Bullshit: College

[Travis Retriever]

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Very nice.

[FSBlueApocalypse]

Coming from a recent college grad I agree, if you don't intend to be a doctor or lawyer, college can be a major money pit.

But when you have so many scholarships you're getting paid to go to college, it is easily the best time of your life.

[Travis Retriever]

"Scholarships"
Something that, in my experience, simply turn a money pit into a time pit, and that's even assuming you even get them...


I still remember Stefan Molyneux's video pointing out that in the 1800's, without state intervention, an education at Yale cost about $2000 per year in today's money.

[Travis Retriever]

It's also a shame Penn & Teller didn't go deeper into how necessary college is to be successful, and what alternatives there are to success.

[FSBlueApocalypse]

A couple things
1. Scholarships are a great thing. What I think IS complete BS about them though is that there are fewer and fewer real "Merit" based ones. More often than not, scholarships are now based on being a part of some group, doing X amount of extra circulars, or simply writing the best essay.

2. As far as history departments go, I will vouch for what P&T said 100%. I changed my major from History to Economics in some ways because of the BS in the history department. Only class I ever had to appeal to late drop was a class on the Great Depression. Why did I late drop it? Because I got a F on an essay that was supposed to be on how FDR's New Deal Programs AFFECTED the Depression. Apparently saying the New Deal only made things worse wasn't kosher.

3. Something else that is BS is the politicization of colleges. Point in mind, in Florida, the big hog is the University of Florida. It is currently the only "Tier 1" school in the state and wants to keep things that way. When my school, Florida State, tries to expand on any programs, it becomes a major fight. FSU only got a law school 25 years ago and a med school 5 years ago. Why? Because UF kept arguing they weren't needed, even when they were rejecting so many in state applicants it was laughable.

Also, there was a bill in place to essentially cut funding to every public university except UF in order to "Keep the flagship university of the state operating."

[Travis Retriever]

A couple things
1. Scholarships are a great thing. What I think IS complete BS about them though is that there are fewer and fewer real "Merit" based ones. More often than not, scholarships are now based on being a part of some group, doing X amount of extra circulars, or simply writing the best essay.

Yeah, that was another issue.  Way too many of them were either essay contests or minority related.

2. As far as history departments go, I will vouch for what P&T said 100%. I changed my major from History to Economics in some ways because of the BS in the history department. Only class I ever had to appeal to late drop was a class on the Great Depression. Why did I late drop it? Because I got a F on an essay that was supposed to be on how FDR's New Deal Programs AFFECTED the Depression. Apparently saying the New Deal only made things worse wasn't kosher.

As someone taking a history course right now, I agree with this 100%.

3. Something else that is BS is the politicization of colleges. Point in mind, in Florida, the big hog is the University of Florida. It is currently the only "Tier 1" school in the state and wants to keep things that way. When my school, Florida State, tries to expand on any programs, it becomes a major fight. FSU only got a law school 25 years ago and a med school 5 years ago. Why? Because UF kept arguing they weren't needed, even when they were rejecting so many in state applicants it was laughable.

Yup.  Sounds like another reason to abolish the state.
No more state involvement in education.

Also, there was a bill in place to essentially cut funding to every public university except UF in order to "Keep the flagship university of the state operating."

Whoa.

[Ex_Nihil0]

I graduated from a Midwestern college in 2000, so my experience was probably different (and better?) then what most everybody else went through.  I paid for my first two years of college by going to a community college full time and working at night.  After that, I took out a loan (because you don't get a scholarship if you skin is too light in color) to pay for the last two years.  This ended up saving me thousands of dollars because I didn't go away to an out of state college for the full four years.  In fact, I paid in-state tuition the whole time. 

Because my degree was Biology, I didn't get all the liberal bullshit they shove down your throat if you are a Liberal Arts major.  I guess because Liberal Arts people don't get adequate training in science, they tend to believe reality is what they want it to be.  In any case, open discussions in class and in the hallway were welcomed and everything was pretty cool.  There were no big protests or organizations or free speech zones, or any of that stuff.  It was just college and people went there to learn and have a good time.  It was a simpler time and, for the most part, most of the professors were of a conservative or libertarian bent.  I figured that was because it was 1) the Midwest and 2) the math and science department. 

The bad news about my college degree is that I couldn't get a job anyplace.  Nothing about it prepared me for work and it wasn't explained to me that most places expect you to be trained before they higher you.  After a bit of searching, I ended up going back to school to get my Medical Technology cert.  After getting it, I still couldn't find a job for five more months.  Finally, I got the job and have been working ever since.  And the best part is that I make more money then somebody with a Masters or Ph.D. working as a university researcher. 

So, I'll say that college is very important and can go a long way to expanding your mind and your potential, but only if you have a good plan and good advisors to help you.  My plan was a bit too haphazard and caught me with my pants down.  Thankfully, though, I recovered splendidly.   

I tell you, this economy for more then the past decade has sucked really bad.

[AHPMB]

As someone who has both taught and studied history at state, community and private institutions, I can say that the system is well and truly screwed from top to bottom.  From the tenure system which relies on ludicrous publishing requirements, and insures its inertia by handing out golden tickets to a chosen few, to the school's over-reliance on government grants, to the usurious college loans, it's bat-shit insane.  Fortunately, or unfortunately, the system is currently unsustainable.