Is College the Ultimate Scam of the 21st century?

With each passing day I feel this is more and more a giant Ponzi scheme as I see my upper-classman peers forced into grad school (even in STEM fields) b/c they can't find entry level jobs.

I honestly don't think I can take much more of this bullshit. My end goal was always to own my own business; so I'm not sure how much this hoop jumping will help me and anyone else in the same position.

Discuss.

Originally posted by Kurk
With each passing day I feel this is more and more a giant Ponzi scheme as I see my upper-classman peers forced into grad school (even in STEM fields) b/c they can't find entry level jobs.

I honestly don't think I can take much more of this bullshit. My end goal was always to own my own business; so I'm not sure how much this hoop jumping will help me and anyone else in the same position.

Discuss.

Stop being so pessimistic, make a choice, create a plan, win.

Originally posted by snowdragon
Stop being so pessimistic, make a choice, create a plan, win.

^Agree.

It depends on the classes and the college. A very bright student who gets into MIT probably isn't being scammed. Overcharged? Perhaps, but not scammed.

Some degrees are more useful than others.

Probably being a bit harsh on Kurk, he's only 19-20 and he's going through this right now and he's trying to figure out what matters/what doesn't, he doesn't have the advantage of hindsight many of us do.

In regards to school:
Kurk, try and get a better grasp on what you want to do to streamline your courses, cut out the unnecessary 'fat' so to speak. If you want to be a business owner in the near future, consider adding courses that teach that. One of the main reasons new small businesses falter and fail isn't due to a poor product or business model, it's new owners not having the basic know-how of how to manage their product/services, billing/invoicing, marketing their product, overhead etc.

The fat you speak of are the required liberal arts bullshit classes taught by adjunct professors who shouldn't be teaching.

Personally, I wish I could have stayed another 4-8 years in college. Some of the most fun experiences (in just being young and stupid) was there.

The real world is tough and merciless. Not sure why anyone would be in a rush to join it.

Originally posted by Nibedicus
Personally, I wish I could have stayed another 4-8 years in college. Some of the most fun experiences (in just being young and stupid) was there.

The real world is tough and merciless. Not sure why anyone would be in a rush to join it.

👆

The most "cutting edge" technology stuff I did was in college. When you get into the workplace, you do the things that make money. Some of the stuff can be cutting edge but it is curated, packaged, bundled, debated, frankensteined, made part of a marketing and go-live plan, etc. It's not the same thing as, "Let's make this f*cking sweet thing and enjoy it when we get done."

Originally posted by dadudemon
👆

The most "cutting edge" technology stuff I did was in college. When you get into the workplace, you do the things that make money. Some of the stuff can be cutting edge but it is curated, packaged, bundled, debated, frankensteined, made part of a marketing and go-live plan, etc. It's not the same thing as, "Let's make this f*cking sweet thing and enjoy it when we get done."

My college life was a blur of parties, drinking and bikinis. I studied in FL and man, I still look back and shake my head at stuff I did back then.

I will admit I was quite the underachiever back then, I was in the dean's list consistently and graduated with honors but could have been far more had I even tried. But man, hard to beat hitting the beach and the bars every weekend.

Religious institutions are still the reigning champs of money-grubbing scumbaggery. A college education will at least open up more opportunities for one; religion offers a false sense of security and satisfaction.

YouTube video

Sigh. That's quite a tangent from the topic. But ok.

I don't agree. But to each his own, I guess.

Originally posted by Nibedicus
Personally, I wish I could have stayed another 4-8 years in college. Some of the most fun experiences (in just being young and stupid) was there.

The real world is tough and merciless. Not sure why anyone would be in a rush to join it.

Originally posted by dadudemon
👆

The most "cutting edge" technology stuff I did was in college. When you get into the workplace, you do the things that make money. Some of the stuff can be cutting edge but it is curated, packaged, bundled, debated, frankensteined, made part of a marketing and go-live plan, etc. It's not the same thing as, "Let's make this f*cking sweet thing and enjoy it when we get done."

Originally posted by Eternal Idol
Religious institutions are still the reigning champs of money-grubbing scumbaggery. A college education will at least open up more opportunities for one; religion offers a false sense of security and satisfaction.

