NBC News Poll: dramatic shift, Americans no longer see 4-year college degrees as worth the cost

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like a MAGA talking point.

MAGA elite is against college for others while they send their own kids to elite schools and attended elite schools themselves…

Examples
Hannity
Stephen Miller
Barron Trump
Tiff Trump
Don Jr
Ivanka
Vance
Vance’s wife
Josh Hawley

I’ll be paying for the four-year degrees, thanks.

Sounds like you keep beating the same drum over and over again no matter what the thread title is on this board. Does it ever get tiring for you? I know it does for a lot of the readers on this board.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Good. They are right. Aside from a small handful of professions, 4 year degrees are worthless. We need to move toward apprenticeship for office jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:College should be about learning, not about getting a job!

+1

Even if just going to state school puts you $100k in debt? Not everyone has rich parents.

Going to state school and being in debt is a choice. The kid can work. I worked and paid international rates. My kid works and pays in state tuition without any loans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you should have to answer the following before you post in this thread:

A) Did you graduate from a 4-year college
B) Are you encouraging your kids to apply to 4-year colleges, and do you hope they are admitted

For me, the answers are yes and yes.

I’ve been on probably 40 search committees in my lifetime, across three industries. All of these were for what any reasonable person would consider to be a good job with a good salary and good benefits. Each of these jobs required a B.A.

I know there are lots of fulfilling, interesting, helpful, good-paying jobs out there that do not require a college degree, and of course I think trade work and skilled labor are immensely valuable.

But if we’re going to be honest, I would think the vast majority of us on this thread hope that our kids are admitted to a good, 4-year institution, because that will lead to good employment prospects, and even good social and romantic prospects.

I think a lot of the disconnect is that they’ve been pushing for “college for all” even for kids who aren’t college material. I think only the top 30% or so of kids need a college degree.

I think the disconnect is that most jobs which “require” a college degree don’t really require a college degree. i.e. the requirement is completely arbitrary gatekeeping.

It weeds out people that don't have the attributes the employer finds are correlated with applying to, being admitted by, and graduating from a college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Between grade inflation, equity grading, and accommodations, employers will need to start verifying skills with their own testing processes anyway. And if you have it, you have it.

Sure Karen

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good. They are right. Aside from a small handful of professions, 4 year degrees are worthless. We need to move toward apprenticeship for office jobs.

There aren't going to be as many "office jobs" in the future pp, so no need for apprenticeships for them.

The jobs that will be there are things machines can't do: cut hair, fix cars and other machinery, repair roads, grow food, clean houses do lawn care etc... Essentially any job current low paid immigrants are doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And yet … applications to college continue to surge.

Rich international students to fill the gap

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Between grade inflation, equity grading, and accommodations, employers will need to start verifying skills with their own testing processes anyway. And if you have it, you have it.

Many employers already do this to separate the wheat from the chaff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you should have to answer the following before you post in this thread:

A) Did you graduate from a 4-year college
B) Are you encouraging your kids to apply to 4-year colleges, and do you hope they are admitted

For me, the answers are yes and yes.

I’ve been on probably 40 search committees in my lifetime, across three industries. All of these were for what any reasonable person would consider to be a good job with a good salary and good benefits. Each of these jobs required a B.A.

I know there are lots of fulfilling, interesting, helpful, good-paying jobs out there that do not require a college degree, and of course I think trade work and skilled labor are immensely valuable.

But if we’re going to be honest, I would think the vast majority of us on this thread hope that our kids are admitted to a good, 4-year institution, because that will lead to good employment prospects, and even good social and romantic prospects.

I think a lot of the disconnect is that they’ve been pushing for “college for all” even for kids who aren’t college material. I think only the top 30% or so of kids need a college degree.

I think the disconnect is that most jobs which “require” a college degree don’t really require a college degree. i.e. the requirement is completely arbitrary gatekeeping.

It weeds out people that don't have the attributes the employer finds are correlated with applying to, being admitted by, and graduating from a college.

Employers used to give aptitude tests for potential employees but the Supreme Court basically shut that down as being discriminatory. So now we’re stuck with using a college degree as a proxy for aptitude even for many jobs that don’t require it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Between grade inflation, equity grading, and accommodations, employers will need to start verifying skills with their own testing processes anyway. And if you have it, you have it.

Many employers already do this to separate the wheat from the chaff.

I tried to do this at my current job and was shut down by HR.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Between grade inflation, equity grading, and accommodations, employers will need to start verifying skills with their own testing processes anyway. And if you have it, you have it.

Not for certified programs like nursing (BSN or later), some psychology at the grad level (MSW, LCSW), and others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you should have to answer the following before you post in this thread:

A) Did you graduate from a 4-year college
B) Are you encouraging your kids to apply to 4-year colleges, and do you hope they are admitted

For me, the answers are yes and yes.

I’ve been on probably 40 search committees in my lifetime, across three industries. All of these were for what any reasonable person would consider to be a good job with a good salary and good benefits. Each of these jobs required a B.A.

I know there are lots of fulfilling, interesting, helpful, good-paying jobs out there that do not require a college degree, and of course I think trade work and skilled labor are immensely valuable.

But if we’re going to be honest, I would think the vast majority of us on this thread hope that our kids are admitted to a good, 4-year institution, because that will lead to good employment prospects, and even good social and romantic prospects.

I think a lot of the disconnect is that they’ve been pushing for “college for all” even for kids who aren’t college material. I think only the top 30% or so of kids need a college degree.

I think the disconnect is that most jobs which “require” a college degree don’t really require a college degree. i.e. the requirement is completely arbitrary gatekeeping.

It weeds out people that don't have the attributes the employer finds are correlated with applying to, being admitted by, and graduating from a college.

This is not remotely true. Employers do it simply because 1) everyone else is doing it and 2) they can. There is no more reasoning than that for the vast majority of jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like a MAGA talking point.

MAGA elite is against college for others while they send their own kids to elite schools and attended elite schools themselves…

Examples
Hannity
Stephen Miller
Barron Trump
Tiff Trump
Don Jr
Ivanka
Vance
Vance’s wife
Josh Hawley

I’ll be paying for the four-year degrees, thanks.

Sounds like you keep beating the same drum over and over again no matter what the thread title is on this board. Does it ever get tiring for you? I know it does for a lot of the readers on this board.

Are you okay? You sound stressed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And yet … applications to college continue to surge.

+1 I wish people felt the same way when my kids were applying three years ago and this past year.

Top tier colleges and big state flagships have nothing to worry about. They'll still get a ton of applications. It's the LACs and the very low tiered colleges that need to worry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, I have high schoolers and we aren’t falling for the MAGA elite, “go to trade school and become a plumber” talking point.
So many MAGA and low income will fall for it so they can live out tbeir dream as Harvard educated white nationalists. Have the poor people out of management or professional careers.
My kids are going to college. Maybe an affordable one, but a college. If they wanted to become plumbers, I would still recommend community college programs because a few business classes and advanced math never hurt anyone.

Thank you and thank goodness!

I’m sick of the MAGA talking point that says people should not go to college.