Only 150 of 3500 U.S. Colleges Are Worth the Investment: Former Secretary of Education

sd said:
tschu said:
They say you can earn $1million more in your life on average if you graduate college, but if you have $25,000 put away by the time you're 25, you're MILES ahead of a college graduate in terms of building wealth.
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this has always seemed more like a correlation rather than a causation. if you have the ambition and social mobility to go to college and graduate, you are probably going to earn more than those who did not. basically, people who graduate from college are destined to earn more than those who do not; not because of what they gained from graduating college, but because of what they had that allowed them to graduate college.

it is too bad so many jobs require a college degree rather than letting someone get their foot in the door and work their way up. in that regard, trade schools are the way to go.

however, i believe i learned a lot from my college experience. not necessarily because of what i learned in the classroom, but because of everything i learned outside of the classroom.
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IMO the biggest thing you learn in college is how to deal with people and to play the game. There are a lot of stupid hoops to jump through in life and college

 
carlfense said:
NUinID said:
You get out of college what you put into it. There are hundreds of thousands of Americans that have went to colleges not in the top 150 and made very nice lives for themselves with the second rate education they got, me included Yeah, a Harvard education is worth way more than mine from Northwest Missouri State, but I guess My wife and I do all right and probably better than some people with a Harvard education.
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This is absolutely correct but a lot of schools don't ask much of students. Only a handful of classes at UNL asked much of me (in 8 years) and I think that you'd have to actively try to fail out. That's not unique to UNL but in my experience (and in the few behind the scenes glances that I've gotten into the administration) there is plenty of room for improvement.
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I completely agree with this. I don't know what the rest of the Engineering programs were like at UNL, but I don't think our professors in the ChemE department pushed us at all. I work with mostly Wisky and Minny grads just because of my location, and from the stories they've told me I think we had it pretty easy at UNL. Now this doesn't mean they're better at their jobs than me, because I work harder than most of them and have had higher performance ratings than anyone that I've met thus far. The fact is undergrad engineering degrees cover all kinds of concepts that you'll never use and after being out of college 10 years you won't remember any of it anyway that you haven't used frequently.

But I never got pushed hard in any other classes either, including my many semesters of mathematics, etc. The only professors that pushed hard were one professor in Organic Chemistry and some evil professor who taught my first semester of Physical Chemistry. All the humanities were cake and the only thing that made them annoying was the fact that I didn't want to take them.

My biggest takeaway from college: learning to properly manage a busy schedule.

 
Anyone who thinks they can just earn more money simply because they go to college is totally clueless. First, you have to actually take it seriously. It helps to actually have a degree that means something. You have to do things in college that makes an employer WANT to pay you more money when you get out. AND, you have to still work your tail off once you're out.

I'll admit I totally waisted a lot of time in college. I wish I would have taken it more seriously. I am an example of someone who just coasted through college and expected to have this nice job once I was out. I look back now at kids who took it much more seriously and they shot up in their careers much faster than I did. As a result, their life time earnings will be much higher. Now, if you look at our careers now, you aren't going to see much difference. But, I went through years working my azz off making up for the screw ups I made in college.

Now, as someone who hires people, one of the biggest things a college degree tells me is that the person is willing to commit to something and see it through. Then, you can look at what they actually did in college and see if they just coasted or actually got something out of it.

College isn't for everyone. Some people can be extremely successful with just a HS education. Others can be successful with a tech school education.

The world is a fascinating place and every person needs to find their own path.

 
i have a concern about the mentality society as taken on college. the purpose used to be to develop the person. gain a worldview, an education, and better yourself. they are called 'liberal arts education' for a reason. now the only ends are employment. i am not saying that is wrong, but we are just developing employees, not people. i do not know. it just seems kind of concerning to me.

 
StPaulHusker said:
This is why I went to a Community College and now own my own business. Big Boy College just isn't worth it.
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It depends on your chosen career. It sounds like community college was the right choice for you. "Big boy college" would probably have been worth your time if you had wanted to be an engineer or neurosurgeon.

 
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NUinID said:
You get out of college what you put into it. There are hundreds of thousands of Americans that have went to colleges not in the top 150 and made very nice lives for themselves with the second rate education they got, me included Yeah, a Harvard education is worth way more than mine from Northwest Missouri State, but I guess My wife and I do all right and probably better than some people with a Harvard education.
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have went ?

Sorry.

And I really hated English class

 
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CornHOLIO said:
NUinID said:
You get out of college what you put into it. There are hundreds of thousands of Americans that have went to colleges not in the top 150 and made very nice lives for themselves with the second rate education they got, me included Yeah, a Harvard education is worth way more than mine from Northwest Missouri State, but I guess My wife and I do all right and probably better than some people with a Harvard education.
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have went ?

Sorry.

And I really hated English class
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Fixed it. Do you feel better now. I forgot to prove read my English paper.

 
carlfense said:
StPaulHusker said:
carlfense said:
StPaulHusker said:
This is why I went to a Community College and now own my own business. Big Boy College just isn't worth it.
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It depends on your chosen career. It sounds like community college was the right choice for you. "Big boy college" would probably have been worth your time if you had wanted to be an engineer or neurosurgeon.
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It was meant in jest.
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Mea culpa.
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Actually that is one of the biggest problems with our education system over the past say 50 years or so. Guidance counselors have been telling kids they have to get a four year degree and many arn't up for it. Nothing wrong with being a plumber, electrician, linemen, hvac guy etc. They are all good paying jobs.

 
NUinID said:
Actually that is one of the biggest problems with our education system over the past say 50 years or so. Guidance counselors have been telling kids they have to get a four year degree and many arn't up for it. Nothing wrong with being a plumber, electrician, linemen, hvac guy etc. They are all good paying jobs.
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Completely agree. Most of my friends in the trades earn more money than my professional friends (MDs excepted).

 
carlfense said:
NUinID said:
Actually that is one of the biggest problems with our education system over the past say 50 years or so. Guidance counselors have been telling kids they have to get a four year degree and many arn't up for it. Nothing wrong with being a plumber, electrician, linemen, hvac guy etc. They are all good paying jobs.
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Completely agree. Most of my friends in the trades earn more money than my professional friends (MDs excepted).
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It's all in where you find your niche. My business is loosely related to my educational background. But what happened to me is that I found something I was good at and the right moment struck for me to own my own business and be pretty successful. It could have easily been just another job if certain things didn't line up.

Point being. I am not where I am without my degree from a CC so it was worth the investment. People, I think just don't find the right place all the time and when looking at their degrees against what they are doing for a living, well it probably didn't look worth it.

 
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