4 ms·

in other news, millions of people have a diploma to show for their debt. 41% vs. 59% in 4 years isn't a significant enough statistic to warrant outrage

sebmellen 5y ago
I think that if you aren’t outraged by the state of higher education in the US, you’re either a) delusional or b) an administrator or someone making money off the racket. Good article: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/05/marriage-college-status-meritocracy/618795/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/05/marriage-c....
- baash05 5y ago
  But aren't these debts self imposed? I paid mine off in 12 years, and never once worked in the field. My degree has helped me very little in the 20 years since.. But the decision to get incur the debt was mine and mine alone. I can't blame the school for making me pay for something I not only asked for but prayed for. You own the debt.
  - amanaplanacanal 5y ago
    I'm retired, and the college finance system was very different back in the mid-seventies when I went to high school. The whole of our culture tells kids to go to college. All the adults around them are saying they have to. The skids are greased for them to do this. I don't think a seventeen or eighteen year old following this path without fully understanding the consequences is too surprising.
  - antifa 5y ago
    > But aren't these debts self imposed? My parents told me that my entire family would line up and beat the shit out of me if I didn't go to college. I'm sure most people had something more sane happen to them. Society proudly brainwashes and propagandizes heavily the necessity of a degree. At some point, consent is coercively manufactured.
    - baash05 5y ago
      So we're cool with Peer pressure made me do it? I mean that's okay I suppose. But every time I've done something for peer pressure, I've had to pay for it myself. Still the debt was on me. I'd say about half the kids I work with have no degree. They're Javascript devs or designers and they are sharp as tacks. I guess it depends on the industry, but for software devs, it's becoming less and less important.
      - antifa 5y ago
        >So we're cool with Peer pressure made me do it? At some point you're just victim blaming into the wind. No man is an island.

sebmellen 5y ago

I think that if you aren’t outraged by the state of higher education in the US, you’re either a) delusional or b) an administrator or someone making money off the racket. Good article: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/05/marriage-college-status-meritocracy/618795/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/05/marriage-c....

baash05 5y ago
But aren't these debts self imposed? I paid mine off in 12 years, and never once worked in the field. My degree has helped me very little in the 20 years since.. But the decision to get incur the debt was mine and mine alone. I can't blame the school for making me pay for something I not only asked for but prayed for. You own the debt.
- amanaplanacanal 5y ago
  I'm retired, and the college finance system was very different back in the mid-seventies when I went to high school. The whole of our culture tells kids to go to college. All the adults around them are saying they have to. The skids are greased for them to do this. I don't think a seventeen or eighteen year old following this path without fully understanding the consequences is too surprising.
- antifa 5y ago
  > But aren't these debts self imposed? My parents told me that my entire family would line up and beat the shit out of me if I didn't go to college. I'm sure most people had something more sane happen to them. Society proudly brainwashes and propagandizes heavily the necessity of a degree. At some point, consent is coercively manufactured.
  - baash05 5y ago
    So we're cool with Peer pressure made me do it? I mean that's okay I suppose. But every time I've done something for peer pressure, I've had to pay for it myself. Still the debt was on me. I'd say about half the kids I work with have no degree. They're Javascript devs or designers and they are sharp as tacks. I guess it depends on the industry, but for software devs, it's becoming less and less important.
    - antifa 5y ago
      >So we're cool with Peer pressure made me do it? At some point you're just victim blaming into the wind. No man is an island.