No college? Another way?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
I have a kid who is coming up (current 6th grader) and I am seriously questioning the value of a college education in the current system. I don't trust the admissions process, and I think they are basically corrupt institutions that protect their own. From the outside now the current system just looks ridiculous. The cost is unethical, causing massive lifelong burden on the kids who can least afford it. It's appalling how little the colleges are taking responsibility for their part in the corruption scandal, and I can only assume it's because that scandal is just the tip of the bribery iceberg and colleges don't want to open that can of worms. I don't think there is a correlation between teaching quality and college level, so saying it is for the education seems false.
Has anyone had their kids who might have been competitive for a "good" college step out of this process entirely? Skip college or go to a community college and then transfer to a state college? I just feel sick about the idea of gearing up to give institutions that seem wholly corrupt thousands of dollars that were really hard to earn, for a degree of what I perceive as less and less valuable. |
Anonymous
|
Your perceptions of the value are less important than that of future employers who will be deciding whether or not to hire your child.
Companies may not be impressed with status, but they do want educated kids, who have some practical skills. |
Anonymous
This is a very sensible approach but most DC types who post here think that's a step down. Ignore them. All that matters is where the final degree is from. Most states with a well developed state college system offers some sort of variation of this. If you are in VA, you need to meet certain requirements such as taking core courses and get a certain GPA. Each VA university has its own cut-off. |
Anonymous
| ^^ my cousin did it that way (community college) then transferred to a California University. And guess what? Her GPA was much higher than it would have been had she done all four years at the Cal University because grading was easier at the community college. |
Anonymous
| Military, vocational school, get a job |
Anonymous
| How about college in Europe? |
Anonymous
PTSD, get recruited to a shitty for-profit colleges, squander your GI bill, take out loans anyway bc your military salary's risk of death bonus puts you out of proportion with your skills in the workplace. |
Anonymous
|
You can make as much, and sometimes as a licensed electrician, plumber, mechanics (auto or airline). Especially if you eventually own your own business.
Research apprenticeship programs. Most labor unions have them. Another route to gain such skills is the military. But since your kid is just 6th grade, a lot is out of your control. They will and should be a part of this decision. But not sending even subliminal messages that for your family it’s “college or bust” will help. |
Anonymous
Really, my spouse is retired enlisted military. Never had any of that and is doing very well financially and in other ways. Military is what you make of it. |
Anonymous
Do they actually get educated kids out of college these days? I am skeptical. |
Anonymous
Well, that depends. If you are asking if kids coming out of reputable (say top 50-60) engineering and CS have skills employers want, the definitely do. So do kids who do, for example, biology, chemistry, physics, geoscience, climate science, etc at a Top 50 national U or a top 50 SLAC. They are well prepared for grad school— med school, PA school, masters and phD programs. . Strong 4 and 5 year business, nursing, architecture, accounting, teaching and clinical social work degrees can get jobs easily out of college or get a masters and be set to do well in the job market. Community college vocational programs do well preparing kids for vocational/ technical jobs that don’t need a degree. As a county, we need to move towards more direct admit 6 year med school and 5 year law school programs. There is no reason to pay for the extra two years of college. Now, is a kid at third tier college with an anthropology undergrad degree going to be employable? Probably not. And Harvard/ Ivy admissions is nuts and somewhat rigged. Small ,#elective LACs look at “building a class,” because they only take 400 kids. So, the process is obtuse. But, most kids go to bigger, state universities, where the GPA/ SAT requirements to get in are much more transparent and things like essays and recs play very little role. Send your in state kid to VT or VCU or UVA— Naviance shows pretty clear what the cut offs are and the admissions process should not be surprising or opaque. Have them get a marketable degree, like nursing, teaching, accounting, pre-med, for a reasonable price, instate tuition. Only send them to a grad school program with an excellent outplacement track record (not a PhD in English). There is no problem with 2 years at NOVA and transferring 2 years to a VA state school. Almost every practical path to a UMC life style runs through a 4 year college degree. Some exceptions, sure. But most need the degree. |
Anonymous
|
Oh good grief OP!
If your kid graduates HS I hope they leave you in the dust and make something of themselves. |
Anonymous
OP here. Are you a professor? |
Anonymous
Sorry that cut off. I was asking because I find people who are very defensive about the current value of college tend to be those invested in protecting its (IMO) artificially inflated value, even on the backs of kids who can't safely afford it. |
Anonymous
They may be educated, but they don’t have any practical skills. |