Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish all college was free or low cost like it is in some other countries. Does anyone have stats on the % of college grads for those type of countries??

It’s complicated…a country such as Germany will track you towards either a trade or college in I think middle school.

I would say these countries have higher percentages of skilled adults, though that includes the kids that learn trades and get college degrees.

Also, in some countries the colleges are massive. I recall the University of Rome was like 105,000 students.

This!!!

First, colleges are not "free". People in Europe pay very high taxes for all the "low cost/free" things they get.

Second, yes much of Europe tracks kids by 6th grade. If you don't make the cut, you are on the trade track or the Liberal Arts track. If you do well you make the STEM/Medical track for MS/HS. Difficult to switch off those tracks unless you do private school ($$$$). I'd prefer my kid not be tracked at age 11/12 based on one day testing. If that had happened, my 25 yo college grad, gainfully employed at a great company in software testing would be a trades person at most. Yet instead they graduated a T100 school with a 3.5+ and started work 2 weeks later and excelling as an adult.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The world needs ditch diggers, too.

Well, who can blame all the ditch diggers for not wanting to pay your student loans?!

Well, as we have established, ditch diggers aren’t very bright and don’t understand the broader economic benefits of loan forgiveness that will ultimately benefit them. That sort of abstract thinking comes from the mental discipline of attending college.

Also, many ditch diggers, not being very bright, also tend to probably believe in things like a man who claimed to be the son of God then became a zombie. That man said many things they revere, some of them regarding debt, usury and forgiveness.

Ditch diggers, honestly, think very narrowly and are a reactionary sort and confuse their Big Feelings as being valid opinions.

Anonymous wrote:I wish all college was free or low cost like it is in some other countries. Does anyone have stats on the % of college grads for those type of countries??

College is usually even more competitive to get into in those countries. Like PP said, they are tracked at a young age just from a standardized test score.

Anonymous wrote:Only about 45 percent do, for some perspective!

Fewer than. Not “less than.”

Anonymous wrote:I wish all college was free or low cost like it is in some other countries. Does anyone have stats on the % of college grads for those type of countries??

It’s complicated…a country such as Germany will track you towards either a trade or college in I think middle school.

I would say these countries have higher percentages of skilled adults, though that includes the kids that learn trades and get college degrees.

Also, in some countries the colleges are massive. I recall the University of Rome was like 105,000 students.