(I apologize in advance if this sounds like a rant.)
As one of those recent students....Yes, yes, yes.
For me, the only reason I suffered through high school (where I was bored and depressed) was to get to college. I had mental health issues at the time, too, so I was desperate to get away (even from the alt school I was placed in in 11th grade).
I get to college, figuring "I have just 4 years left"...And find out there that, for a political science major (and most liberal arts majors, really), to really have a chance to get a job where you might do relevant things with your education, you need...a grad degree. (ROTC is another route, yes; but given my disabilities, not an option for me.)
I was, still am to an extent, pissed at that. I was lucky - the school I picked (University of Scranton, for those who care) was a decent school, if a horrible choice for someone like me who was stuck on campus and not a social butterfly. I had a few profs (my advisor especially) who wouldn't let me fail out (as I pondered on many an occasion) and could occasionally throw me things to chew on.
But overall, college was a fair number of required courses I could have done without (Political philosophy, I'm looking at you...Dept required course that gave me fits...), with only some that were unexpectedly useful (The required theology sequence (UofS being a Jesuit school)), the rest being obvious requirements or whatever.
Issues I see in education?
1) College costs a lot of money. As I have friends and family at college age, or their last years of HS, I'm seeing this in a way I admit I didn't when it was my turn. I'd be surprised if I saw a four-year school with tuition UNDER 22k per year - before adding on room, board, books, fees, etc, etc. I don't know anybody going through college, or about to go through college, who does not work or is not planning to work just to make the money work. Only reason I didn't is because parents had the ability to cover me (I'm the youngest of two; the equation is different if you're, say, the eldest of three or something), helpful given that it was hard enough to pull off 15 credits (18 being a "normal" courseload at my school) without working. Scholarships and (non-loan) aid are not available for a lot of them (too poor to pay out of pocket, too rich to qualify for need-based aid); If they're spending the time they aren't in class, sleeping, or trying to study for classes that seem to see monster papers as somehow indicating rigor (Uh, no. Minimum 10 pages does not equal rigor, not if I'm a good enough writer to say what I have to say in 6!), to enable college to BE a time of intellectual exploration. It's basically a lot like HS in terms of being "on the hamster wheel"; difference is, you're away from home, and you pay for the privilege of being a hamster.
2) There's a glut of people with undergrad degrees vs jobs that will take only undergrad degrees. Maybe it's a cyclical thing, but right now, it's hard to actually get a job within a few months of leaving school. (Hence why many of the people I graduated HS with are in law school or grad school if they can pull it off) And forget a job that actually uses the degree you put six figures towards getting.
2A) College has a problem. Undergrad programs, funding, etc. are designed for 4 years. Personally, while I admit to making mistakes aplenty (in some ways, I wonder if I was ready for college, with my disabilities, when I started; I hate to admit that, but it comes to mind), it took me 5 and a half years, including a semester break for a vocational rehab program. 5-6 years seems to be becoming more common - yet there's still a black mark, it feels like, if you don't get that degree in 4 years. Is it just where I live (The Shore area of NJ; Monmouth-Ocean Counties to be more precise), or have others felt that? (Folks who hire people? Any view from that end?)
In short: Everybody says college is supposed to prepare you for a career. Or at least, that's what's pitched to students (current and prospective).
Meanwhile, I'm left with the feeling that, no, it's really just meant to weed people out of going to grad school, where one is really prepared for a career...And if you don't make the jump to grad school, you just wasted time and money, and in many cases are left with crushing debtloads.
...Yes, this did turn into a rant. Not what I intended. Hopefully, though, amid my rantings, some can see something of use.
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