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"From talking to them, many express that these experience have focused/clarified what they hope to gain from college, intellectually and personally." As someon

by tdfx 14y ago

"From talking to them, many express that these experience have focused/clarified what they hope to gain from college, intellectually and personally." As someone who made money on the internet in my teen years, I too spent quite a bit of time thinking college was a waste. For a lot of people, I still think it's a waste of their money, just that my reasoning is different. Everyone can benefit from college, but you really need to be in the correct mindset to succeed and take advantage of it. Academic institutions, despite the grant process, politics, etc. really are interesting places where really smart people get together to do things. The problem I see with college is that most of the people I knew weren't ready to be there. It should not be the default life funnel that it currently is, because most high schoolers (myself included) just weren't ready to take advantage of what was there. When you're ready for it, it's worth every penny. edit: Sorry, didn't reply to correct post with that quote.

argonaut 14y ago
What is the "correct mindset?"
- bcbrown 14y ago
  Internal instead of external motivation to learn, I think. I took a year off before college, lived on my own, and worked in a warehouse. For me, it was a great idea, and I think I got more out of college because of it.
- jmspring 14y ago
  Open to learning different things, open to spending time with and bonding with a diverse group of people. Focus less on a singular goal and experience the life around you. Spending time living on campus is key to this.
saraid216 14y ago
As someone who does a lot of thinking about education reform, people have asked me what I think about college. I basically say, "I'd have to see." Because the largest problems with colleges can be derived from the simple fact that most students aren't ready to be in college. That's why so much of undergraduate-level coursework is about filling the holes in general education... and such cramming in makes it difficult to get a good immersion in any specialization. That's why your major usually doesn't matter. I want to see the core system, the primary and secondary schools, overhauled. Wait twenty years. Then see what problems there actually are.

by tdfx 14y ago

argonaut 14y ago

What is the "correct mindset?"

bcbrown 14y ago
Internal instead of external motivation to learn, I think. I took a year off before college, lived on my own, and worked in a warehouse. For me, it was a great idea, and I think I got more out of college because of it.
jmspring 14y ago
Open to learning different things, open to spending time with and bonding with a diverse group of people. Focus less on a singular goal and experience the life around you. Spending time living on campus is key to this.

saraid216 14y ago

As someone who does a lot of thinking about education reform, people have asked me what I think about college. I basically say, "I'd have to see." Because the largest problems with colleges can be derived from the simple fact that most students aren't ready to be in college. That's why so much of undergraduate-level coursework is about filling the holes in general education... and such cramming in makes it difficult to get a good immersion in any specialization. That's why your major usually doesn't matter. I want to see the core system, the primary and secondary schools, overhauled. Wait twenty years. Then see what problems there actually are.