5 ms·

Most liberal arts colleges are elaborate play centers for post adolescents that also offer classes. My own Alma mater, Washington & Lee, esp. matches that. I am

Most liberal arts colleges are elaborate play centers for post adolescents that also offer classes. My own Alma mater, Washington & Lee, esp. matches that. I am not sympathetic. I had great classes but I could have gotten the same education without the fluff. I bet without the fluff the cost would have been half or even cheaper.

seibelj 7y ago
It’s fine when wealthy people pay $200k for their children to have extended playtime crafting sculptures and writing papers. It’s extremely depressing when the poor are convinced to take out enormous loans to finance such playtimes, which then ruin their lives. I simply can’t feel sorry for an industry that yokes 18 year olds with $200k+ in loans for undergraduate degrees, especially in useless subjects. The faster there is consolidation the better.
- catalogia 7y ago
  $200k for an undergrad degree is very far outside the norm. Don't get me wrong, the norm is still pretty shit. But it's about an order of magnitude less shit than that. > As of June 2018, Forbes reported that total US student debt was $1.52 trillion and that 44.2 million people owed debt.[3] The average student debt is $38,390. The median student debt is between $10,000 and $25,000, while 2% of borrowers owe $100,000 or more. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_debt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_debt $200k is closer to the kind of debt you'd expect from a medical school graduate.
  - secabeen 7y ago
    Also, only 25% of students attend private schools, 75% attend a state school (2 or 4 year): https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d18/tables/dt18_105.30.asp https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d18/tables/dt18_105.30.a...
  - tengbretson 7y ago
    > $200k for an undergrad degree is very far outside the norm. Don't get me wrong, the norm is still pretty shit. But it's about an order of magnitude less shit than that That may be, but when the 6 year graduation rate is only 60% thats a lot of people paying "still pretty shit" in exchange for actually nothing.
    - catalogia 7y ago
      I agree. That's why I said it's still pretty shit. I don't think hyperbole helps the situation though. Exaggerating the statistics isn't the right way to seek change.

seibelj 7y ago

It’s fine when wealthy people pay $200k for their children to have extended playtime crafting sculptures and writing papers. It’s extremely depressing when the poor are convinced to take out enormous loans to finance such playtimes, which then ruin their lives. I simply can’t feel sorry for an industry that yokes 18 year olds with $200k+ in loans for undergraduate degrees, especially in useless subjects. The faster there is consolidation the better.

catalogia 7y ago
$200k for an undergrad degree is very far outside the norm. Don't get me wrong, the norm is still pretty shit. But it's about an order of magnitude less shit than that. > As of June 2018, Forbes reported that total US student debt was $1.52 trillion and that 44.2 million people owed debt.[3] The average student debt is $38,390. The median student debt is between $10,000 and $25,000, while 2% of borrowers owe $100,000 or more. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_debt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_debt $200k is closer to the kind of debt you'd expect from a medical school graduate.
- secabeen 7y ago
  Also, only 25% of students attend private schools, 75% attend a state school (2 or 4 year): https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d18/tables/dt18_105.30.asp https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d18/tables/dt18_105.30.a...
- tengbretson 7y ago
  > $200k for an undergrad degree is very far outside the norm. Don't get me wrong, the norm is still pretty shit. But it's about an order of magnitude less shit than that That may be, but when the 6 year graduation rate is only 60% thats a lot of people paying "still pretty shit" in exchange for actually nothing.
  - catalogia 7y ago
    I agree. That's why I said it's still pretty shit. I don't think hyperbole helps the situation though. Exaggerating the statistics isn't the right way to seek change.