Opinions: College is a waste?

[Graphix14]

To start off, I am going to a trade school and not college like most students where I live (New York). I get a little sad sometimes knowing that everyone is either going away to good college or to a community college (because they don't know what to do with their future). I feel like I am the only one going to a trade school. I am sure there are other people, but I doubt my age. I graduated high school this year. I began searching out of curiosity to see if college is worth it or not. I came across something... a lady venting about why college is just complete bullsh*t education whereas trade school gives you a better field of education. I'd like a few opinions about if college or trade school is better. And to make me feel better (lol).

 

How I see it: College is worth it if you are going to become a doctor, lawyer, dentist, etc.

How other people see it: Going away to college for X years and going to get a good job! (F*cking doubt it)

 

 

You won't learn crap in college, but you'll have to deal with idiots like frat boys and business majors who pay to be there, forcing professors to bring down the entire course standard to fit their tiny brains, and who don't have an inkling of common sense or a clue about how and why things work and don't work in the real world. It's a huge waste of time and money unless you want to go on to medical school/law school or grad school.

 

College is great if you're super rich like a GreekLife kid, or an underprivileged minority kid who needs all kinds of accolades geared towards them. So while you're working your rear end off studying calculus, getting Bs in your classes, you'll be competing for scholarships with people who are majoring in textile studies and nutrition. Guess who graduates with honors, guess who gets an excellent GPA, guess who gets to study abroad, guess who gets "commitment to leadership and diversity" awards and a good-looking "community involvement" resume when they graduate, along with a high GPA that doesn't accurately describe their intellect and maturity?

 

It won't be you with your technical skills and analytical thinking.

 

College is super expensive, and while you work your butt off to save your scholarships and minimize student loan debt, you'll be working graveyard shifts at minimum-wage paying jobs, while doing homework and studying your university physics and heat transfer. Oh yeah, living on campus is super expensive, so you'll be living off campus, doing your own chores and working crappy jobs to pay your rent, all the while *studying* and maintaining your GPA in order to not lose your scholarship, all the while being expected not to become a loner, by having friends, being "involved" on campus (mostly on student organizations who use 90% of their money on picnics and activities vaguely committed to their cause and holding "leadership positions" in them by organizing said Movie-Nights), and volunteering so your future employer doesn't think you're a social outcast. You're also supposed to have enough pocket money to go out and drink every night with friends. Not just drink, but get completely wasted, and bring home the hottest member of the opposite sex you can find.

 

And all your liberal arts friends who get a free ride, will spend all their free time smoking pot and "finding themselves" and expecting you to bail them out and give them drunk rides home.

 

Trade school, internships, networking, professional development --> that's the way to go and make yourself special and knowledgeable. Good luck.

 

If you want to become smarter, get some practical, real world experience, and "really" improve your math/analytical skills by going to a community college or a trade school. Much cheaper, and you'll come across as someone who actually "knows your stuff" at a job interview.

 

College is for kids who are desperate for "independence" from their parents and that's the only place they can go which will kiss their butt, home them in luxury apartments, do their laundry for $2 and cook them their meals, while they spend every night getting wasted at a party and trying to "find" themselves with various members of the opposite sex, in disgusting ways.

 

If you already know what trade you want to go to, and how to get there, you're much better of attending a focused, geared, specialized trade-school course than a vague college degree where you'll end up paying for sociology classes alongside dingbats who can't place the state of Wyoming on a map.

 

Source: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qi...18130727AAVn8QU

[M. H. Hunter III]

Oh you know how accurate yahoo answers are, you can take that to the bank.

It certainly isn't the bitter statement of a college dropout ranting endlessly.

When it really could have been put into a single paragraph.

 

OT: My uni experience was worth it in the end of it all. However for the debt a person gets into, they should really know what they major in is a field that is growing and something they want.

Edited September 5, 2011 by Master Headhunter

[GrandMaster Smith]

My high school teachers would complain about how 20 years after college they still owed over $40k..

 

You're going to be in debt for a really long time unless you're straight up rich and get college all paid for. When you're in debt, you have no power over anything, the fed could take your car and house if they really wanted to.

 

The majority that finish college also have the hardest time trying to find jobs, you'll be way better off going to a trade school imo, that's what I've been set to go do.

[K^2]

College is a place where you can learn a ton of stuff and become an expert in your field. But it doesn't mean that's going to college is going make all these things happen. Education standards are painfully low just about anywhere. If your standards are going to be the same, your diploma is basically good for wiping your ass. Set your own standards, work hard to achieve them, and you can do more in a college than anywhere else. Fail to do that, and it is nobody's fault but yours that you learned nothing.

[Graphix14]

Makes sense. Thanks for replies. Yeah I know Yahoo answers aren't the best to look toward. I needed something a little positive to look foward to instead of feeling left out. Yeah it is hard finding jobs nowadays. I know an old friend who went to an expensive college for 4 years and is still a waiter at a diner.

[E.A.B.]

