Was your College education worth it?

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punisherthunder:
Absolutely not worth it. I “currently” go to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC, where Terrell Owens went). I have over 100 credit hours and still don’t have a degree. I’m an English major and they are making me take 2 years of a foreign language!!! How ridiculous is that? Plus I have literally slept through college. I almost never show up for class and rarely turn in work and I make B’s at best unless I apply any real effort. College is a complete waste of time and money. In about a year I will have a college degree and no education to back it up. Why? Why should I bother to study when all I have to do is turn in a mediocre paper and get an average grade? I would advise maybe a technical/community college path for an associates. Anything above that is a waste.
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I guess I am from the old school where you actually had to learn in school. I taught in the public school system and was a teaching assistant at the college level and the state of education these days is deplorable. The K-12 schools don’t do much more than teach kids how to be prisoners. You don’t get any rewards for thinking for yourself or even original thought so I definitely see why you think your education is worthless. Of course, if you get out of college without the education to back it up, then you have failed somewhere too.
 
Yes, college was worth it but I did it in steps. My parents couldn’t pay my tuition and there was no way I was going to be enslaved by the burden of student loans. If I couldn’t pay for a semester I worked until I had saved up the tuition. The smartest thing I ever did was to return to grad school in my thirties. I worked full-time and went to school full-time. It was a crazy blur for a year and a half but definitely worth it.
 
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punisherthunder:
Absolutely not worth it. I “currently” go to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC, where Terrell Owens went). I have over 100 credit hours and still don’t have a degree. I’m an English major and they are making me take 2 years of a foreign language!!! How ridiculous is that? Plus I have literally slept through college. I almost never show up for class and rarely turn in work and I make B’s at best unless I apply any real effort. College is a complete waste of time and money. In about a year I will have a college degree and no education to back it up. Why? Why should I bother to study when all I have to do is turn in a mediocre paper and get an average grade? I would advise maybe a technical/community college path for an associates. Anything above that is a waste.(emphasis mine)
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That’s pretty sad. You get out what you put into it. Class attendance was mandatory at my university. It was good preparation for my first “real” job, where I needed to get out of bed each morning and spend 8 hours working each day. Going into work only when I feel like it, or sleeping through work, isn’t acceptable in “real life”. I also needed to put in about 6 hours of study per night, plus about 8 hours per weekend day, so that I could graduate with a high GPA and get ready for my career and eventually graduate school. Sorry you’re wasting your money (or mom and dad’s), but not all of us choose to do so. If you’ve spent 4+ years at a major university and have managed to learn nothing, sorry, but you’re the adult, it was your responsibility and it looks like you dropped the ball. Knowledge isn’t going to be spoonfed to you.
 
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SeekerJen:
That’s pretty sad. You get out what you put into it. Class attendance was mandatory at my university. It was good preparation for my first “real” job, where I needed to get out of bed each morning and spend 8 hours working each day. Going into work only when I feel like it, or sleeping through work, isn’t acceptable in “real life”. I also needed to put in about 6 hours of study per night, plus about 8 hours per weekend day, so that I could graduate with a high GPA and get ready for my career and eventually graduate school. Sorry you’re wasting your money (or mom and dad’s), but not all of us choose to do so. If you’ve spent 4+ years at a major university and have managed to learn nothing, sorry, but you’re the adult, it was your responsibility and it looks like you dropped the ball. Knowledge isn’t going to be spoonfed to you.
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I have to agree. I saw plenty of people in college who didn’t apply themselves at all. For these people it was probably a waste, but college is for adults and you reap what you sow.

I loved everything about college. I went to UW-Madison and had a broad, liberal education. I am now a teacher, and I like my work.

My sister didn’t go to college. She can only get minimally paying jobs. The stories about people becoming journalists, high managers, etc. without a college degree are the exception, not the rule.
 
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punisherthunder:
Absolutely not worth it. I “currently” go to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC, where Terrell Owens went). I have over 100 credit hours and still don’t have a degree. I’m an English major and they are making me take 2 years of a foreign language!!! How ridiculous is that? Plus I have literally slept through college. I almost never show up for class and rarely turn in work and I make B’s at best unless I apply any real effort. College is a complete waste of time and money. In about a year I will have a college degree and no education to back it up. Why? Why should I bother to study when all I have to do is turn in a mediocre paper and get an average grade? I would advise maybe a technical/community college path for an associates. Anything above that is a waste.
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You are right. College is not for everyone. It is a waste to pay for an education when all you want is training. It is a waste, too, to pay for training when you know upfront that you are not likely to apply yourself to it. I don’t know of any training programs which will make you even job-worthy without any effort on your part.

