"There's a time and a place for everything and it's called 'college'."
Posted on 05/07/2012 6:55:36 AM PDT by Black_Shark
OUR oldest son is finishing up his junior year in high school, and we’re already overwhelmed by what I’ve been calling the college challenge — trying to figure out what college he can get into and what we can afford.
But there’s also a bigger debate raging that hovers over all our concerns. What exactly is a university education for?
Is it, narrowly, to ensure a good job after graduation? That’s how Rick Scott, the governor of Florida, views it. He has made waves by wanting to shift state financing of public colleges to majors that have the best job prospects. Hello science, technology, engineering and math; goodbye psychology and anthropology.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
"There's a time and a place for everything and it's called 'college'."
I had a somewhat similar experience except that instead of dropping out of college after 2 years, I had to claw myself out of the GPA hole I had dug for myself. After 2 years of essentially straight A’s, I’m graduating with honors.
The first 2 years of college were fun but I was very immature and only cared about 2 things: 1) Women, 2) Parties.
Talk about coming back to bite me in the butt.
He is definitely going with a BS. He likes A&M because the econ program is strong on math.
He loves the math but is not into science.
He says that econ is a practical application of math.
He wants to eventually get a masters.
“He says that econ is a practical application of math.”
That’s modern econ in a nutshell. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I’m modeling human behavior using math. For some darn reason, humans don’t act the way my model says they should! I must be missing some magic explanatory variable...
;)
My son has been thinking about taking a gap year and starting college next year instead of this year.
I have mixed opinions on this.
On the one hand, it will give him time to grow up. He’ll also be able to stay home with us for another year.
On the other hand, it’s been a really difficult year for him, and I think starting fresh in college out of California will be good for him. He is so tired of crazy liberal Californians.
Around here, the purpose of college is to sell maroon and gold football jerseys with number 22 on them for $75.
“What is life for? The answer is, to know, love and serve God in this life”
But how is this to be accomplished?
By following His commandments, the first of which is: “Be fruitful and multiply...”
Which brings us back to the question of what’s college for.
-—Which brings us back to the question of what’s college for.——
Yup. And binge drinking.
Why doesn’t he want to go to one of the UCs that admitted him?
They’re tough to get into, and he’s over that hurdle. Every single one of them — not just Berkeley — offers a first-class education for not a lot of money, compared to private colleges like USC.
He can start at one campus; if he doesn’t like it after a year, it’s relatively easy to transfer to another, if he keeps his grades up.
Notice that I said “mostly”, and I’ll stand by it. “Forecasting” and much of what “economists” currently claim to do will be in low demand when the economy implodes.
When he visited the UC campuses they were having protests and selling condoms and had hipsters, hippies, and other types of kids. The housing is also very, very expensive.
At A&M, it was calm and peaceful and the kids were just in T-shirts and shorts. He also liked that there were lots of Ron Paul signs and no Obama signs around campus. The off-campus housing in College Station is absolutely wonderful. Lots of college friendly apartments with pools, work-out rooms, recreation rooms that are cheap compared to California.
He’s tired of being in California. He wants a break.
A practical skill is worth much more today than a college degree. Find a technical school that teaches electronics, welding, computer technology, etc. Let him choose the skill according to his interests. Back him financially until he learns the skill. Then he can earn his own way through college. He will not have a mountain of debt when he gets his degree.
Also, if he decides later to join the military, a certificate from a technical school and an actual work record will give him a definite advantage in job choice, promotions, etc.
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Exactly! My gr-son graduated last year from HS. HE chose to attend a technical school and get his certs in welding, instead of attending college, where he had some invites because of great computer graphics work for several years in HS. ....He loves the welding courses and is acing them. He’ll have a marketable trade skill when he finishes and can take certain college courses later if he wants.
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