College education is the largest scam in U.S. history!

[who_cares973]

Re: College education is the largest scam in U.S. history!

jesus christ didnt go to college and look how far he's gone

[Dorby]

Re: College education is the largest scam in U.S. history!

What about the Easter bunny?

[C@!]

Re: College education is the largest scam in U.S. history!

Only going cause I have the opportunity to go for free.

[fido123]

Re: College education is the largest scam in U.S. history!

The problem is so many people go to College not knowing what they want to do for a job, rather than what course looks nice. I was once talking with a girl at York University which shares my College's campus. She asked me what I was taking and I said "computer systems technology". She responded by asking if it was a post-grad of Computer Science and I said it was a College course (In Canada many people consider College to be a step below University although it's grossly false). She smirked at me like I was a dumbass so I asked what she was doing to which she replied "Sociology". I told her to have fun sucking cock for a living.

My education isn't a waste at all, however tuition is only ~$1'600 per semester and 2 semesters is from September to May and you can take another summer semester if you want to but I need to work in the summer to pay for that. I'm learning skills directly related to what I want to do and I can put them into practice right now, and can get me a job that pays pretty decently. People need to go into something worthwhile, not just some bull crap like Philosophy cause they don't know what to do with their lives.

Post-Secondary education isn't something you need to do to become successful though. Somebody could on their own learn what I'm learning through the internet which especially for what I'm doing, isn't that hard at all and get certifications and even make up to $100+/hr if they get their CCIE certification. Even without all this all you need in this world is a motivated drive, and intelligence. With those two things you can do a lot, and is more valuable than any education you can buy.

[robertsona]

Re: College education is the largest scam in U.S. history!

madmatt typically mad cuz he cant get into college

[PlayTrumpet]

Re: College education is the largest scam in U.S. history!

I can't call it a scam because of the scholarships and awards that have allowed me basically a free college education, but I also can't call it a scam because of how invested I am in making this the turning point in my life from being a kid to getting a real career. Colleges have programs to help students find internships, create résumés and give people time to stick their feet in the water. Not enough students take those opportunities, and maybe they are above them or they don't think they need them, but if you're forced to take out loans to go to college, you ought to take every advantage they can offer. Talk to professors, get close, get lots of good recommendations for future jobs, etc..

That being said, college is NOT for everyone, and there are plenty of colleges that basically ARE scams. But no matter what, I think if you want to be successful then you have to be invested in something and you should always work hard and educate yourself as much as you can.

[robertsona]

Re: College education is the largest scam in U.S. history!

i watched like the first twenty seconds of this video oh my god this is so stupid

[Reincarnate]

Re: College education is the largest scam in U.S. history!

College isn't a scam, per se -- that video is retarded. It's just that with rising costs, you have to be a lot more careful about what you're doing, especially in these recent years. If you're taking out a shitload of loans to study philosophy or English, you may want to reconsider.

It's sad in a way because college is supposed to be a place to grow intellectually. You should *be able to* major in English or philosophy if you want to. Problem is that unless you're rich to begin with, you're better off studying something that will prepare you for work after college so you can at least try to earn a return on the investment.

College is about what you make of it. You can either take it seriously or screw off the whole time and not be a much smarter or better person than you were going in.

I went into college as an academic juggernaut -- would I have been fine without college? Probably. But college is still a worthwhile experience to have and it's a unique period of time like no other you'll have in your life. The benefits of college are not simply monetary, but utilitarian as well.

The unfortunate truth is that to get a higher-paying job, you oftentimes need the education to signal that you're a more worthwhile investment to employers. There are still *huge* problems with this line of reasoning that I won't get into right now, but long story short, most people will need college in order to remain competitive. The exception to this rule is that you're already exceptionally talented and are capable of teaching yourself in such a way that you can keep up.

[DJMAYYYNE]

Re: College education is the largest scam in U.S. history!

madmatt thread

everybody, move along

First thing that went through my mind

[Patricoo]

Re: College education is the largest scam in U.S. history!

http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2246#comic

I love how many people are using the word 'investment' when people talking about their education. This is the correct mindset! The problem is that people consider it an entitlement.

[Reach]

Re: College education is the largest scam in U.S. history!

It definitely depends on what you want to do later in life. Sadly, approaching university from a purely intellectual perspectively nowadays isn't really feasible; it's simply too expensive.

However, there are numerous professional fields that require university and pay significantly more than anything you could get without a university education. In this case, you're making a relatively small investment to reap significant rewards.

I think you just need to have your priorities set straight in your head and have a plan for the future when going into college. You need to know if it's the right option for you personally and your future. If you just jump in there without a worry in the world, you're probably wasting your money, or at least your parents money >_>


Scholarships can help significantly in some cases too, but they're often hard to maintain, at least here in Canada. Almost everyone I know was stripped of their scholarship first year, for not meeting unnecessarily high GPA expectation (3.7).

[Aldentron]

Re: College education is the largest scam in U.S. history!

It is true that things such as the No Child Left Behind Act has made people dream big. Not everyone is supposed to be a lawyer or an engineer or a business owner. In some cases it would be more fitting for a certain person to have a salt-of-the-earth job, like taking out the garbage or delivering mail. The amount of attention focused on college education in high school makes it seem like the salt-of-the-earth jobs are looked down upon, despite their necessity. I would rather have some one pick up my garbage and deliver my mail than some one to make the next Angry Birds, Shamwow, or win the case between Starbucks and the mom who drank really hot coffee.

I'm tired of the American pipe-dream, that everyone is supposed to be successful and that the amount of money you have is a direct relation to your happiness.

[Reincarnate]

Re: College education is the largest scam in U.S. history!

Even with a ton of scholarships, it doesn't always cover the costs.

I had a really unfortunate double-whammy of having my father pass away right before college, which gave my mother a shitload of money (in both assets and insurance payouts) -- and yet she opted not to help finance my education.

So the price of uni went up like crazy and my scholarships could only cover so much, all while the economy was tanking and jobs were coming up in short supply. "Need-based" aid assumes that your parents will help pay. If not, you have to be a lot more conservative in your approach.

All in all, things will start to bounce back. I'd rather be educated than uneducated when that happens. It's just a shame that it's become so costly, but all this means is that you have to take it a lot more seriously and not screw around too much.

[Reincarnate]

Re: College education is the largest scam in U.S. history!

I'm tired of the American pipe-dream, that everyone is supposed to be successful and that the amount of money you have is a direct relation to your happiness.

I can tell you this much: I am much happier and better off making money and doing something intellectually-stimulating than I was when I wasn't making money and/or working menial jobs. Money most definitely *does* bring happiness. It's just that there's a certain point where you start experiencing "diminishing marginal returns," which is just business jargon for saying "Earning an additional $10,000 a year when you're making $30,000 is huge, but another million when you're already making millions isn't a big deal."

A lot of the time I see cognitive dissonance/"sour grapes." Fox wants grapes. Fox can't get grapes. Fox concludes the grapes were probably not worth it anyway.

Same goes for money. Having money *absolutely makes you happier* and it's worth pursuing.

[Wineandbread]

Re: College education is the largest scam in U.S. history!

I skipped around in the vid cause tl;dw

At the end:

"All young Americans today should be entering the workforce as soon as possible in order to generate enough income so that they can accumulate physical gold and silver. When the U.S. dollar collapses, only those with gold and silver will be able to buy food and other goods needed to live and survive. Those with the most gold and silver will have the best chance of surviving the upcoming collapse of the U.S. dollar..."

ook