You letter makes an excellent point, though. Colleges do not force students to get their money’s worth. Your testimony is like that of someone who says a gym membership is a total waste of money because they never went and they’re still fat and out of shape a year later. Someone who honestly knows they don’t have the self-discipline for college should wait to spend the money. That person should work on their self-discipline first. Also, someone who doesn’t really want a college education–and I mean the reality of it, not the glamour of it–no matter how self-disciplined they are, is going to have a tough time forcing themselves to get one. I don’t think that admitting that is a disgrace, but something that takes a certain dose of humility. As long as you are not using false modesty as a cloak for sloth, that is okay.
 
Al Masetti:
For the SAHM’s, if you are well educated, you can be a good teacher or a good educational guide to your kids. You can help them pick out books. You can teach them how numbers work.

Read, read, read, read, read.
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Parents, being the primary educators of their children, ought to get themselves an education in keeping with their own aptitudes and vocational interests.

A real liberal arts education should send a person out into the world with the ability to think critically, particularly with regards to rhetorical arguments put forth in areas such as advertising and politics, to apply their mind to both problems and projects creatively, to appreciate how their aptitudes fit with others who think and work differently, and to see how life may be lived more deeply within the profound human heritage to be found in the fine arts, music, literature, world cultures… which would include theology, Scriptures, liturgy, and so on.

Isn’t that the kind of stuff all moms and dads, if they are able, should take the trouble to learn? But from each according to their gifts, both material and intellectual. If you really can’t, you can’t. You do the best you can.
 
Absolutely! While I consider myself a SAHM, I can always pick up a few shifts at the hospital when work is slow for my husband. The hospital I work for pays RN’s about 43.00 an hour for "as needed "shifts. The Respiratory Therapists that work the same arrangement are paid about 38.00 an hour. When it comes to helping out in a financial pinch, I am very glad of that college education, even if I only use it when money is tight!
 
Not everyone should get a college education and not all college educations are equal. If you are going to spend all that money on a college education, you better have a smart attitude about it. Majoring in an area that has no clear career opportunities (sociology rather than social work, English rather than education, general business rather than accounting, psychology rather than nursing) may be a reason why you don’t think your college education is worth it. Also, saddling yourself with large loans when there is a good public college alternative is a mistake. If you are going to go to college, then be smart about it. Study hard, get good grades, major in something that leads to career opportunities, and have a game plan. Get a teaching degree, have a part-time job in a related field. Or join the military–at least you’ll have health insurance, decent pay, and job experience.

Finally, about SAHMs…no matter how wonderful our current circumstances, we could find our circumstances changed if our husbands become disabled, unemployed, or if they die unexpectedly. My college degree and work experience (though dusty) gives me the confidence that I can always support myself and my children, come what may. (And I know a lot of women–Catholic women too–who find themselves unexpectedly divorced and forced back into the workforce.)
 
I just read this entire topic and there are some very good points. I would like to add my 2 cents as this has been a topic of discussion in my home for a few months for a few reasons.
  1. If I had a daughter (I have only boys right now) I would be pushing her to get a University Degree and maybe a Post Graduate Degree as well. In this day and age, there is no way I would want her totally relying on her husbands income. This comes from a person who some consider to be make chauvanistic. The reason I say this is the moral decay in society has produced “very few good men”. I deal with the public a lot and on a daily basis in my job. I talk to many people and very often I hear about what “the affair” this guy had on his wife of 15 years and has left her. It happens too often. Or as was mentioned the husband dies for whatever reason.
But as one poster stated make sure the Degree is in an area of demand. Too many MBA’s working behind counters of Hilton Hotels and 7/11’s.
  1. Do not discount getting into a trade! I was trying to find the quote before I posted but I could not. I read a few weeks ago that we are not far away from a time when the “Plumber or the Drywaller or the Electrician will hand the Doctor or Lawyer an invoice that they cannot afford”. Lets face it there is a skilled labour shortage in North America. A first year Drywaller/Taper in Toronto can earn $65,000/yr. A good portion of the homes in the wealthiest subdivisions in Toronto are owned by tradesman.
  2. For myself I am in a state of regret. I never finished my post secondary and although I do OK because I am good at what I do, I am stuck because at my position because I do not have any degrees.
 
I guess I should say that, in college, nobody cares. Nobody cares what you say, or think. Nobody cares if you show up or never show up. Most importantly (and I know I’m not alone on this) the administration doesn’t care if you go, just as long as you pay your expensive tuition on time. Plus it’s not that I’m lazy with school or don’t learn, I’ve even had a 4.0. It’s just that college today is way, way, way overpriced and overrated. Maybe I just wish that there was a way of getting homeschooled for college, so that I won’t be tempted by inapproriatly dressed girls or binge drinking. I know someone will suggest online classes from online universities, but most of those are way too expensive and are not accredited.
 
