Is college a scam? False advertising?

jamin wrote:

Flagpole wrote:

Not sure how college is a scam.

It's a deceptive operation. To see what I mean, go to your state university's web sites for its different programs, including bogus ones like Art History or whatever. You'll see that the programs like to tout how "You can go into numerous industries with a degree in X". That's patently false for the bogus majors like Art History and Scandinavian Studies. And I think it's a big exaggeration for the general-type STEM majors like Physics, Math and Statistics. They tell Physics students, "You can go on and become a quant. Lots of guys on Wall Street have Physics degrees." That's true only if you get a PhD in Physics, have good connections and can demonstrate financial knowledge.

I disagree with pretty much all of that. Being educated is never a bad thing...unless you want to work in an industry that looks down on educated people, so I guess anywhere in Mississippi. Other than that, companies prefer educated people.

I would say you need to major in either some type of engineering, accounting, computer science, physics, or biology for college to be worthwhile and to have a solid job afterwards.

accounting is on the easier end. all the other disciplines are fairly intense.

these majors all lead to good job prospects assuming a student also gets involved at least a little during their 4 years.

would most people agree with this?

actually wrote:

It isn't 1980. One must be a very, very wise consumer when it comes to college.

The educational industrial establishment has used federal student loan and grant programs (the loans are the worst) to raise prices to astronomical levels, way beyond inflation.

What matters is value, and most college experiences today do not carry much value.

Academics are among the biggest rent seekers on the planet. Trust them at your own peril. Buyer beware, and hate debt with a passion.

Fully concur.

I dont think anyone is saying college is bad, or that being educated is a negative. I think the question is purely a financial one: Are people receiving value for their (sizable) investment?

For many the answer is a very large "No.". I think too many parents and kids don't look at the job prospects of their major and they graduate with a bad taste in their mouth. Also I think a lot of people don't buy their education with saving in mind.

I'm not saying everyone should do this, but.. If you (or your kid) wasn't much of a student in HS, and you are going to college just hoping to find your way and stumble into a field, maybe you need to start in community college or a school close to home, a state school etc..

ArloTheHousecat wrote:

I dont think anyone is saying college is bad, or that being educated is a negative. I think the question is purely a financial one: Are people receiving value for their (sizable) investment?

Exactly. Spending $50-$100k for a non-STEM degree is a horrible investment. The job prospects for those degrees just aren't good enough to justify the expenditure. But as another poster said, we're still acting like it's 1980 and having a college degree in just about anything is a gold mine. It's not. Degree inflation has oversaturated the market.

It may be that it's still worth it for the gov't to shovel money into the system, if the guys who do land good jobs contribute enough to the economy to make up for those who don't. I'd like to see a study on this.

barry mccockiner wrote:

ArloTheHousecat wrote:

I dont think anyone is saying college is bad, or that being educated is a negative. I think the question is purely a financial one: Are people receiving value for their (sizable) investment?

Exactly. Spending $50-$100k for a non-STEM degree is a horrible investment. The job prospects for those degrees just aren't good enough to justify the expenditure. But as another poster said, we're still acting like it's 1980 and having a college degree in just about anything is a gold mine. It's not. Degree inflation has oversaturated the market.

It may be that it's still worth it for the gov't to shovel money into the system, if the guys who do land good jobs contribute enough to the economy to make up for those who don't. I'd like to see a study on this.

Thanks for the terminology education. I did not realize I had several STEM degrees.

I think what makes this such a tough nut to crack is that it's very expensive but yet it IS a big positive. It's like not spending everything you can on school makes it look like you arent concerned with your future. So with the easy money made available people max out. (Kinda like folks on here running 100 mpw but still cant break 16 for a 5k. How slow would I be if I only ran 85 mpw??)

Also there are no guarantees. How can you quantify how someone's life would work out had they paid half for that art history degree at State U but they also met their spouse while attending an expensive private school (that ol' Ms degree)?

Personally I think it's stupid to go to a big expensive private school if you intend on graduating and becoming a teacher (as an example).

...said the guy cutting the grass on campus...