What do you think of someone who doesn't want a college education?

I think they should be the leader of the free world. After all it's a fact that the USA is an exceptional country especially when it comes to education, just look at our test scores compared to the rest of the world. Common sense >> formal education always. USA USA USA!!!! Walker 2016!!!!!

Ok, what's the plan? It doesn't have to include college. What's the plan?

Got a plan?

bribe to get in naval academy wrote:

pop_pop! wrote:

Ok, what's the plan? It doesn't have to include college. What's the plan?

Got a plan?

bomb the white house

then establish a new white house located in your nearby motel 6.

Holy crap guy that got a perfect SAT and will be a pilot from the Naval Academy you sound smart!

I sure hope the NSA doesn't pick this up!

Would you like paper or plastic?

seriously, if a person has a realistic plan to make a living at something that does not require a college degree and he goes and does it, I have more respect for that than I do for the average 'I don't know what I want to do so I'll go to college' person.

non-college careers are things like plumbing, welding, starting a business, artist.

But if the person doesn't have such a plan and just wants to wing it without college...that's a bad, bad idea these days. You are increasing your chances of mediocrity by a huge amount.

agip wrote:

But if the person doesn't have such a plan and just wants to wing it without college...that's a bad, bad idea these days. You are increasing your chances of mediocrity by a huge amount.

How is becoming mediocre a bad thing? Most people with college degrees are mediocre.

kk I see wrote:

agip wrote:

But if the person doesn't have such a plan and just wants to wing it without college...that's a bad, bad idea these days. You are increasing your chances of mediocrity by a huge amount.

How is becoming mediocre a bad thing? Most people with college degrees are mediocre.

If you are happy being mediocre then good for you. We could use more people who are content not fulfilling their potential.

kk I see wrote:How is becoming mediocre a bad thing? Most people with college degrees are mediocre.

That's because most college degrees are mediocre.

kk I see wrote:

agip wrote:

But if the person doesn't have such a plan and just wants to wing it without college...that's a bad, bad idea these days. You are increasing your chances of mediocrity by a huge amount.

How is becoming mediocre a bad thing?

^ Found an Obama voter

pop_pop! wrote:

Ok, what's the plan? It doesn't have to include college. What's the plan?

Got a plan?

"College" isn't a plan. 90% of the people in college don't have a plan either. What's the plan? Got a plan?

agip wrote:

non-college careers are things like plumbing, welding, starting a business, artist.

But if the person doesn't have such a plan and just wants to wing it without college...that's a bad, bad idea these days. You are increasing your chances of mediocrity by a huge amount.

No it's not. It's an increasingly better option these days. In Germany only 1/3 of people go to what we would call "college" and the other 2/3 get by just fine. College is an absurdly expensive 4-year vacation for most Americans.

fndndndndndnfn wrote:

If you are happy being mediocre then good for you. We could use more people who are content not fulfilling their potential.

What does being mediocre have to do with fulfilling your potential? And what does a college degree have to do with being mediocre? I don't think you know what mediocre means.

Most degrees don't lead to a job in that degree field. Lot of college graduates end up in jobs that don't require college degrees. Yes, having any degree will always give you an advantage over your competition.

Electrician, HVAC, medical office, sales, military... Many other jobs that don't include digging ditches (well actually in the military you might).

I'm in the army and make twice as much as I ever did working in my degree field. Remember kids...choose your degree wisely. ..

Alan

Liberalism = a mental disorder wrote:

College is an absurdly expensive 4-year vacation for most Americans.

Well, I'd agree with part of what you've got to say. It is crazy expensive. Depends on the person, but for me I needed to be convinced that I'd get something out of college worth that much money (and this was 2 decades ago, when college wasn't nearly as expensive).

Took me a couple years to find my own reason for valuing college (finding my own interests that I was excited about studying, pushed along by the reality of working near-minimum wage jobs, given that I didn't have any well-developed vocational skills).

But I've met plenty of folks who didn't go to college and did just fine, particularly in the trades - carpenters, woodworkers, mechanics. College is damn expensive, and I think folks should have a good sense of what sort of value/payback they're hoping to get from it.

kk I see wrote:

fndndndndndnfn wrote:

If you are happy being mediocre then good for you. We could use more people who are content not fulfilling their potential.

