re: Some thoughts on post secondary education

College will always be worth it if you get a merit based scholarship and choose a major with 100% job placement. Hell, finish Med school with 200k in debt and that’s still worth it.

America’s problem is that educators and colleges in general equate finishing last in your class in queer studies and 1st in chemical engineering because both are “college graduates.”

Schools get paid the same either way to keep churning out “Graduates,” but they are lying to these kids and stealing their money.

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IMO the country dodged a large self inflicted wound by being at least smart enough to not give Bernie Sanders a legitimate shot at the White House.

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He got cheated by Hillary and the DNC. Trump would have destroyed Bernie because of Bernie's insane positions on things like loan forgiveness. Also, if Bernie had gotten the nomination, we would not be seeing all this Russia Russia Russia stuff right now. Hillary fricked the nation over, yet again.

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"Free" college education is a terrible idea for our country.

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Amen

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1. The value of a college education is being diluted over time.

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Yes and it's already quite diluted. There is virtually no difference now between an AA and a BA.

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2. The cost of a college education is increasing (this one really can't be disputed) at a rate that far surpasses other cost increases

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Yep and no one is taking the university system to task over this. They broke up 'Ma Bell' for the same things we now see at universities. Every aspect of a college education has gotten out of control. Books were bad enough but they've gotten even worse. Not long ago I saw a book that was about $95 new, back in 2001. The book is still ued as a text, same edition. It was listed at $360 new. That's price gouging pure and simple. Tuition goes up in a similar manner.

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3. If you agree with points 1 and 2 you might come to another conclusion: In the near future going to college will likely be a very poor financial decision on a personal level.

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It already is. Lifetime earnings offset the cost, but it's so bad now, and puts people so far behind schedule with debt that it's a losing proposition.

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Considering all of the above, I do not believe we as a society have the responsibility to forgive student loan debts or to provide "free" college education to anyone in the future.

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We don't. We also don't have the capability. Even if you stole all the money from the top 1% you couldn't pay off existing loan debt.

Students also deserve a fair amount of blame (and their parents too). They are racking up huge sums in loans and using that mechanism to avoid having a job during college (not all but a lot of them). They essentially take a 4 yr vacation. Because of the loans, parents don't have as much out of pocket expenses so they don't feel the pinch as much, up front. So they contribute to this.

Also, many students are demanding that campus resemble some sort of resort now. I've seen campuses now that have luxury student apartments, student centers that are exhorbitant, and so on. Colleges give in to this and devote most of the tuition and related expenses (which are unrestricted in how they can be used). The means research becomes even more important for faculty to insure they have a job, get paid, fund a lab etc etc. With additional pressure on the need to get research funding, the quality of mentorship from faculty to their grad students suffer. We are building a less capable research workforce right now.

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My issue with the current system is government backed student loans.

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Yet another part of our society that the .gov has fricked up.

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You can read Shakespeare, study calculus, learn about history and study Newtonian physics without fine dining and a club med rec center.

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All of this could be done for free before the internet. So much more opportunities exist now for educating yourself for free it's sort of strange that anyone feels the need to pay for it

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They absolutely do start assigning their students into tracks starting in middle school and high school. If they don't score high enough, they're put into the vo-tec track verses the university track. They segregate them into different disciplines as well. You're absolutely wrong.

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You said they don't get to choose their major, which is false...I think that's where the confusion came from.

I actually think tracting students is an outstanding idea and practice. Teachers around the world can sense the intellectual curiosity, intelligence, and potential of a child. It's not like one teacher makes this decision or parents have no say in it, it's just a very efficient way of keeping kids on a path to becoming successful students and adults.

I'll never understand why we don't do it here in the US. Like many parents of multiple children, you know deep down which ones have "it" and which ones don't. Why should you watch your child that doesn't have "it" struggle in school trying to learn a foreign language, or try to learn algebra, or waste time in an english composition course? The child would be SO much better served going through a vocational path. Confidence gained through good grades and accomplishments, exposure to the workplace via internships during high school, graduating at 18 ready to hit the work force ready to contribute.

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You will disagree with what I am about to say, but the obvious reason it would never work here is that people would complain about racism and "underrepresenation" of certain groups in the "college bound" lane.

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Don't disagree, at all. It would be inevitable, especially in today's environment. Hadn't even thought of that aspect. You'd really have to involve parents so that it's less of a government choice which track a student takes.

Internet is changing and will revolutionize post secondary. Classrooms need to become extinct.

Government subsidized loans to private colleges should be for no more than the average public school tuition.

The government shouldn’t be on the hook for $300,000 for a degree from Centenary.

These private schools are charging above market rates because of government loans.

Very simple solution...change the law so that student loans are dischargeable in bankruptcy like all other loans, forcing lenders to do due diligence not only on the field of study for which they are lending money but on the applicant's ability to successfully complete it...just like they would for a small business loan. Problem solved.

Of course you would see SJW majors disappear almost overnight...

Also get the government out of the student loan business entirely.

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indisputable facts.

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When have you ever posted a "fact" that you didn't consider indisputable?

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What do you expect of the school system? It's there to provide opportunity but most of the burden of education falls on the parents and the student. Should a child have no desire to go to college, a GED and technical school might be a better option.

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My statement was made in the context of the different way we handle schooling here as opposed to those places who use a track method. High School is going to be a major pain in the arse for both her and my wife and I. If we were able to put her in a vocational track instead of a college prep track (which is what high school has become), she would stand a much greater chance at success and graduation. Being that opportunity doesn't exist, I feel the school system is failing her and other kids like her.

I'm fully aware the burden of her education falls on me. As mentioned, my other two children are very successful students. I know what success in school looks like and my daughter ain't the one, unfortunately. But, as a parent, what choices do I really have but to somehow convince her that learning about the Pythagorean Theorem and the atomic weight of plutonium are somehow important to her development? That's a tall task with some kids, man.