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punisherthunder:
I guess I should say that, in college, nobody cares. Nobody cares what you say, or think. Nobody cares if you show up or never show up. Most importantly (and I know I’m not alone on this) the administration doesn’t care if you go, just as long as you pay your expensive tuition on time. Plus it’s not that I’m lazy with school or don’t learn, I’ve even had a 4.0. It’s just that college today is way, way, way overpriced and overrated. Maybe I just wish that there was a way of getting homeschooled for college, so that I won’t be tempted by inapproriatly dressed girls or binge drinking. I know someone will suggest online classes from online universities, but most of those are way too expensive and are not accredited.
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I have taught at a community college, at a small liberal arts college, and at a large and prestigious university. If nobody cares whether you show up or not, you are either not making an effort or you are at the wrong college… or a bit of both.

Do not take this wrong, but you don’t sound as if college is where you should be right now. By the sounds of what you have written, you resent the requirements, you resent the price, you resent the level of attention that you’re getting… you even seem to resent the small effort that you have been willing to put out. You either don’t understand that it is you, and not the degree on paper, that is your project right now, or you don’t understand that if you are not the driving force behind your own education, no one else will be. Even at a relatively small school, you might well expect to be shouldered out by those who know what an education is and are willing to do what it takes to get one. You no doubt know Jesus’ admonition about tossing pearls before swine. Be certain that most college professors know it, too.

In other words, don’t burn a good day complaining about something that is in your control to change. It doesn’t matter what the boat and the tackle cost you or who your guide is. The fish don’t jump into the boat. Fish or cut bait.

Do consider vocational training, but only if you know of a vocation in which you really want to achieve excellence for its own sake. Otherwise, save your money, your time, and everyone else’s, and find another way.

College is not for everyone, not even all people with very bright minds and the ability to work hard when they decide to. It isn’t sour grapes to admit it if one of those bright, hard-working people is you.
 
I’m torn on this, being in the middle of my education at this point, but college so far has taught me lots of things I didn’t know before such as, the popular crowd in highschool still think their popular in college, the only difference is they aren’t, no one cares about their “status” (refreshing after years of torment). College has taught me how to be outgoing rather than shy, I can actually walk up to someone i don’t know and have a conversation of sorts. That is all very important and I like the things I’m learning, but the money makes it seem hardly worth it…
 
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BLB_Oregon:
Parents, being the primary educators of their children, ought to get themselves an education in keeping with their own aptitudes and vocational interests.

A real liberal arts education should send a person out into the world with the ability to think critically, particularly with regards to rhetorical arguments put forth in areas such as advertising and politics, to apply their mind to both problems and projects creatively, to appreciate how their aptitudes fit with others who think and work differently, and to see how life may be lived more deeply within the profound human heritage to be found in the fine arts, music, literature, world cultures… which would include theology, Scriptures, liturgy, and so on.

Isn’t that the kind of stuff all moms and dads, if they are able, should take the trouble to learn? But from each according to their gifts, both material and intellectual. If you really can’t, you can’t. You do the best you can.
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In today’s world, very few colleges will offer this, unfortunately. In that sense, I would agree with the poster who suggested reading a lot. You can get a lot more for free at the library and through local community groups that foster healthy discussions than you can at most American Universities. It’s not for any small reason that Cardinal George has noted that much in the way of higher education nowadays is really nothing more than glorified trade school.
 
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mastda:
But as one poster stated make sure the Degree is in an area of demand. Too many MBA’s working behind counters of Hilton Hotels and 7/11’s.
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Those people likely got their degrees when that was perceived as the “hot” area of demand that would get you ahead. Then companies decided to cut back on middle management and “oops”, maybe it wasn’t such a great decision in the long run, afterall. Job markets constantly change and develop. While it may seem to be good to stay ahead of the pack by a step or two in properly predicting the trends, those trends may change; necessitating your continual movement ahead of the pack for remaining to employed. Personally, therefore, I’d suggest merely finding work which you like and pursuing it passionately. You’re more likely to be both sucessful and content that way, as well as peer respected enough to hold onto your job or always find a new one.
 
Yes. It gave me something to do before getting married 🙂 And because of it, I was able to get a job and support myself and my husband (who was still finishing up his degrees). We were able to save up for a down payment on our house, which we bought about 4-5 months ago, and we still have a little chunk of savings in the bank from my working days. In my career, I was able to touch lives and sprinkle prayers all over the place 😃 I became friends with a coworker who was a fallen away Catholic and took her to the sacrament of Confession and then to Mass. I was able to say the Divine Mercy Chaplet at the side of several people as they died. I was blessed to have a patient who was possessed, and my husband and I were able to pray and fast for her, and I had prayers said over her by the chaplain. So yes, my college education sure was worth it 🙂 Plus, I went to state schools which saved many $$$! And heck, it was fun to learn all of that stuff, too!
 
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