Value and purpose of college

[Anonymous]

Throwing a book at a teenager isn't the same as the teenager thinking deeply about the material.

The premise of this post is way, way off base. Not even wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know, I'm a successful adult with a successful career. I'm not doing anything at all related to my college major.

I think the value and purpose of college is to learn something new and be able to learn how to learn something new, get exposure to lots of fields and types of work and see what you are good at and like, grow up.

A lot of college is a bridge to adulthood - learning how to get along with people when your parents aren't around to help, learning to ask for help, living and working independently, learning social and financial skills, etc.

Sure this world makes it seem like everyone should be in a pre-professional program and just learn to get into a high income generating field, but that's not what most successful people do or did.

I think the value of college is more in the other things, and therefore you don't need to pay 80K per year to accomplish those things.

-mom of one current college student and one recent college graduate who is working and supporting herself but also not in her field.

I'm with you. I see so much value in the college experience and liberal arts education, but I don't see $400,000 worth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know, I'm a successful adult with a successful career. I'm not doing anything at all related to my college major.

I think the value and purpose of college is to learn something new and be able to learn how to learn something new, get exposure to lots of fields and types of work and see what you are good at and like, grow up.

A lot of college is a bridge to adulthood - learning how to get along with people when your parents aren't around to help, learning to ask for help, living and working independently, learning social and financial skills, etc.

Sure this world makes it seem like everyone should be in a pre-professional program and just learn to get into a high income generating field, but that's not what most successful people do or did.

I think the value of college is more in the other things, and therefore you don't need to pay 80K per year to accomplish those things.

-mom of one current college student and one recent college graduate who is working and supporting herself but also not in her field.

I'm with you. I see so much value in the college experience and liberal arts education, but I don't see $400,000 worth.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We need a cadre of drones to do the grunt work - everything from manufacturing to maintenance to finance and accounting.

However, we also need an intellectual caste who understand history, culture, politics etc.

I think it is great that more and more parents want to feed their kids straight into the work grinder. More space for my kids in the more intellectual realm.

Without the masses understanding history and politics, we fall into the dark side of authoritarianism, as we are seeing right now worldwide.

[Anonymous]

I agree with you. I think a liberal arts education is fantastic/best, but now reserved for true elite or poor students who get a lot of aid. If you are MC/UMC, you have to see college as a way to obtain skills and a job. DH and I went the liberal arts route when it could still be done. The cost is now too high and risky.

[Anonymous]

In touring colleges with my HS senior, I was stunned at how high end things were. The cafeteria was incredible and most offer wrap around services. It all looks like a country club. No wonder costs have skyrocketed.

[Anonymous]

One of my college professors runs a blog I still follow. He mentioned the liberal arts are thriving in, of all places, community college. Sounds like a much cheaper way to get an education I value.

I think Sara Hendren did a pretty fantastic job defending college in it's older (not current, but older) form: https://sarahendren.com/2024/06/10/the-how-and-the-why/

[Anonymous]

Agreed. I went to a great hs with college-style courses so sometimes I found college not as engaging or stimulating. (And I also attended a prestigious college frequently mentioned here fwiw.) For me college was like high school all over again in many ways, but I understand not everyone has access to rigorous academics in hs. My dcs go to a similar high school but are interested in majoring in business and communications/journalism respectively while still taking some liberal arts classes and studying abroad. I think it’s great. I wish there had been more emphasis on the pre-professional transition to work when I was in college.

[Anonymous]

Whn thinking the value of college look at the military. Why do college grads become officers? Why not just make good enlistred people officers? All the services do that a little. Marines most of all. But if you want to be promoted you need the college degree. Why?

Because you have engaged in studies that have made you think -- regardless of major ----- made you place things in context, made you think of the bigger picture, increased your reasoning, made your mind open to looking at things in different ways. That is why in theory why college is wanted for people to be officers. Being a History major at a T25 does not teach you how to lead Marines up a hill. The Marines can teach you that. But it does hopefully mena you are a better thinker.

[Anonymous]

For the white collar jobs my kids want--it's a must.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just got one of Boston College's magazines and the entire issue is about the value of a liberal arts education.

https://www.bc.edu/content/bc-web/centers/church21/publications/c21-resources/issues/Jesuit-Higher-Education

It's okay if you/your kid is more interested in job training. That can be done without a four-year college degree.

Jesuits!!! +1 agree

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with you. I think a liberal arts education is fantastic/best, but now reserved for true elite or poor students who get a lot of aid. If you are MC/UMC, you have to see college as a way to obtain skills and a job. DH and I went the liberal arts route when it could still be done. The cost is now too high and risky.

Np: We are trying to find schools that offer both- some intellectual exploration with skills/knowledge that can help in the job search. For all the criticism out there about chasing prestige, i do think general liberal arts degrees from more 'elite' schools may yield good job outcomes due to their connections, being a target school for certain employers, etc. We are not an affluent family, nor will we qualify for much aid. So my kid's job prospects after graduation are definitely top of mind. As a graduate with a liberal arts degree myself, i see pure liberal arts degrees as a luxury - for those with family connections for internships/jobs, or other advantages, or with the funds for grad school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In touring colleges with my HS senior, I was stunned at how high end things were. The cafeteria was incredible and most offer wrap around services. It all looks like a country club. No wonder costs have skyrocketed.

100% agree, and I was also struck by how much we (the parents) were constantly assured that our child would be watched, monitored, and cared for every millisecond. Yes, of course, I want a safe environment for my kid but it was borderline coddling (not even borderline in some cases). So much for the idea that you're sending a young adult into the world....do college kids actually need coping skills nowadays?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have two kids who graduated from Langley. They both got top grades, top test scores, and are attending great colleges. Despite their great high school experience, their university experience is still very different.

Being surrounded by some of the smartest kids in the country/world, listening to and discussing topics with amazing professors, and having REAL discussions about meaty subjects is NOT what’s happening at even the best high schools.

AP classes offer difficult, supposedly college-level material, but it’s stuffed into kids like a Thanksgiving turkey. There is no discussion. In fact, most kids say nothing because they fear they’ll say something politically incorrect.

All that said, only you and your kid knows what’s right for them, but let’s not pretend that a rigorous HS is equivalent to a non-professional degree at a highly-regarded SLAC.

Strong agree here! Mine are at different ivies and this describes their experience, even the one in stem. That type of high-level academic college experience is not going anywhere. Top SLACs are similar to ivies/top10 privates just smaller: the focus at all is liberal arts based education surrounded by the best and brightest. Most people change their major or end up in a field not directly related to their major: you can do anything you want in any field with a strong and broad education from a top school, because you know how to think and learn and question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In touring colleges with my HS senior, I was stunned at how high end things were. The cafeteria was incredible and most offer wrap around services. It all looks like a country club. No wonder costs have skyrocketed.

100% agree, and I was also struck by how much we (the parents) were constantly assured that our child would be watched, monitored, and cared for every millisecond. Yes, of course, I want a safe environment for my kid but it was borderline coddling (not even borderline in some cases). So much for the idea that you're sending a young adult into the world....do college kids actually need coping skills nowadays?

I felt this way too. My friends joke that their kid's apartments are sandals resorts.