Is College Neccesary

To start, you mentioned you'd kick your son's behind if he was "lounging" with 12 hours. Your son is in a special situation. He takes, what something like 20 a semester?

I am currently taking 14. This is without a commitment to a sport. Last semester I took 16. This summer I am planning to take 6. Next fall I'll have 15. Let me tell you, 14 seems "lounging" but it sure is not. While I do have days where I lay around, I also have several days where I am going constantly. Yesterday I had 3 classes, gymnastics practice, women's basketball game, and finding time for "down time." Monday I had 5 classes, basketball practice, and work.

Many people who take only 12 credits a semester have a good reason for it. Sure, there's some who are just lazy. As expenses continue to increase, I think we'll see a lot more people working and going to school full time. Others are athletes or musicians or actors, etc that need to take a smaller load due to time commitments.

Do I believe college is necessary? Well, I guess that depends. Before someone can truly answer that question, one must have an idea what he or she wants to do for the next 40 years or more. My chosen field I could not do without a degree. One of my sister's job she could do without a degree. She has one, but her boss does not. My parents both had to have a degree in order to do their job, but my mom's second job does not require one. The state won't let it happen otherwise. My oldest sister had to have a Masters. My youngest sister has to have a degree for her desired occupation. My younger brother will need one too.

So let's look at my family. One sister works for corporate America and my mom's second job could be considered corporate America. Neither require a degree. The rest all require at least an undergrad degree. Mine might require a Masters and my oldest sister's does. None of those jobs fall under the 'corporate America' category.

My youngest sister is a junior in college. She's a bit of a social person on campus. I'm not that social. My brother, if he's anything like he is now, will be quite the social person (could be a bad thing). With college costs being what they are; we wouldn't be there without the main goal of getting an education.

CPLZ, I'm not sure if that's really what you're looking for, but I hope something in there is useful toward discussion.

Is college necessary? No, it is not one of life's necessities. Many, perhaps most, of our citizens don't have a degree and many are doing well financially, even if they don't own the latest car or biggest house. I believe that we need to look at how we measure the success of a person these days, and perhaps taking the financial and career factors out of the equation will tell us more about the person.

Is college beneficial? For some it is, but not for everybody. I strongly believe that we need to get back into looking at other options for our young people after high school (taking sports out of the discussion). I think our educational systems around the country have done a great disservice to the youth who are not 'geared' to be scholars (i.e., college students). Whatever happened to the trade (high) schools where students learned a valueable trade in a field that truly interested them? They have gone by the wayside (especially out here) and been replaced with regular schools that emphasis college prep work almost exclusively. (This was drawn to my attention when I attended high school orientation years ago for our son ... and a college educated friend sitting near me (who had a son that was most likely NOT going to be successful in college because of ADHD and Tourettes) asked the question ... what about those students who will NOT be going to college?) And now we have for-profit schools, emphasizing high tech and medical field careers and the like, selling their services on the TV to fill in ... at a high price I might add ... where the high schools have left off.

College is a great opportunity for some people but is not necessary to be successful in life. A degree, the experience, the networking that comes out of it are all beneficial the students who graduate, but they are not necessary for a person to live a good life. (My hubby has one year under his belt and is the Operations Manager at one of the largest airports in the country. He learned his career from the military, of all places. And all things considered, he is one of the most successful persons I know ... excluding his good fortune of having me for a wife, of course.)

I don't buy the argument that college counselors are telling kids to take 12 hours in the hopes of drumming up more business for their school. Most of the schools I know anything about have waiting lists, so that premise doesn't hold water.

I think that for some (maybe many) students that it may be beneficial to start off with a lighter load for one semester to get acclimated.

As far as the question of whether going to college is a good choice, it depends on what the individual wants to do with his/her life. My oldest step-son went the trade school route, for him that was the perfect decision and he's doing very good for himself. I have two college degrees, for me that has worked out well. For what my son and daughter want to do they're looking at a 4 year degree and then likely post graduate work, again (assuming they carry through with their plans) I feel like they're making good decisions.

I think that when bean-counter type people start talking about the financial benifit of going to college they totally neglect much of what is gained from a higher education. Besides the social network and lifetime friendships is the learned ability to reason, question, and think critically about a wide variety of topics.

Why on average do college graduates make significantly more money in their lifetime than those who don't attend college? While it's not necessary to go to college to make more money than a college grad, the statistics prove on average there's a significant difference.

I have talked to numerous college ballplayers and other athletes. Every single one said they would not recommend more than 12 hours during the playing season.

This is an interesting question that coincidentally we were just discussing with friends over dinner tonight.

