College is a Scam
Yes, I'm Partly Anti-establishment
College is a scam. College costs are outrageous for what you get in return-a neatly-framed piece of paper that rarely any employer will ever ask to see again. As a high-consumption society driven by constant consumer spending, we've been lulled into believing that a college degree is the only way to earn a decent salary. Perhaps, my husband and I are so jaded due to the mountain of student loan debt we've accumulated-- student loan debt that we have to simultaneously tackle while saving for our own daughter's college education, all on my husband's salary, since I'm a SAHM. Statistically, college graduates earn more over the long run. I have to wonder if the statistics take into account those of us who had to finance college without the gracious help of college-educated parents or doting grandparents. My husband has a daily reminder of just how unnecessary college can be. The president, founder, and CEO of the company where he works is an individual who dropped out of college after one week to continue to pursue his own business ventures. He's highly successful partly because he recognized the value of not wasting four valuable years of his life confined to classrooms when the real world was beckoning him.
My cynicism gets the better of me at times, and some days I feel like Sam Elliott when he starred as Charley in Off the Map: the opportunity cost of sitting in a college classroom for four valuable years is simply too high. Of course, Charley's analogy was that having a job was too "expensive" because it took valuable time that could be spent doing things yourself. But I'm not ready to move to a remote Southwestern desert just yet.
Now, am I willing to completely refuse to partake in the system? For myself, yes. I'll likely never pursue a Ph.D. I'm now six years removed from the isolated world that is academia, and I'm far too cynical now to be sucked back in. For my daughter, absolutely not. In fact, my "reliance" on high-quality education is such that I'm willing to send my daughter to any private school of her choice (again, despite having to simultaneously save for her college and pay off my own student loans), even if the cost is $20,000 or more per year. I'm currently homeschooling for many "academic reasons" but partly I'm simply looking to saving some money while my daughter is in kindergarten by not opting for that high-priced private school tuition just yet. My husband and I will also completely finance my daughter's college education so that she will not end up with even one penny of student loan debt. I don't care how I make that happen; I've come to realize that's why the profession of prostitution came into existence. Okay, I'm only half serious here, but there is still nothing that I would not do for my daughter: money, spare organs, the shirt of my back-it's all hers.
Am I advocating that no one goes to college? Not at all. I'm simply inspiring teens and young adults to clearly think about what they are doing prior to signing any student loan paperwork. Individuals who begin their adult-life without debt are pretty brilliant. I convinced myself I needed to go to college and grad school immediately to "prove" my worth as an individual. I also had nothing better to do. I wasn't ready for the work world, and it wasn't a good time to start a family since my now-husband had to finish high school and then subsequently college. College for me was a hideout and provided me with something constructive to do since I had no clear career goals in mind. I'll never directly see a strong correlation between my degrees and my earning potential. I'll most likely continue to be self-employed and pursue work opportunities that do not require a college degree rendering my Bachelor's and Master's degrees as very expensive pieces of stationery. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't have skipped college completely, but I might have gone part time in order to finance my tuition while working at the same time. Both college and grad school were tremendous opportunities, but I would have preferred to incur a little less debt along the way.
Published by S.V.
Sharon has been a freelance writer and editor for the past three years. View profile
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19 Comments
Post a CommentI can strongly relate to the author. The way I understand it, she is against running up debt to finance education, but still thinks that education is valuable and wants her daughter to get a good education. Continuing home schooling would probably be a better option than an expensive private school. Also, it's becoming more commonplace to get a college degree through non-traditional means these days, and when her daughter reaches college age, this will probably be even more so. I write a blog on the subject of college without debt.There are options for college credit which don't involve debt, like independent study and credit-by-exam programs.
http://homeschool-college.blogspot.com
Back in the '80's, when student loan companies attained more aggressive lobbyists and their lending policies became less regulated, "go to college or else" propaganda flourished in the media. Commercials, television, and movies were all about getting into that good college. It seemed altruistic at the time. What's so bad about going to colege? The idiot box says if I go, I will make more money because college=better job. However, if you are from a less-than-honeyed class of society, you need to take out student loans. A salary from a working class family just won't foot the bill. Once you are locked into the student loan miasma, you may indeed get a better job, but the predatory payments you are obliged to pay render you as working class regardless because the payback is so high. Most of the people I know who are living better have "some college". Apparently it was enough to get their feet in the door, yet, the payback is more manageable.
WELL SAID, IM NOT GOING TO COLLEGE AND I MAKE TONS OF MONEY AND IM 18 LOL
assigned into a program in the real world with a company that will show you how your major that you will have in college works, if you can enroll into this type of program, it will be huge, and i suggest go to college, if you are denied or is rejected from a program of the nature, that gives you a warning before going to college that for one its not the right major for you, or second college is not for you, after enrolling into this type of program, work on getting an internship with another company in your field of expertise, during college, preferably anytime before your junior year, why do i recommend this, more experience, more the companies will hire you after graduation, before your competition, not only that but who knows, the company that you interned might hire you before you even graduate, or the program you were in, in high school might hire you before you even graduate, then you can graduate in peace, most companies hire based on work experience period, that's why i stress
college i definitely don't recommend to everyone, if you are finding yourself, change your major at least once, told by your parents to go to college, please don't waste your time in college, you will either drop out, or if you graduate is making the same amount of money that you would have been making straight out of high school without the student loans, the only reasons i would recommend college to anyone is if they have set goals, set plans, before going to college as to why they are in college from the get go, know on a yearly basis what their objective is and achieve the objectives, and second have the know as to what you will be making, after college, and make sure that you will be making three times more net worth after graduating per year, than your student loans combined, if not don't waste your time going to college, in the end it is not worth it, period. it won't be worth your time, nor your money.
i also want to add if you are in high school make sure that you are assigne
Tradional education has gotten waaaaayyyy of course. I am in a technical field so I am lucky to have a very marketable skill. I love what I do its what ive wanted to do since i was 8 years old. A great Deal of college students end up there having no idea what that want. get out and end up in a cubicle for 30K a year with 30k of Student loans. I understand I am not a typical case. I started in my feild after my first semester of college. I feel like students are maybe not lied to but at least given the impression that just based on that piece of paper they will A:Have a Job, B: Make more money, this isnt the case at all.
The federal student loan program has really driven up tuition, creating an artificial need. Higher ed would be more affordable without government subsidies.
Another thing is that my mother got sick and fed up with the field she got her degrees in(teaching). So, getting college degrees doesn't guarantee that one will get a job that he or she will like. She now does jobs that us 'regular folks' do like being a security guard, waitress, or cashiering. I work as a delivery driver for a mail freight company. I make nearly $30 an hour, get benefits, and it is all union.
College costs are a scam, especially for those not majoring in science or technology. It's a mechanism for ensuring that you get into debt, which you subsequently aren't able to pay because you're communications degree is barely worth the paper it's printed on. Banks, creditors, lenders are based on debt and debt penalties, and our higher education system is another way of directing us there.
Full disclosure: i DID major in computer science, but didn't finish. Despite having not finished college, I'm now a computer professional and am still dealing with those loans for a degree I never even got. Why did I take that loan again?
Fuck you, Susan.