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It’s interesting seeing how tuition costs influence students. I go to a school infamous for its high price. And truth be told, I don’t think I could advocate go

It’s interesting seeing how tuition costs influence students. I go to a school infamous for its high price. And truth be told, I don’t think I could advocate going here barring some serious prerequisites. One of which is having some idea of what to study. The classic idea of college being a place to mess around and figure out what to do with your life is absolutely delusional with tuition so high. Go figure out what to do with your life without it costing 40k+ a year. That said, I have a feeling this isn’t a controversial point. A lot of my classmates come in seemingly focused on a particular career or field. The issue is that there’s no conceivable way they can be certain of their field this early. I’ve talked to far too many undergraduates who have decided on CS without knowing if they like programming. I have too many classmates who decided to major in chemistry or do pre-med because they liked their high school chemistry class. With these students, what happens if they discover they don’t like their major? For the undecided student, they’re unlikely to get far in a subject they don’t like. They’ll leave after a class because they’re not set on it. A decided student will likely feel that they’ve committed and realize too late that they do not want to work in their field. In my view the worst situation is to realize you hate your major junior or senior year. I’m not sure about solutions. I took a gap year and worked as a programmer. The gap year had a lot of benefits but maybe the biggest one was knowing that I could actually see myself as a programmer and that I’m competent at it. A gap year is a privileged option though. In general cheaper tuition and more involved guidance could work. Most majors should have an initial class that outlines the potential career options and the less than pretty parts of the job. I suppose that pushes the school into a more vocational role, but alas if you’re paying so damn much, getting a career out of it is pretty necessary.

iaw 6y ago
> I go to a school infamous for its high price. And truth be told, I don’t think I could advocate going here barring some serious prerequisites. I went to a similar school. The benefits are not granted when you attend the school but afterward in the alumni network and the reputation of the school. I get in a lot more doors than I rightfully should given my qualifications because my school was more expensive (and thus prestigious) than most. It shouldn't be the way it is but the benefits from getting a 'top-tier' education are more in signaling to people that they should consider you than actually giving you a better education. There's also the argument about the access you have as a student and alumni but I don't want to go on forever.
- lotsofpulp 6y ago
  >my school was more expensive (and thus prestigious) than most. Outside of the top 20 schools or so, I would not see the point of paying any extra for a private school, as the school's are willing to accept mostly anyone who can get a loan, which is basically everyone. The private schools that are prestigious (i.e. highly selective) have substantial aid making them very cheap for families who earn under a certain amount.
  - iaw 6y ago
    > The private schools that are prestigious (i.e. highly selective) have substantial aid making them very cheap for families who earn under a certain amount. Have you attended all of the prestigious institutions while needing financial aid? I am familiar with a handful of the programs having been through one and worked with several people that were in others. Some schools are doing a great job enacting need blind admission, others are not. We are not at a point where the most prestigious schools are "very cheap" to any families* except the wealthiest and the poorest (where it definitely isn't very cheap to afford plane tickets, food with the dining hall shut down, clothing so you don't stick out as being poor, etc.) * The one exception I'm confident of is Princeton, I've heard their need blind approach is actually well implemented and I've known more than one person that graduated debt free.
rland 6y ago
The solution is easy, and it exists here and in other countries: attend a "college" -- not a university -- for the first two years. Here in the US they are community colleges. No reason to do your intro Sociology or Calculus for Business Majors general ed class at Harvard or Stanford; the content is exactly the same as at Podunk U. Instead, students should go to community college for the first two years and transfer into University upper-division majors (or, just get a 2 year cert rather than "dropping out" if you decide you don't really like college after all!). You can spend two+ years mucking around in Community College for the tuition cost of half a single semester at a private university -- my local community college credit-hour cost is literally 10x less than out of state tuition at a private school: $41 vs $441. It might even allow for some sort of internship or apprenticeship program in the interim period to let kids have some experience before they settle in on a major program. All of this sort of assumes though, that the system actually cares about student success, rather than laundering privilege, credentialism, and the student-loan fleecing described elsewhere in this thread.

iaw 6y ago

> I go to a school infamous for its high price. And truth be told, I don’t think I could advocate going here barring some serious prerequisites. I went to a similar school. The benefits are not granted when you attend the school but afterward in the alumni network and the reputation of the school. I get in a lot more doors than I rightfully should given my qualifications because my school was more expensive (and thus prestigious) than most. It shouldn't be the way it is but the benefits from getting a 'top-tier' education are more in signaling to people that they should consider you than actually giving you a better education. There's also the argument about the access you have as a student and alumni but I don't want to go on forever.

lotsofpulp 6y ago
>my school was more expensive (and thus prestigious) than most. Outside of the top 20 schools or so, I would not see the point of paying any extra for a private school, as the school's are willing to accept mostly anyone who can get a loan, which is basically everyone. The private schools that are prestigious (i.e. highly selective) have substantial aid making them very cheap for families who earn under a certain amount.
- iaw 6y ago
  > The private schools that are prestigious (i.e. highly selective) have substantial aid making them very cheap for families who earn under a certain amount. Have you attended all of the prestigious institutions while needing financial aid? I am familiar with a handful of the programs having been through one and worked with several people that were in others. Some schools are doing a great job enacting need blind admission, others are not. We are not at a point where the most prestigious schools are "very cheap" to any families* except the wealthiest and the poorest (where it definitely isn't very cheap to afford plane tickets, food with the dining hall shut down, clothing so you don't stick out as being poor, etc.) * The one exception I'm confident of is Princeton, I've heard their need blind approach is actually well implemented and I've known more than one person that graduated debt free.

rland 6y ago

The solution is easy, and it exists here and in other countries: attend a "college" -- not a university -- for the first two years. Here in the US they are community colleges. No reason to do your intro Sociology or Calculus for Business Majors general ed class at Harvard or Stanford; the content is exactly the same as at Podunk U. Instead, students should go to community college for the first two years and transfer into University upper-division majors (or, just get a 2 year cert rather than "dropping out" if you decide you don't really like college after all!). You can spend two+ years mucking around in Community College for the tuition cost of half a single semester at a private university -- my local community college credit-hour cost is literally 10x less than out of state tuition at a private school: $41 vs $441. It might even allow for some sort of internship or apprenticeship program in the interim period to let kids have some experience before they settle in on a major program. All of this sort of assumes though, that the system actually cares about student success, rather than laundering privilege, credentialism, and the student-loan fleecing described elsewhere in this thread.