In this thread: Bitter people that didn't go to college

 

Well, not really, but she sounds bitter as f*ck. It would be all to easy to tell you the downsides and failure of college as a whole (like liberal arts majors), so I won't.

 

Either is fine, really. If you go to trade school, you're gonna go right into the workforce in a short time. With college, you invest more for a better outcome (depending on your field).

 

Trade school is relatively inexpensive and for those that want to go down the career path right away. It's not bad at all. There are plenty of good jobs out there for those that don't want to invest an assload of time and resources into a degree. It's 'effin great. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

 

But don't f*cking tell me ''HAHA fa**ot PAYING FOR COLLEGE'', cause you come off as a bitter f*ck that is incredibly insecure about your own choices.

 

BTW, feels real good only owing 17 dollars for the entire year. Y'all niggas jelly?

 

and my college education has been covered under the pell GRANT. No need for loans.

[CubA_iLL_BrothA]

College is just a waist. Trade school is actually the best (depends) and seen many people get jobs of that field, instead of taking many classes, building your debt "In order to gain success to the American Dream" (as they say) but really is a big flock of time. You can learn more by just reading books from the library.

[cactus.]

College ought not be a waste so long as you commit your time toward studying something that you genuinely like and can make a living by it, and go to a decent enough school that allows for quality teaching/training for various fields of research.

[Adler]

 

College is just a waist.

Not for you it ain't. I'd start off with Elementary school just to be safe.

[Jay]

In this thread: Bitter people that didn't go to college

I went to uni and I'm bitter about it. I believe that it is very true that outside of engineering, medicine and a few other courses, university is a cakewalk and worth sweet f*ck all.

 

To me right now, it only counts as 'life experience' and enables me to be able to talk with some authority about world issues at dinner parties or whatever.

[E.A.B.]

 

College is just a waist.

Not for you it ain't. I'd start off with Elementary school just to be safe.

beat me to it

 

I feel sorry for the suckers going to college because they want to impress daddy.

 

Especially the ones going into an assload of debt.

 

Don't look down at the blue collar working class, people. There are some good jobs down there with great dignity.

 

 

To me right now, it only counts as 'life experience' and enables me to be able to talk with some authority about world issues at dinner parties or whatever.

 

Hell, I was able to do that in High School when I stole some textbooks and started reading them on my own and studying thingds that interested me in depth

 

School isn't for learning.

[Fozzy Fozborne]

Wow, that author sounds like she'd be a blast at a dinner party.

 

I'm in my third year at uni. I'm one of those "rich a**holes" whose parents pay 100% for their schooling. (In actuality, my father's a dentist. He and my mom saved and saved every penny they made for years to send my brother and me through school without any debt.) So for me the "going into debt forever" is moot. If I fail out now, I'm not out anything.

 

The university I attend has a real business college which is fully accredited and actually rather rigorous. It's not like most schools where "business" means undecided.

 

'Wow' is all I can say to the author saying twice that people are getting completely wasted every day. It sounds to me like she was never invited to any parties and is just whining about it. She also mentions people having sex twice and has a rather bitter opinion about that. I'm guessing it's tied to the earlier drinking reference.

 

It's exactly like everything else: you get back what you put in.

[tubbs51]

Education is very important however you have to weigh money options as well... a job field that looks healthy and growing may not be hiring rookies or greenhorns.

 

 

College is damn expensive. You can save a bit by going to a Community College but still thats quite a lot of money for whats really just a roll of the dice at times.

[Ronmar The Only]

I went to the University of Tennessee for five years, incurred $27,000 dollars in student debt. I had the Hope scholarship, grants in the later years because my parents stopped making as much money (or were recorded as not making as much money) and took out loans every year to make sure that I didn't have to worry about money.

 

I don't see it as any waste. Sure, general education classes suck balls, but how many people really know what they want to do coming straight out of high school?

 

sh*t, most think they are going to marry their high school sweetheart and have a charmed life. They may marry and might have something of a charmed life, but only for a time, that was supposed to be something dealing with the rest of their lives (There is the whole "to death do us part thing" in most ceremonies).

 

I met a lot of cool people and professors who really helped shape how I view the world, my writing and what the good life is (I know, I'm a philosophy lover, not a major though).

 

 

All this isn't to say that college/university is for everyone. There are those who are better served with a trade school or going straight into the workforce, though I'd personally love to see more people go to undergraduate schools. It is more than just school; it is a period in your life that you cannot really go back an experience.

 

I'm currently at law school, so I'm one of those that people might say is more geared to college (I didn't know what I wanted to do going in to UT freshman year except not anything in math, though I did ace the math entrance exam).

 

 

Everyone has to live their life their own way and hope that when they're looking back on it, they didn't cheat themselves.

[nightwalker83]

 

College is just a waist.

Yeah, because you still haven't learnt basic grammar! It is waste not waist. Waist is a part of the body whereas waste is something you throw away.

[anus]

In my view, higher education is only needed if you are going with a job instead of say, inheriting a business or something.

