As I drag my heels through my last month (where did the time go?) of college, I wonder, was it worth it? Is college necessary? I mean is it really necessary, or has society just forced us to think it's necessary? These days, there are so many jobs that you can't get without a college degreee. Some jobs, which at other times required very little schooling. Worse, a BA/BS is nothing these days, everyone has them. Now many jobs require a master's or PHD, but in the end, what does it all mean?
I look over the past four years, and I can't help but ask myself, what did I learn? What skills have I really obtained? It would be unfair to place all the burden of my skilllessness on my University or the education systems as a whole, as much of the blame is mine. Yet, I can't help but feel like college is overrated. In an article in The Pace Press, an administrator said, that while we don't like to think of it that way, a college is a business.
Okay, so this isn't an earth shattering announcement. They take our money in exchange for percieved services. But the more I think about it, the more I can't help but feel that college is just a big scam that everyone is in on.
Think about it. Most kids, and it is getting worse now, are primed for college from the get go. University bookstores sell infant onesies(sp?) with slogans expressing the desire to go to the university(Please, at one-years old, the kid wants to make it through the day with out barfing on himself); six-year olds are running around in Yale sweatshirts. Parents pray, whine, and fight for spot's for their children in exclusive preschools. They pay extra money to have their children take all sorts of extarcurricular's to "build their resume", signing them up for mandarin lessons, the newest trend, so they can be competive in today's global economy.
Then high school hits. And every kid has to take A.P. classees, so there comes more money for books and the test. Then comes the S.A.T. tests and of course you NEED to spend $600 for S.A.T. so we can figure out how to take the test which is supposed to measure our appitude. Then you pay more money to take the damn thing, and cough up more money to send your scores out, if god for bid, you haven't decided on your life goals at 16 when you take the test and don't know what school your going to. Notice that college board monopolizes both A.P. and s.a.t. and CLEP etc. Then more money to apply....all this money before you even pay a cent for tuition.
Then they slam you with extra fees: special course fees, activiry fees, insurance, manditory meal plans and over priced books in the bookstore.
Then just when you think that they could rape you anymore, you get your financial aid packet, and realize "crap! I need to take out a loan."
Then on top of the loan companies making a killing off of you with their 8.5 percent rates on your loan. Then comes the icing on the cake. As if your school isn't jacking enough of your money as it is, they come up with deals with loan companies to promote their company in exchange for money and stock.
I am not against education or learning. I am in favor of both, actually. Some how knowledge and college have become completly unrelated.
I am about to graduate, and all I can think is...I've been striving my whole life for THIS?
So, what do you think???
Spilled Expresso
An over-caffeinated NYCer on pop culture, food, and everything in-between.
3 comments:
Kristin, I definitely agree, college is definitely a business. I don't know if it is a scam necessarily, but I can see how it comes close. What about affirmative action, need based scholarships and merit based scholarships? Those do help some people and ease the financial strain, but sometimes people don't feel like they're fair. I know my freshman year I didn't receive any financial help because I was just an average, upper-middle-class white girl. At the same time, those things help other people pursue their dreams.
I think the problem is, is that college is watered down. I don't know how it was in the past, but I just feel like a lot of my classes are just about passing the test, not really caring about the information. As long as you know what the professor said in class, then you're golden. So basically, a lot of us are trained to be robots and I guess a lot of companies want robots...? Like, companies want people to conform to them rather than the company conforming to the individual. But that's business. If you were an education major, you would have to learn how to teach the curriculum that you're supposed to teach. It seems like there isn't a lot of wiggle room in the humanities either. The only time there really is if you're an independent author or something. There are so many avenues that people can take and college definitely allows students to explore that, but education does need to be reformed. It's stayed the same for a very long time, but everything else is changing. What do YOU think about that?
Samantha
College isn't a scam it's self, the scam is the gimmick that college is your ticket to sucess. That without college one is doomed to a life of "Paper or plastic" and that going to college is the only eay to ensure that you get your dream...and it doesn't really ensure anythign at all. Everyone seems to be in on this though. I mean, we are condition since we first enetr kidnergarten that if want to be
"somebody" we have to go to college. And not only do we have to go to college, but it has to eb teh right college. And none of us are good enough to get in at any colleges in less we do A, B and C. Conviently, all these things we "need" to get into college, cost money.
I mean think of how many people made more than a couple bucks just of YOUR ambition to go to college. Then multiply that by all the other students-and damn, that's a nice bit of change.
As far as education trainign it's just as bad. I mean the No child left behind act requires teachers to teach to a test leaving very little wiggle room. Instead of crrating intelligent people who know how to think, we wind up with ROBOTS who can spit out bits of information, but have little idea of what to do with their knowledge.
People should read this.
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