-middle-class families. And colleges are not immune to price sensitivity. So if you go to college, you better be able to show an ROI for your effort today. That's driving a lot of the discussion in today's college marketplace.
Your post makes zero sense. If you rack up $150,000 in debt to obtain a degree, that tax deduction you get for interest on your college loans is chicken feed in comparison.
BUT, with the cost of tuition reaching absurd levels, colleges are beginning to price themselves completely out of reach for students and families, turning themselves into luxuries for working-class and lower-middle-class families. And colleges are not immune to price sensitivity. So if you go to college, you better be able to show an ROI for your effort today. That's driving a lot of the discussion in today's college marketplace.
I agree with you that every student needs to evaluate whether going to college is going to be worthwhile.
However, I think that when you discuss this topic, it's important to provide FACTUAL information, rather than hyperbole, so that students and parents can make that evaluation.
Facts:
Very few students rack up $150,000 in student loan debts for undergraduate education.
The median student loan debt for students with 4 year degrees is about $30,000.
The largest source of grants and scholarships (i.e., free money, not loans) for undergraduate education is not the Federal government but institutional funding. In other words, colleges and universities themselves give more "free" money to students than taxpayers do.
In making the decision about whether college is a good investment, students and parents need to look beyond the hyperbole and look at what their INDIVIDUAL net price (out of pocket costs) will be at different colleges. Sticker prices don't tell you this.
All colleges have Net Price Calculators on their websites that students and parents can use to get an initial estimate of their net price at all of the colleges they're considering applying to. They have the choice to apply, or not apply, to colleges with lower net prices.
After they are admitted, they also will receive a financial aid offer from each college that spells out exactly how much they will need to pay. The financial aid offer will show exactly how much student debt the student will need to take.
That's really where the ROI discussion on going to college needs to happen. Not at the hyperbolic "students all end up with $150,000 in debt!" but at the INDIVIDUAL student and family level AFTER you have the factual information about what different colleges will actually cost you and your family out of pocket.
At that point, after doing their ROI on their individual costs, goals, and life situation, students and parents have the choice to forego college if they don't believe the ROI is worthwhile.
But, if they never actually get to that point, they are NOT making an informed decision at all.
I don't believe that college is the right choice for all students. However, it has to be an informed choice, based on their INDIVIDUAL situation, and students still need a post-secondary plan for supporting themselves after high school.
But, regardless of what an individual student decides to do after high school, the choice should NOT be based on hyperbole.
We all benefit from bring an educated society. It's like roads and courts and other goods that we all pay for. Who is picking up the tab for your health care? Who paid for the sewer lines leading to your place? Who funds repairs to your car when it gets damaged? Many people like to imagine themselves as lone wolves and mavericks, but all that is just a load of crap. You live in a society. We all give to and take from each other here. Know your role. Get used to pitching in.
Markets are ALWAYS more efficient when the actual costs of the good or service being delivered are borne by the final consumer. This includes the market for education.
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