YouTube video

Originally posted by Kurk
The real world is the only thing worth living for. It's a grand 'ole game I already enjoy playing. The fantasy world that is partying, drinking, etc is beyond me. When I need to stimulate my imagination or leave reality behind I pay Raven a visit.

Not mutually exclusive. You can enjoy college while at the same time securing your future. College can be used for more than just knowledge.

Is it useful? Sure but is it worth the cash, I doubt it. It’s alresdy subsidized by the government yet you’re basically forced to either get loans or be helped by your parents.

So 8n many ways it’s bullshit

Originally posted by Kurk
With each passing day I feel this is more and more a giant Ponzi scheme as I see my upper-classman peers forced into grad school (even in STEM fields) b/c they can't find entry level jobs.

I honestly don't think I can take much more of this bullshit. My end goal was always to own my own business; so I'm not sure how much this hoop jumping will help me and anyone else in the same position.

Discuss.

Totally.

Don't believe the left/right rhetoric. Use your eyes, see how much education costs, see who they're hiring and who they're not..

Everyone thinks of the left as these bleeding hearts, but let's be honest here. Who is the face of the left, really? A bunch of protesting kids? A bunch of old white men giving lectures on race relations, or feminism?

All talk, and none of it hurts the power brokers. No one's talking about lowering tuition, or criticizing the legacy system, or questioning whether advanced degrees are worth the money. Certainly, no one's going to bat for underpaid adjuncts, or look too hard at the deteriorating tenure system. Hell, why do books cost so damned much?

In fact, no one on the left is looking at economics at all. People are struggling, and the power brokers on the left are in large part responsible for that. The right criticizes them as socialists or people who want to redistribute wealth, but who ever really says that? Who says it seriously?

Kids? Or some obscure social studies researchers trying to get published? As if researchers affect policy in the slightest, and aren't used as a pretext for unscrupulous administrators, politicians, or businessmen to siphon a little more money, power, or pride from someone else to themselves?

Yeah, it's a scam allright. At least, in terms of what they say, and what they actually do. Anyone who says they care, is probably trying to sell you something, or working for someone else who is..

That and also remember that American Colleges are RAPE Centers. 1 in 3 Women at Colleges and Universities. WILL BE RAPED!

We should Close ALL Colleges and Universities.

To Protect the Children.

Originally posted by Nibedicus
Personally, I wish I could have stayed another 4-8 years in college. Some of the most fun experiences (in just being young and stupid) was there.

The real world is tough and merciless. Not sure why anyone would be in a rush to join it.

Reading is good for the brain. It causes spontanity.

Depends which College you go to. Some just the name is enough, the grade and course really don't matter. That name on a piece of paper is all you need for life. Harvard Graduate, Cambridge Graduate, Kings Graduate etc...

Mmm, we like piling on when something seems like a worse deal than we were promised, but it's better to stick to empirical data. Individual stories vary wildly, but college grads do tend to out-earn non-grads significantly over the course of their lifetime. We put a lot of focus on the debt side - which is a very real concern and you should do anything in your power to combat it - but that doesn't mean that, statistically, it's always a raw deal. It's a bigger risk than it once was, but that's not saying the same thing.

Whether or not college costs too much is another question, but really, for the OP, who is trying to make this decision, that's a societal question, not a personal one. His eventual probability of success (or lack thereof) should be the focus.

And since we can't help but veer into more philosophical realms, I'll say that some of the more "liberal arts" skills I have are among my most valuable even working for a financial company in what would definitely be considered Corporate America. My ability to write well, for example, is the single biggest skill I can point to as having gotten me the two best jobs I've been in, even in fields not directly related to writing. We give some degrees short shrift, but their relative lack of employable qualities doesn't necessarily invalidate the skillsets involved.

Anyway, Kurk: Define your goals clearly and find something that meets them as closely as possible. If that's a college, get yourself in and out as quick as possible, keep your costs down however you can, etc. and figure out what you need to do in order to hit the ground running with a decent job on the other side of it, which will mitigate a lot of the debt issues that grads have who initially struggle to find jobs right out of school. Good luck.