What does being mediocre have to do with fulfilling your potential? And what does a college degree have to do with being mediocre? I don't think you know what mediocre means.

Maybe I don't.

I guess I am one those with dumb luck who invested heavily in education and came out making over $100k after school.

Gawd what was I thinking!

djdjdjddjdjdj wrote:

kk I see wrote:

What does being mediocre have to do with fulfilling your potential? And what does a college degree have to do with being mediocre? I don't think you know what mediocre means.

Maybe I don't.

I guess I am one those with dumb luck who invested heavily in education and came out making over $100k after school.

Gawd what was I thinking!

And that has nothing to do with his statement. I find it hard to believe that someone with your thinking skills can make a $100K.

Sorry if I don't know how respond to

"What does being mediocre have to do with fulfilling your potential?"

Is this the intellectual standard by which I am being judged?

The poster who said being mediocre with a college degree is better than without was generally right. You have many more options available if you get a degree and studied reasonably hard in something outside of underwater basket weaving.

I was the first in my family to attend college and my parents insisted I attend college so I will have more options. They were smart but didn't have any connections and didn't meet the basic requirements for many jobs. I am happy they thought this way.

Also I assumed college included higher education like trade schools... if you think college is a waste then good for you.

Liberalism = a mental disorder wrote:

agip wrote:

non-college careers are things like plumbing, welding, starting a business, artist.

But if the person doesn't have such a plan and just wants to wing it without college...that's a bad, bad idea these days. You are increasing your chances of mediocrity by a huge amount.

No it's not. It's an increasingly better option these days. In Germany only 1/3 of people go to what we would call "college" and the other 2/3 get by just fine. College is an absurdly expensive 4-year vacation for most Americans.

you are a troll

you know we are a) not in germany and b) average salaries for college grads in america are much, much higher than those of high school grads.

My understanding is that going with just a hs degree is an increasingly worse option these days. College salaries rising, hs salaries stagnant.

As for college being an expensive vacation - yeah that is a problem. but it doesn't have to be so terrible - go to a cheap school and you can just almost work your way through. $22,000 sounds like a lot of money, but it's not that hard to make say $14,000 per year part time and summers. Parents throw in $5,000 a year or and it almost works.

And if you go the JC route it is much more affordable.

WAY too many people go to college these days. In the last week, I have been to three "honor our seniors" events...one was a senior band night for the seniors at the school my daughter attends, and two were track nights...one was her school and one for an opposing school.

EVERY SINGLE SENIOR FROM BOTH SCHOOLS AND ALL THREE PROGRAMS WERE GOING TO COLLEGE, not a trade school, but either a 4-year university or Community College with the plan to transfer to a 4-year university! That is crazy, and no way do all of them need to do that.

I get that those involved in extracurricular activities are more likely to go to college, but still, 100% of them heading off to college is unreal.

That said...

1) SMART kids need to go to college. If you are at the top of your class, and you don't have a plan to make a lot of money right away, you should head to college. If you are struggling with a 3.0 GPA in today's grade-inflated high schools, you should really think about some other options. Was doing some serious landscaping type yard work over the weekend with my kids (their present to their mother for Mother's Day), and my son said afterwards that he couldn't imagine doing that for a living...that was my cue to tell him to keep those grades up so that he can go to the college of his choice. Some people LOVE working outside and love doing that for a living. More power to them. Not something he would enjoy. He agreed, and as a 14-year-old, he agrees with my less than half the time these days.

2) A college education, while not as valuable as it once was, is still valuable; studies still show that you will make a lot more money over your career with a college education than without one. If a SMART kid isn't quite sure what they want to do, and they can go to college and not break the bank, it's a good idea for them to do so. An average or below average student should not necessarily make that choice.

3) Those who don't want to go to college or who dismiss college like to bring up Bill Gates and several others who made it despite not graduating from college. Fine. If you have Bill Gates-type smarts and skills, then go make your mark without a college education. Those people are outliers.