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Conversely, a significant portion of the students in my class when I was attending university were only there to get a degree & didn't care about anything but t

by ido 8y ago

Conversely, a significant portion of the students in my class when I was attending university were only there to get a degree & didn't care about anything but the easiest way to get a passing grade.

tombert 8y ago
Yeah, I forgot to mention that; I have no doubt that the top student from Harvard or Yale is dedicated to learning new things and at some level wants to be there. However, the bottom 25% who graduate probably are doing it simply to obtain the piece of paper and the letters "B.S." or "B.A." after their name.
toastking 8y ago
I mean, you get what you put into college. I sort of veered off my senior and took a bunch of business classes after finishing my CS requirements. I wish I took extra CS classes because there's a lot I had teach myself. Motivated people can teach themselves a lot, but there IS something to be said for having a credential.
- tombert 8y ago
  I can see why recruiters and business-owners prefer it; it basically implies "Person X has at least this much discipline to get through this degree". However, a sort of consequence of this is you create a sort of inadvertent filter of "normal" people, e.g. the people who passed the classes designed around them.
52-6F-62 8y ago
Nevermind that many students just go for buying their papers so that the party can go on. I remember boasts of this at U of T back in the day—there was even signage above shops on Yonge St offering the service. They haven't even had to leave their seats for a long time—they can just purchase them online: 2001: https://slate.com/human-interest/2001/12/how-to-buy-a-good-college-term-paper-online.html https://slate.com/human-interest/2001/12/how-to-buy-a-good-c... 2019: https://toronto.citynews.ca/2019/02/19/cheating-at-u-of-t/ https://toronto.citynews.ca/2019/02/19/cheating-at-u-of-t/ Not to say it's universal, but it's rampant—the view that they're just there to pick up their ticket to an easier life. (if it's accurate, or not!)

by ido 8y ago

Conversely, a significant portion of the students in my class when I was attending university were only there to get a degree & didn't care about anything but the easiest way to get a passing grade.

tombert 8y ago

Yeah, I forgot to mention that; I have no doubt that the top student from Harvard or Yale is dedicated to learning new things and at some level wants to be there. However, the bottom 25% who graduate probably are doing it simply to obtain the piece of paper and the letters "B.S." or "B.A." after their name.

toastking 8y ago

I mean, you get what you put into college. I sort of veered off my senior and took a bunch of business classes after finishing my CS requirements. I wish I took extra CS classes because there's a lot I had teach myself. Motivated people can teach themselves a lot, but there IS something to be said for having a credential.

tombert 8y ago
I can see why recruiters and business-owners prefer it; it basically implies "Person X has at least this much discipline to get through this degree". However, a sort of consequence of this is you create a sort of inadvertent filter of "normal" people, e.g. the people who passed the classes designed around them.

52-6F-62 8y ago

Nevermind that many students just go for buying their papers so that the party can go on. I remember boasts of this at U of T back in the day—there was even signage above shops on Yonge St offering the service. They haven't even had to leave their seats for a long time—they can just purchase them online: 2001: https://slate.com/human-interest/2001/12/how-to-buy-a-good-college-term-paper-online.html https://slate.com/human-interest/2001/12/how-to-buy-a-good-c... 2019: https://toronto.citynews.ca/2019/02/19/cheating-at-u-of-t/ https://toronto.citynews.ca/2019/02/19/cheating-at-u-of-t/ Not to say it's universal, but it's rampant—the view that they're just there to pick up their ticket to an easier life. (if it's accurate, or not!)