Is college necessary?

Of the two couples at the table ages 47 to 50, the other wife has a 4-yr degree in Occupational Therapy but only used it for a few years before having kids, has not worked in that field for many years and now works part-time at a low-paying but low-stress job not requiring a degree. Her husband has risen through the ranks of a large corporation (Cargill) for the past 29 years, in technical (computer) and managerial/professional roles, but he never finished his degree. Why? Because while he was working at the large corporation to pay for college, they offered him the job he was going to school for. He has received a lot of college-level professional training at the company's expense, though.

The other couple (us)...husband went to 2 years of college right after HS but did not earn a degree (it turned out that partying was NOT officially a major). He went back to college at age 30 and earned his degree for career advancement (police sergeant). Wife (me) earned a 4-year science degree right after college, and it has been required for some stops along my interesting and varied career path (computer stuff, sales, management, etc.). (My dad was disabled and I paid for college myself, but I graduated owing only about $10K.)

Then the discussion turned to our sons...each couple has two.

The oldest son of our friends attends an expensive private college, and despite working 50+ hrs/week in the summer and part-time during the school year, he has $20,000 in student loans for THIS YEAR ALONE! And he is not studying medicine or law or an especially high-paying field. What kind of job will he need to land when he graduates to support himself while paying off $80K or more in loans???

Our older son went to a slightly less expensive private college but we (his parents) have both worked extra hours and used home equity etc. to bear most of the cost, so after 3-1/2 years he owes well under $10K total. Recently he decided to take a break from full-time college (a shoulder injury preventing him from playing baseball factored into the decision). I wondered if I was being a bad parent by being relieved that we could take a break from his tuition! (We also now have a second son in college for whom we are paying the majority of the cost.) Now the older son has been very fortunate to start a new job that he loves and is a wonderful opportunity for him, and he may not think about full-time college again, at least for a few years...and we are okay with that! (He needs about one year of classes to complete his degree but is taking one class at a time online.)

We have said many times that we want both of our sons to earn college degrees, no matter what the degrees were in. But both of them have benefited from their college experiences in ways that have little to do with degrees or jobs. Both have reported growing as people from mingling with other students from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Both have had the most interesting philosophical and intellectual discussions at college - even with teammates! - on topics that they had never even thought of in high school.

Is college a wonderful opportunity? I think so, for most young adults.

Is college necessary? For some careers, but not all.

Can college be a very expensive experience that burdens a young adult trying to support himself? I'm worried that this could be the truth for our friends' son, but I hope not!

Julie

i myself completed the ninth grade,and have done ok.exept for my gramar and typing skills. discounting sports in college, and the life experience theory. you can spend big money at a universtity to get a degree,or get most of those same credits for a fraction of the cost at a jc or online. i think pound for pound the most overlooked form of education is the jc. if it's only about the education.

I've heard that Bill Gates does not have a college degree. He dropped out of Yale to start Microsoft.

This is a very interesting discussion. Neither my husband nor I finished our degrees, though we both attended college. I am almost fanatic that I want all 3 of my boys to finish college. Why? Because while we have done very well financially, neither of us could today get our exact same job without a degree. My husband, while earning many accolades in his job and being very qualified to advance to the next level, he is unable to do so until he commits to finishing his degree. The way I see it, no door will close because you have a degree, but some will be locked if you don't. Why limit yourself if you don't have to?

I am the first person in my family's 246-year history in America to earn a college degree. In fact, I went on to gain a Master's Degree in Business and I paid for it all myself.

Trust me, all three of my kids are going to college. Even if a bolt of lightning struck and Bum, Jr. got drafted high I guarantee you I'd be on him like a fly on s*** when he got done to finish that college degree. Why?

Here's why. Critical thinking. More than any other skill learned in college, there is tremendous value in gaining a rich, diverse educational background and "activating" that knowledge to be able to navigate this world more successfully.

Before one discounts the value of college, consider carefully the correlation between educational levels in the industrialized world and Gross National Product. The U.S. has the world's highest productivity, highest G.N.P., and highest educational level. This is not a coincidence.

Having said that, I think some kids need to wait until they understand the value of the educational opportunity. I finished my B.A. at 27, and my M.B.A. at 30. If I would have went to college at 18, it would have all been lost in a fog of keggers and late-night carousing.

Given current economic trends, pink will likely be the most popular slip color during the next year or so.

Ask any unemployed baby boomer (without a college degree) about their job prospects and how many jobs they'd like to apply for that are B.A./B.S. only.

Or...how they will manage to afford food, $4 gallon fuel, health care and retirement even when they do get a job.

