A couple of months ago I was laying in bed (this is when a lot of my best thoughts usually come to me) and started thinking about learning and education. To be more specific, I was thinking about whether college, and if attending is really worth it. Now since I was a child, everyone always told me that I had to get good grades and attend college to get a good job and make a good living. It was always something that I kept in the back of my mind and worried about as I grew up. Eventually, I did graduate from college. I even had to the chance to study abroad at a top university in Japan on a full scholarship as well as working as an admissions counselor. And while I treasure the time I had in college, I am just not sure if college is the end all solution it is made out to be.
Problems With College Education (as I see it)
- Too many students, too few professors
- Cost (According to CNN, the Average cost to attend a private school in 2006 was over $30,000
- The amount of time it takes to graduate has increased
- College education does not prepare students for real jobs
- Academic inflation (jobs that used to require a BA now require a masters, etc)
And these are just a few of the problems. The below video was put together by an Anthropology class at Kansas State University on how they felt about college life.
Now I am not saying that college life isn’t fun at times, but you need to get more value out of it than the money and time you put into it.I am just not sure if this is the case anymore.
My college experience was similar to that of most of the students in this film. I bought hundred dollar text books that I barely even used. Most of the ones I did use were filled with mostly outdated information and or theories that didn’t relate to the real world. Classes were generally large and the teacher usually didn’t know the students names. Traffic and parking were horrible, and the administration usually treated us with little respect. Though service nor facilities rarely improved, tuition continually increased.
What a College Education Should Offer
In my opinion (and what many colleges claim) attending college should help prepare you for the future. They should help you grow as a person and teach you the skills that you will need for the future. Not only basic principles, but creative thinking and the ability to solve problems that haven’t yet been created. Students should be taught methods that are used in the work place today, but at the same time they should be at least as heavily taught about what technology and methods will be used in the future.
Student’s should be taught using materials created by the top professionals in their field of study rather than text books written by professors about theories and definitions. Now I am not saying that all textbooks are bad. And in certain fields of study a textbook by a leading professor may be the most appropriate option. But for something like business, a student would get more out of reading best sellers about time management or management practices. And learning why these things will help them
College should also prepare students to live in the real world. Most people plan to purchase a house, but have never been taught to balance a check book. Students should also be taught about investing, 401 k plans, social security, health plans, their basic rights, and lawsuits. Things most people will have to deal with, but school fails to teach them about.
College should be challenging. Students should be pushed to new levels of thinking. Students should be pushed outside of their comfort level and should learn something about themselves. Professors should be helping students to learn that they have the power to make change, but also that the world doesn’t revolve around them. Values are set early in childhood before children can really determine if they are right or not. College should challenge students to question and reevaluate these values and opinions.
What College Offers
College is basically a way to teach future workers a basic set of skills and general information. The college degree is also simple way for businesses to narrow down their hiring process. Employers can be pretty sure that those who graduate have at least a basic knowledge in their particular field and can follow rules.
From my experience, college teaches very basic knowledge and focuses too much on definitions and descriptions rather than understanding and creative thinking. Since grades are based on remembering this general information and definitions, students are encouraged to study the system rather than explore the subject. Learn what’s on the test rather than what’s important to learn and you will get the most rewards.
Cutting edge technology is generally not taught. Look at the average university website and this is quite obvious. Many times when teachers do use technology, it becomes a substitute for their teaching rather than a supplement. The average class uses textbooks rather than books written by the leaders in the industry. In fact, many times those ideas may not even be taught.
Some classes are offered that teach real life skills like finance and investing, they are generally not part of most majors and tend to focus on definitions and terms rather than methods.
Even with the cost of tuition as high as it is you may not rally have much of a chance to get the knowledge of a good professor. Professors are generally rated on research and how many articles they get published. This causes them to focus less on their classes then they should
Is It worth It?
Obviously no right? I know I have listed a lot of negatives about colleges. A lot of colleges are trying to fix these problems and some colleges may not suffer as much from these problems as others. Universities just tend to run at very slow paces due to the heavy politics and bureaucracies. However, college does offer a lot of benefits.
While college in general may not push you to find new answers. There are always a number of professors who will. While I had to take a lot of boring classes, I also had the chance to take a couple that completely captured my curiosity and pushed me to think differently. There will allows be professors who absolutely love what they do and their goal is to help you learn. Their energy seems to spread into everyone and you find yourself inspired. You may find a professor or take a class that helps you find direction in your life.
I would also mention that college is what you get out of it. If you can find good classes and good professors then it is up to you to push yourself. In the end how much you get out is determined more by you tan anyone else. If you try to do your best and really try to learn something, then it is certainly possible.
However, since a college education has become quite expensive, it is something that everyone should consider carefully. Don’t just attend because everyone says you have to. Even masters degrees don’t garauntee you a good job anymore. Due to the low cost, I would say that attending community college is a great bargain. In some cases community colleges also have some unique teachers. Many of them are teaching part time and working the rest of the time in their fields. This allows them to look at a field both hypothetically and realistically. A community college is also a good place to learn new skills.
Whether or not it’s worth it will really depend on the individual and their goals.
Should Attend
- Anyone wanting to work in the corporate world
- Anyone wanting to work in a professional job (doctors, accountants, teachers)
- Someone undecided about their career (recommend community college)
- Someone wanting to increase their job options
- Someone wanting to work for government
- Anyone wanting more backup options
However, someone starting their own business may not necessarily benefit from a 4 year college education. I think that a 2 year degree supplemented with a large number of related business books, seminars, and experience in their field may be a better option. If it wasn’t for the requirement of degrees for most jobs, I would even say this is the case for most jobs. The benefit would be saving tens of thousands of dollars. And that would help any business.
Regardless of whether or not someone decides to attend college, we should always try to keep learning. I thought that my education had ended after college. Once I graduated, I realized it had just begun.
Related Links
Class Size and Student to Faculty Ratio
Average Cost of a Pivate University
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Excellent post about a topic that too many of us are unwilling to tackle. The mantra in K-12 public education today is that we need more of our kids to go to college. So we push kids who need remedial work to take out massive student loans to get education that should have acquired in our free public school system. We create the illusion that all kids will make a million dollars more over their lifetime if they graduate from college, when the fact is that the statistics used to make that argument are misleading–and when we haven’t taught our kids what the word “average” means. Further, we as a society have devalued good jobs that require skills and smarts that are going to be helpful in our 21st century economy.
Despite the fact that I make my living helping kids get into college, I wholeheartedly agree with you that we should end this patent and glib assumption that a college education is necessary and right for all Americans to succeed in the new economy.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
After graduating college and looking for a job, I asked myself the same question. Is college worth it? I thought finding a job would be simple, but I found a lot of companies wanted experience and could almost care less that I had a degree. I have been working since I was 16 years old. I have worked at 4 restaurants, a sporting goods store, and I worked sales for Vector Marketing. I am a hard worker and have a strong work ethic. I did learn a lot in college, but still don’t think I was completely prepared for finding a job after college. It’s very true that tuition is being raised year after year but students are not getting improved education. Things need to step up and get better.
@ Mark-I think you hit on a key point. That kids are not getting the education they need in K-12, and colleges need to spend the first year or two just getting them to that level. And while we have devalued jobs that require skills, the cost to gain these skills has consistently increased. Parents, schools, and the rest of society push kids into going to college as the automatic choice, without considering if it is the best option for the child.
@Stacy- I completely agree that most colleges don’t prepare you for college and that most companies don’t recognize the work you did outside of school as real experience. I think that with the exception of skill specific jobs, most jobs don’t necessarily require a college education. Companies just use it as a method to narrow down the the list of potential employees.