American Colleges are Overrated

[Anonymous]

The U.S. college system is the late bloomer's dream. It provides for second, third, and more chances. In most other countries, you are put on the college track early and if you don't make it then it's almost impossible to get on it later.

[Anonymous]

It's all about supply and demand economics. There's oversupply of mid-to-low tier colleges, leading to reduced value of college degree. But there's always a set number of elite colleges, and they would always retain their perceived value internationally and domestically.

Whether it's overrated from a future employment standpoint is really from the eye of the beholder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like my steak well done.

there I said it.

that's just a matter of preference, as opposed to a factual assertion like the OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The U.S. college system is the late bloomer's dream. It provides for second, third, and more chances. In most other countries, you are put on the college track early and if you don't make it then it's almost impossible to get on it later.

Exactly.

Which is the only way it can be if you want to have a free or quasi-free system without bankrupting the country.

[Anonymous]

I don't know why more people aren't taking advantage of Community College for the first 2 years and then transferring especially since there is a solid pipeline to great 4 year schools if you keep your grades up in CC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like my steak well done.

there I said it.

that's just a matter of preference, as opposed to a factual assertion like the OP.

OP’s assertion is the dumbest statement on DCUM, and that’s saying a lot. Sure, some schools aren’t worth the price of tuition, but there are so many good universities and colleges—they are about the best things left in this country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know why more people aren't taking advantage of Community College for the first 2 years and then transferring especially since there is a solid pipeline to great 4 year schools if you keep your grades up in CC

Because most people in CC get sidetracked by other life stuff - jobs, out-of-wedlock kids, poverty, sickness, etc. And, frankly, many of the CC cohorts are problematic. If you're a smart kid who is focused on going to a good school,

CC's don't have a great track record of actually getting kids graduating from a 4 year program (let alone an elite school): "Of the 33 percent of community college students who transfer to four-year colleges, 42 percent complete a bachelor's degree within six years."

https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Community-College-FAQs.html

That is a terrible statistic. So, basically, only 14% of students who start community college actually end up with a 4-year degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The U.S. college system is the late bloomer's dream. It provides for second, third, and more chances. In most other countries, you are put on the college track early and if you don't make it then it's almost impossible to get on it later.

This was absolutely my situation. Daughter of working class immigrants who was never encouraged to go to college and went to a blue-collar high school where only about 5% of my class went to college. I was a terrible student in high school, and my mother pushed to get a job and get married at 18 and that's what I did (well, married at 23). After working for ten years and a divorce, I hated my dead-end job and started taking classes at my local university. Long story short - I had an amazing counselor who helped me get into a degree program full-time with scholarships, and I graduated summa cum laude and started a new career. Ended up starting my own company at 40 and am very successful.

My DH is from Asia where this could have NEVER happened. He crawled his way to grad school in the US because that was the ticket to a successful career where he was from. Now we can give our children a first class education that I could have never dreamed of.

Whatever you say about US universities - this is an amazing thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are definitely some American colleges I could never understand paying 60k a year for. That said, I spent a year in Europe, and in one class my group of Americans was the only group to use footnotes, and the professor was so thrilled he held our report up as an example for all the other European students.

UK?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The U.S. college system is the late bloomer's dream. It provides for second, third, and more chances. In most other countries, you are put on the college track early and if you don't make it then it's almost impossible to get on it later.

And aren't we supposed to be a land of opportunity?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There. I said it.

No OP - American colleges are OVERCROWDED. Fixed that for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The U.S. college system is the late bloomer's dream. It provides for second, third, and more chances. In most other countries, you are put on the college track early and if you don't make it then it's almost impossible to get on it later.

And aren't we supposed to be a land of opportunity?

In this respect, we definitely are, and it makes us different from most other places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The U.S. college system is the late bloomer's dream. It provides for second, third, and more chances. In most other countries, you are put on the college track early and if you don't make it then it's almost impossible to get on it later.

This was absolutely my situation. Daughter of working class immigrants who was never encouraged to go to college and went to a blue-collar high school where only about 5% of my class went to college. I was a terrible student in high school, and my mother pushed to get a job and get married at 18 and that's what I did (well, married at 23). After working for ten years and a divorce, I hated my dead-end job and started taking classes at my local university. Long story short - I had an amazing counselor who helped me get into a degree program full-time with scholarships, and I graduated summa cum laude and started a new career. Ended up starting my own company at 40 and am very successful.

My DH is from Asia where this could have NEVER happened. He crawled his way to grad school in the US because that was the ticket to a successful career where he was from. Now we can give our children a first class education that I could have never dreamed of.

Whatever you say about US universities - this is an amazing thing.

PP--thanks for your most inspiring story.

I think this is one of the greatest things about America. No matter how much we bash ourselves it truly is an amazing thing the extent to which people here can fail, fail and then succeed or can re-invent themselves totally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The U.S. college system is the late bloomer's dream. It provides for second, third, and more chances. In most other countries, you are put on the college track early and if you don't make it then it's almost impossible to get on it later.

This was absolutely my situation. Daughter of working class immigrants who was never encouraged to go to college and went to a blue-collar high school where only about 5% of my class went to college. I was a terrible student in high school, and my mother pushed to get a job and get married at 18 and that's what I did (well, married at 23). After working for ten years and a divorce, I hated my dead-end job and started taking classes at my local university. Long story short - I had an amazing counselor who helped me get into a degree program full-time with scholarships, and I graduated summa cum laude and started a new career. Ended up starting my own company at 40 and am very successful.

My DH is from Asia where this could have NEVER happened. He crawled his way to grad school in the US because that was the ticket to a successful career where he was from. Now we can give our children a first class education that I could have never dreamed of.

Whatever you say about US universities - this is an amazing thing.

PP--thanks for your most inspiring story.

I think this is one of the greatest things about America. No matter how much we bash ourselves it truly is an amazing thing the extent to which people here can fail, fail and then succeed or can re-invent themselves totally.

That was before. Ethics have gone out the door.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The U.S. college system is the late bloomer's dream. It provides for second, third, and more chances. In most other countries, you are put on the college track early and if you don't make it then it's almost impossible to get on it later.

This was absolutely my situation. Daughter of working class immigrants who was never encouraged to go to college and went to a blue-collar high school where only about 5% of my class went to college. I was a terrible student in high school, and my mother pushed to get a job and get married at 18 and that's what I did (well, married at 23). After working for ten years and a divorce, I hated my dead-end job and started taking classes at my local university. Long story short - I had an amazing counselor who helped me get into a degree program full-time with scholarships, and I graduated summa cum laude and started a new career. Ended up starting my own company at 40 and am very successful.

My DH is from Asia where this could have NEVER happened. He crawled his way to grad school in the US because that was the ticket to a successful career where he was from. Now we can give our children a first class education that I could have never dreamed of.

Whatever you say about US universities - this is an amazing thing.

PP--thanks for your most inspiring story.

I think this is one of the greatest things about America. No matter how much we bash ourselves it truly is an amazing thing the extent to which people here can fail, fail and then succeed or can re-invent themselves totally.

That was before. Ethics have gone out the door.

Before what? It's been this way for a long time and still is. What does ethics have to do with it?