[A J]

whilst I agree to a point warlord, what happens if that business fails? Learning anything, like a new skill is useful, so I believe an education is needed to fall back on if things go wrong, and to give a person options.

I dont think studying is for everyone, and I think in this economic crisis more emphasis needs to be put on apprenticeship schemes

[Jay]

It is waste not waist. Waist is a part of the body whereas waste is something you throw away.

We got it.

 

When it was pointed out 6 hours before you posted.

[3niX]

Well...

 

Obviously things are slightly different here... but I personally wouldnt say no to either option. Our education system provides "free" (as in, its paid by the taxes) spots for studying anyway. So I only have to manage my everyday spending and can concentrate on what Im supposed to do - study.

 

Trade schools are decent enough as well and you can generally get some valuable skills and knowledge.

 

As far as partying goes, well, that goes on regardless of school. There are always those who flunk purely because they just dont care about their education. Maybe colleges just have a slightly faster/higher rate of flunking.

 

The only thing you should focus on is what youd actually like to study and do. Because its not really about passing the school... thats easy and it doesnt give you anything. If you want to be successful in any field you need to work hard. A diploma is worth f*ck all if you dont have anything to back it up with.

 

 

[nightwalker83]

It is waste not waist. Waist is a part of the body whereas waste is something you throw away. 

We got it.

 

When it was pointed out 6 hours before you posted.

Are you referring to Adler's reply?

[Jay]

It is waste not waist. Waist is a part of the body whereas waste is something you throw away. 

We got it.

 

When it was pointed out 6 hours before you posted.

Are you referring to Adler's reply?

Yes.

 

Is there literally anything you reply to on this forum that hasn't already flown over your head?

[Graphix14]

Haha. Well, college is definitely something that could get you in debt because of the costs. I decided to take the inexpensive way and go to a trade school mainly because it gives me direct knowledge education. Screw these placement classes you have to take in college. I'm not good at math or science. I just want to learn about cars and computers. Hell, I might even get to learn how to weld and do body work outside of school. I know a guy who could possibly teach me.

[coin-god]

Could someone tell me how the education system in the US works? I'm allways confused.

 

You go to elementary school, then high school. You finish high school at what age? 18 years old?

Is college/trade school same as going to a University? If not, what is it?

[Jay]

Could someone tell me how the education system in the US works? I'm allways confused.

 

You go to elementary school, then high school. You finish high school at what age? 18 years old?

Is college/trade school same as going to a University? If not, what is it?

iirc, a university is the same as a college, only one accepts post grads/offers PhDs.

 

Or many other different answers. idek.

[coin-god]

 

Could someone tell me how the education system in the US works? I'm allways confused.

 

You go to elementary school, then high school. You finish high school at what age? 18 years old?

Is college/trade school same as going to a University? If not, what is it?

iirc, a university is the same as a college, only one accepts post grads/offers PhDs.

 

Or many other different answers. idek.

Oh, thanks for that. What about trade school?

 

Graphix14: Why don't you just go to a good University? I know you have to pay in the US but it's your future afterall.

[Tsar_Smirnoff]

When I got out of high school I went to a local community college to get all of my general education courses out of the way, and then I transferred to the university, where I'm now majoring in Biochemistry. Going that route saved quite a bit of money, plus I commute to school rather than living on campus because it saves me loads of money per year. I don't feel like it is a waste at all; it certainly looks more prestigious than having simply a high school diploma....especially from the sh*tty little school that I went to.

[T.Rez]

College/university is what you make of it. I believe that some people should be going to college whilst others don't need it. I worked out that I'll owe about £22,000 in student loans

[TEoS]

I think college was a great thing when it was about sharpening your mind and opening up the higher echelons of the job market to someone.. Not so much now that it has become just a check in the box for acquiring entry level job positions.

 

Hoping that my future student loans will be minimized with using the GI Bill, but I fear that's the next thing to be cut considering military retirement benefits just got slashed.

[sivispacem]

You will only ever get out of higher education what you put in. If you want to go there just to slack off and get drunk, your probably going to have a great time in the short term but regret it and become bitter later. If you go to actually work, you'll probably do well out of it.

[Tchuck]

You will only ever get out of higher education what you put in. If you want to go there just to slack off and get drunk, your probably going to have a great time in the short term but regret it and become bitter later. If you go to actually work, you'll probably do well out of it.

This ^

 

College teachers, unlike school teachers, aren't there to hold your hands through it all and spoonfeed you with everything, you must do your part as well.

Having just finished college, I think it was a worthwhile experience. It really helped me expand my horizons and learn a lot. It also helped install in me this hunger for knowledge that always makes me want to study more, and helped me make the decisions that are shaping my future.

In all, education is NEVER a bad thing. If you can go to college without committing financial suicide, do so. But don't expect to be fed everything, you'll have to put a lot of effort to get something out of it. Because, after all, that's how the world works. You can never get something for nothing.