Is getting a college degree just a huge scam?

[Anonymous]

Was my undergrad English degree a scam? Kind of. I learned critical thinking skills, critical reading and writing skills, how to have productive discussions. But there weren’t a lot of option afterwards, so I went to law school. Worth the degree, for certain.

But, I have long thought a JD should be 5 year track instead of 7.

[Anonymous]

No!! Education is always the most valuable. Who the f said it was supposed to be job training?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A high school diploma doesn't qualify you for any kind of career. Careers are all specialized and require education.
Even trades like plumbing are only available at community colleges
So tell me, what career is available to a person with just a high school?
And let us assume we are taking about the kind of work where you can support yourself and a family without requiring some kind of assistance

There used to be jobs here for people who could not make it in an academic setting, but most of those jobs are gone now.

Our high school has a track for the hospitality and tourism industry, tech track (for non degree CS and engineering tech), automotive repair, health sciences - non-degree, and media tech.

[Anonymous]

College serves many purposes:

1. Breadth of knowledge across many subjects. College is critical for analytical thinking and big picture knowledge about the world.
2. Exposure to many different people of many backgrounds and cultures
3. Independence, life skills, and people skills
4. Social network (life long friends, future spouses, and future colleagues / connections)
5. Opportunities to determine what you are interested in and want to do career wise that you can’t figure out before the age of 18
6. Opportunities for life experiences and travel and activities that were not available in high school

College isn’t for everyone but it can be life changing for many.

[Anonymous]

pulled this from another thread:

20-year ROI tiers based on the Georgetown ROI study:

$1 million: Stanford, MIT
$950k-$1 million: Harvard
$900k-$950k: Georgetown
$850k-$900k: Penn, Harvey Mudd
$800k-$850k: Caltech, Yale, Georgia Tech, Columbia, Carnegie Mellon, Duke, Princeton
$750-$800k: Lehigh
$700-$750k: Notre Dame, Cornell, Washington and Lee, Dartmouth
$650-$600k: Claremont McKenna, Tufts, USC, JHU, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Case Western, Boston College, WashU, Rice, Berkeley, UChicago, Michigan,
$600-$650k: Cooper Union, Lafayette, Baruch, GWU, Emory, Northeastern, UMD, Holy Cross, Bucknell, Brown, UCLA, UWashington, Bowdoin, Amherst, Virginia Tech, UIUC, Colgate, UCSD, BYU, UVA, Drexel
$550k-$600k: Rutgers, Trinity (CT), U of Richmond, UC Irvine, Union, George Mason, Pomona, UT-Austin, Stony Brook, Pepperdine, UC Davis, Wellesley, Florida, Texas A&M, William & Mary, UConn, Colby, Davidson, Wake Forest, Hamilton, BU, UNC, Williams, Barnard
$500-$550k: SMU, Wisconsin-Madison, UMiami, UC Santa Barbara, Rochester, Bates, Syracuse, Haverford, University of Utah, Franklin & Marshall, Haverford, Middlebury, Swarthmore, Clemson, Dickinson, AU, NYU, Minnesota, Fordham, University of New Hampshire, Georgia, CUNY, University of Rhode Island, Brandeis, Bryn Mawr

40-year ROI tiers:

