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We have set students up to fail. On the one hand, we tell them that everyone has to go to college and that more education is better. Regardless of whether more

by tyre 11y ago

We have set students up to fail. On the one hand, we tell them that everyone has to go to college and that more education is better. Regardless of whether more education has any financial return. Is that the only metric? Absolutely not, but there is a point at which education is a luxury.[1] My entire high school education was focused on how to get into the "best" college. On the other hand, in order to get that education, they have to take out significant loans. At 17 or 18, they have little to no understanding of—let alone, ironically, education—about personal finance. So financially uninformed take on large amounts of debt with no gauge of whether that is a positive investment. Sound familiar? We did the same thing to uninformed mortgage buyers until they started to default in 2007. [1]: I say this having majored in Philosophy. It was a luxury that, coincidentally, is immensely valuable. At the time, however, I didn't know that, I was just interested.

roymurdock 11y ago
Interested to hear what you think some possible solutions might be.
jonlucc 11y ago
> Regardless of whether more education has any financial return. Interestingly, this is a difficult problem to crack, because it is valuable to have the degree. In 2008, people without a college education were hit the hardest in terms of jobs lost; the jobs for college educated went to basically no growth, but didn't quite tip into job loss. So if I'm a kid trying to make this decision, do I choose high debt with some chance of having a stable future or a cheap barrier to entry for a job that is likely to crap out as soon as the economy looks bad again? > they have little to no understanding of—let alone, ironically, education—about personal finance This is also important to me. Having lived with my parents until college (which I think is the norm), I don't think I would have really understood what it means to pay $500 or $1500 a month on my loans.
serge2k 11y ago
> My entire high school education was focused on how to get into the "best" college. and? The alternative is closing doors.
- tyre 11y ago
  > The alternative is closing doors. No, it isn't. That assumes college exclusively opens doors, which is not always the case. Many Americans are leaving college with more debt than they are able to pay off. Crippling debt is not a door everyone knows they are opening, nor what that actually means or feels like. Furthermore, the "best" college by rankings does not translate to the best college for that individual. The "data" around college rankings and binary maxims like "go to college" hide the nebulous benefits and individual circumstances.

by tyre 11y ago

roymurdock 11y ago

Interested to hear what you think some possible solutions might be.

jonlucc 11y ago

> Regardless of whether more education has any financial return. Interestingly, this is a difficult problem to crack, because it is valuable to have the degree. In 2008, people without a college education were hit the hardest in terms of jobs lost; the jobs for college educated went to basically no growth, but didn't quite tip into job loss. So if I'm a kid trying to make this decision, do I choose high debt with some chance of having a stable future or a cheap barrier to entry for a job that is likely to crap out as soon as the economy looks bad again? > they have little to no understanding of—let alone, ironically, education—about personal finance This is also important to me. Having lived with my parents until college (which I think is the norm), I don't think I would have really understood what it means to pay $500 or $1500 a month on my loans.

serge2k 11y ago

> My entire high school education was focused on how to get into the "best" college. and? The alternative is closing doors.

tyre 11y ago
> The alternative is closing doors. No, it isn't. That assumes college exclusively opens doors, which is not always the case. Many Americans are leaving college with more debt than they are able to pay off. Crippling debt is not a door everyone knows they are opening, nor what that actually means or feels like. Furthermore, the "best" college by rankings does not translate to the best college for that individual. The "data" around college rankings and binary maxims like "go to college" hide the nebulous benefits and individual circumstances.