What's the point of college in year 2025?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Yeah, let's replace the faculty at Harvard with ChatGPT loaded iPads. Sell most of the campus except for part reserved for a VR studio. Do you people even listen to yourselves?

If students are expected to work relentlessly to prove they're worthy of a $400K education, maybe it's time for faculty to be held to the same standard and demonstrate the value they bring as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Same as it has always been for those going for the right reasons, such as growing and developing useful skills and preparing to succeed in a complex world.

Unfortunately, many see it as a 4 year funded vacation while pursuing majors of dubious value setting themselves up for years of debt payments while making little money.

Point being college is still a wise investment for some, but a waste of time and money for others. You need to be pursuing a college education for the right reasons which a number of posters have covered.

This is so not true.

Very few kids go off to college for vacation; that is just absurd. Stop watching FOX for god's sake.

As for student debt, most kids do not just decide to take out hundreds of thousands of $ for fun.

If anything, it is stupid parents sending their kids to OOS universities, making their kids rack up debt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To get knowledge to attend med school.
To avoid the labor market disaster that is unfolding.

There is not likely to be a labor market disaster. They could be a displacement that will not be nice but in the medium term these things always work out. AI will take jobs but create other jobs. In 1961 JFK killed the hat industry by not wearing a hat. By 1965 the country was not filled with unemployed hat makers and hat merchants. There will be a sorting but the work will be replaced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Yeah, let's replace the faculty at Harvard with ChatGPT loaded iPads. Sell most of the campus except for part reserved for a VR studio. Do you people even listen to yourselves?

If students are expected to work relentlessly to prove they're worthy of a $400K education, maybe it's time for faculty to be held to the same standard and demonstrate the value they bring as well.

How do you measure faculty effectiveness? Right now we mostly go off course evaluations, which has problems to say the least.

[Anonymous]

If there were no jobs left in the United States, would anyone still invest $400K in an education that leads nowhere?

[Anonymous]

Honestly, I think my child likely shouldn't have even tried college. She did poorly, came back home after a year, and landed a job in the field she was interested in anyway with only a high school diploma. With a few years of that under her belt, she should be able to work her way up, and then maybe go back for a certification (that is done at the CC level anyway) to earn her even more money in a field that is needed anywhere she moves.

I don't know - I feel like we X-ers were lied to about college. We HAD to go because we'd be successful. Meh. That hasn't really been the case.

Look, I had a great time in school, have a nice degree on my resume, but it hasn't been the end all be all. I still have not been immune to crappy job market and crappy economics.

With the cost of education these days, even for the 4th tier state schools, you're looking at a huge bill. It's insane. Even if we had gotten my daughter through a 4 year school, the bill would have been $100K+. And the starting salary for her in what she is doing may have been a LITTLE more than what she is being paid now. It just doesn't make economic sense for a lot of teens.

My husband went the military route out of high school, started his schooling while still in, and went on to get a bachelors in Electrical Engineering part time while working as a gov't contractor and starting a family. He was able to pay for most of it with GI Bill and ed benefits from his employer. It isn't the ideal, but it worked for him and we're not paying back student loans.

It does actually pain me to say it because I was raised to believe college is an absolute must. But now? Think long and hard about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the point of attending college nowadays?

To explore and decide upon the meaning of life for oneself, explore the human condition, prepare oneself to be a productive member of society, begin the process of choosing your path in life, etc., etc.

Oh, and to have a lot of fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
To explore and decide upon the meaning of life for oneself, explore the human condition, prepare oneself to be a productive member of society, begin the process of choosing your path in life, etc., etc.

Oh, and to have a lot of fun.

When people are buried in debt for life, they barely have time to enjoy themselves or reflect on what truly matters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AI:
gain knowledge, develop critical thinking skills, and prepare for a fulfilling career and a successful life. Benefits include increased earning potential and lower unemployment rates, personal growth, building a professional network, and achieving economic stability. College also fosters self-discovery, independence, and the ability to navigate a complex, rapidly changing world.

I love your use of AI for this. Well said, ChatGPT. 😊

With that in mind, maybe we should add developing the ability to use AI effectively, including targeted queries, critical review, novel applications etc.

Any other thoughts on whether and how facility with AI use should be included in “the point of college”? Personally, I think it’s critical, and would love to hear from people in the workforce about what they think new college grads need in this area. (Though I know others disagree and think AI has no place in a college education ….)

What do people think about the hundreds of AI interdisciplinary majors popping up? Are they worth pursuing?
Is AI + biology, AI + business going to be helpful?

Interdisciplinarity is for grad school or beyond. As an undergrad you need to be apprenticing on a disciplinary toolkit and learning it well. You need a metier. These mystery meat majors do not provide it.

That's what I thought too.

Maybe a project based education is in time for studying traditional subjects such as biology and chemistry. Fairly easy to obtain knowledge in the era of AI, traditional classroom teaching doesn't provide much more than what is abundantly available publicly. Developing skills in applying the knowledge seems more effective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To get knowledge to attend med school.
To avoid the labor market disaster that is unfolding.

There is not likely to be a labor market disaster. They could be a displacement that will not be nice but in the medium term these things always work out. AI will take jobs but create other jobs. In 1961 JFK killed the hat industry by not wearing a hat. By 1965 the country was not filled with unemployed hat makers and hat merchants. There will be a sorting but the work will be replaced.

For sure. But the historical data is clear: young adults who first enter the job market during one of those short periods of “displacement” struggle much more than those who enter before and after.

It’s very painful for them in the short-term (landing their first job) and for the long term, data shows they have lower life-long earnings.

(Young adults in 1961 who trained in hat-making and intended to follow that career path no doubt struggled, both to launch and over a longer period.

Same for kids who graduated or otherwise entered the job market in 2008-09.

My sense is we’re either in or entering a similar period. Best to be in school while this mess plays itself out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Yeah, let's replace the faculty at Harvard with ChatGPT loaded iPads. Sell most of the campus except for part reserved for a VR studio. Do you people even listen to yourselves?

If students are expected to work relentlessly to prove they're worthy of a $400K education, maybe it's time for faculty to be held to the same standard and demonstrate the value they bring as well.

College is voluntary. Let the marketplace decide. You either buy the product they're selling or you don't. That's how you "hold them accountable."

[Anonymous]

I fail to see how on average it would not simply be better to put hundreds of thousands of dollars into a trust and let it accumulate wealth over years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I fail to see how on average it would not simply be better to put hundreds of thousands of dollars into a trust and let it accumulate wealth over years.

If it's as simple as that, there will be a lot more trust fund babies. Financial investment has its own risks. One may end up with no generational wealth and poorly educated. In general, I think education is a better bet for the kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To get knowledge to attend med school.
To avoid the labor market disaster that is unfolding.

There is not likely to be a labor market disaster. They could be a displacement that will not be nice but in the medium term these things always work out. AI will take jobs but create other jobs. In 1961 JFK killed the hat industry by not wearing a hat. By 1965 the country was not filled with unemployed hat makers and hat merchants. There will be a sorting but the work will be replaced.

It’s already happening, there are more unemployed looking for jobs than there are jobs available. Long term employment is up. It’s a bad time to look for work.

[Anonymous]

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