$2 million: Stanford, MIT
$1.9 million: Harvard, Babson, Georgetown
$1.8 million: Harvey Mudd, Penn, Caltech
$1.7 million: Yale, Columbia, Duke, CMU, Georgia Tech
$1.6 million: Lehigh, Princeton, Notre Dame, Cornell
$1.5 million: Washington & Lee, Villanova, Dartmouth, Tufts, USC, Case Western, Claremont McKenna, JHU
$1.4 million: BC, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Holy Cross, UChicago, GWU, Bucknell, Cal Poly, Lafayette
$1.3 million: Rice, Northeastern, Berkeley, Brown, Drexel, Emory, Michigan, Bowdoin, Amherst, Trinity, UMD, Colgate, Union, U of Richmond, Virginia Tech, Pepperdine, UCLA
$1.2 million: UIUC, BU, UVA, Wake Forest, Baruch, UCSD, BYU, UWashington, Wellesley, George Mason, UC Irvine, Hamilton, Syracuse, UT-Austin, Pomona, UC Davis, SMU, Rochester, Davidson, William & Mary, Stony Brook, UConn, Texas A&M, UMiami, Colby, Haverford, Williams, Delaware, Rutgers, U of Baltimore, NYU, Florida, Bates, Barnard
$1.1 million: AU, Franklin and Marshall, Middlebury, UNC, Purdue, James Madison, Wisconsin-Madison, Fordham, Swarthmore, UC Santa Barbara, Dickinson, UIC, Brandeis, Yeshiva, Gettysburg, Utah, Michigan State, Bryn Mawr, Clemson, Vassar
$1 million: U of Rhode Island, Minnesota, Connecticut College, Wesleyan, U of New Hampshire, Carleton, Georgia, UPitt, UMass-Amherst, Colorado-Boulder, Temple, CCNY, Wofford, Furman, Hampden-Sydney, Indiana-Bloomington, U of Kansas, Elon, Occidental, Baylor
900k: Howard, Arizona, Auburn, Skidmore, Grinnell, Denison, Oklahoma State, Kalamazoo, U of Vermont, U of Nevada-Las Vegas

Most privates are a scam. Basically, if you don’t have a trust fund or make $1 mil or more annually, or if your kid isn’t attending the top privates (T20-25) in this country, then it really isn’t worth paying $200k+ for college. Better to attend your local flagship public schools. Especially LACs. Terrible ROI with decreasing name recognition.

[Anonymous]

Depends on what type of work you enjoy doing. Two of my sons love working Line Clearance (cutting trees off power lines). They did not go to college. They are foremen at the same company. Dangerous job, but someone has to keep the power on. I raised my kids to follow their hearts. My 18 yr old daughter decided to get a job and work and save $ and then decide whether or not she wanted to go to college. She is more interested in traveling than college. Another of my sons works for a military contractor. My youngest is planning to go to college so that he can enter the military as an Officer. To each, his own.

[Anonymous]

I grew up poor. Education bought me entrée into a much better class. Not everyone uses it well, but it’s very hard to class travel without education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on what type of work you enjoy doing. Two of my sons love working Line Clearance (cutting trees off power lines). They did not go to college. They are foremen at the same company. Dangerous job, but someone has to keep the power on. I raised my kids to follow their hearts. My 18 yr old daughter decided to get a job and work and save $ and then decide whether or not she wanted to go to college. She is more interested in traveling than college. Another of my sons works for a military contractor. My youngest is planning to go to college so that he can enter the military as an Officer. To each, his own.

Right, but...traveling costs $$$. And, clearing tree lines is tough physical work especially at 45+ years old. My DH got sick and had to go through treatment but he can still do his desk job. I had to have shoulder surgery and it took months before I could use that arm again. Reaching overhead took the longest. But I only missed a day of work from my desk job. How long could your kids reasonably take off work for these types of situations (illnesses)?

[Anonymous]

^^ Working physical jobs are fine when you're young and healthy. That's why many of us who know their kids are capable of getting a degree will push them in that direction.

[Anonymous]

College is not trade school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:College is not trade school.

It also shouldn't be judged by "ROI," but if you must look at college degree that way, just look at the difference in salary/income earned by college grads vs. non-college grads. It's significant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes it’s a scam.

Ivy League kids take 4 classes a semester to graduate.

State schools take 5 classes a semester to graduate.

Half the classes you are required to take to graduate have no rhyme or reason.

Colleges, universities, professors generally phone it in. Most professors don’t /can’t teach. They are there for research, students mostly teach themselves from the book or videos.

Depending on the teacher you could pass or fail any given class in the same university… there are zero standards.

No other business is run this way

So yes it’s a scam but it’s a scam that has proven to help you meet the right people and get the right jobs. And it’s fun.

You must have gone to a big state school or research university. SLAC's are different.

[Anonymous]

The people in my family who went to college had fewer financial struggles. They had more options. They got to travel internationally.

I just think they had better quality lives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think college is worth it for most kids. But it doesn't have to be a big name brand school.

I went to a big state school and it was the happiest, most carefree and fun time of my life. And I walked straight out into a job in my field.

+1
and did well compared to peers post graduation

State schools shouldn’t be frowned upon

[Anonymous]

Does trade school also teach you how to run a business? I am asking sincerely