On average, annual salaries increase more than 2/3rds with a college degree. No argument can be made that these trends won't continue.

A college education won't guarantee happiness. But its hard to be happy when ends don't meet.

Here's my input:
I have a Bachelors in Nursing. Obtained as an adult with much assistance from husband as our children were young at the time.
Husband dropped out in 8th grade, went back and got his GED, has been in the same blue collar factory job for 30+ years.
I'm in a profession where pay has skyrocketed in the last 6-7 years. Currently work in a clinical oncology research position, which is fairly easy as far as labor is concerned. For the most part love my job.
My hourly rate is higher than my husbands, but he makes more money annually than I do, due to the number of hours he works in forced overtime for the most part. He hates his job and the company he works for, but feels he is locked in there. Can't go anywhere else and make as much money with his years of service to this company and lack of college education. I on the other hand, can switch companies and fields with little to no loss of pay, just benefits.
Husband is very intelligent, school was just not his thing when he was young, and he never looked back. He tells our children all the time that they are going to college. He says he is working like a dog to pay for their education so that they don't have to.
Before I went back to school and obtained my degree, there was no job I was qualified for that would even justify the cost of child care while I worked.
My vote is for college education if one is capable.

Regarding 12 credits a semester being "lounging"...

Any recommendations we make (I'm in engineering) are based on student data. We correlate student success with previous performance in math, chemistry and physics, how many credits they take, what combination of classes they take, and outside factors such as working or sports.

We don't get anything by keeping students around longer. Most of our students live off-campus and all pay by the credit hour. What slowing them down does is reduce the number of failed courses that have to be repeated, which in turn saves the student money.

As for the logic of going to college, college makes sense if you intend to pursue a career that requires a degree in that field. One can't design a road without a civil engineering degree and a PE certification, so you need to go to college. Want to be a lawyer or a doctor, need to go to college.

Since this is a baseball website 9even though you suggested to take it out of teh equation) and some players think about going pro out of HS as their career choice, I'll throw this one at ya.

This week, along with my son, two rookie teams, two single A teams, 1 AA team and 1 AAA team also reported all looking to find themselves all on the same "company's " major payroll someday.

Chances for most everyone, their future will not be playing MLB. Plan ahead, be willing to begin another career in your 20's.

I agree with almost everything that has been said. A college education gives one many more opportunities, however I know very successful people who never attended college a day in their lives. Do I want both of my kids to attend and complete college - ya better believe it!

As far as 12 hrs being lounging. That's completely false for many students. A student's load depends on the other responsibilities as well many other factors including major. Some students have many other obligations - sports, families, jobs, work study, etc. So for some students, fitting in 12 hrs is a monumental task.... for others, it's a piece of cake.

A better question might be this one: Is it worth the money to attend a private school at $40k-plus per year versus a public university? I used to think the answer was yes, but that was when the cost was about $15k a year less than it is now. Most of the articles that I've read that addressed the question conclude that the answer for the HUGE majority of students is NO.

No doubt there are networking advantages to attending the Ivies. That may also be true to a lesser extent at other schools so long as you remain in the same geography. But I'm not sure that in the latter case it's worth the extra $80-100k you'll pay for the degree.

A lot of what makes a college choice for a student is the location of the school and his/her future goals

I went to St John's because I knew I was going to work in the NYC region---to this day when I go to NYC I run into St John's alum's--in fact the game announcer at Dodd Stadium for the Defenders wher ewe do,our July Showcase is a St Johns Alum from my era

Is college necssary?---I believe that for most it is but is not the be all end all for others---outside of the academics I truly believe that college is a big asset in a young persons maturity as a person---you meet people from all walks of life and backgrounds

In todays world most careers require a degree from college with the BA/BS the least of them. Many companies wnat more--yes you can get a job with a lesser degree of education but you find yourself being left ebhind when it comes to promotions and moving up the ladder if education is lacking--at least this is what I see regularly here in the NY/Boston region

BUM,

Great post. Exactly how I feel almost word for word.

Good points here.

My daughter never went to college and although a good job her earning potential is limited. She's been to technical school and insurance and financial school, but in her compnay you earn bigger bucks, get better opportunities with the parchment.

BA/BS degrees are useless now in some professions, master's degree's are preferred.

Plain and simple college is a blast, you can learn a lot there besides your major. Mine says he'd do the same thing all over again the same way, he would NEVER have missed out his 3 years. He knows that he MUST go back to finish school when teh time comes.

I agree some aren't ready at 17,18 I know some kids who worked for a year or two then saw they couldn't make much where we live as a white collar worker with out a degree and headed off to college.