US Colleges a SCAM?

• Chiyuri wrote on 2011-10-11 00:37
  hmm, While Canada doesn't have much problem giving education for college and all.. Getting a job after college is still pretty hard...
• BobYoMeowMeow wrote on 2011-10-11 00:49
  crappy system
  but kind of the most practical at the moment
  
  we have the internet for most stuff in general education
  the cat still think medical and graduate schools should stay
• Yoorah wrote on 2011-10-11 01:16

  Quote from TA;615166:

  Gold isn't a bubble, in the sense of the term. All countries back their economy in gold. As world, and country, economies collapse, gold prices rise. Gold prices have constantly risen for quite a long time now, very drastically. All precious metals have, but gold especially.
  
  I don't suspect this trend will cease any time soon.
  
  I suppose it is a bubble in the sense that no country in the world has enough gold to back their economies, and eventually we're going to have to face that. But countries aren't like individuals, so it can't really be considered a bubble. I do think though that eventually we're going to have to do away with money backed by gold since it serves no purpose.

  
  
  I understand that. It's the basic way to think about it. But there's more to it if you look at proper context. Fareed Zakaria summarizes it quite well.
  T'is all speculation.
• Chillax wrote on 2011-10-11 03:11
  Khanacademy is probably the closest we have at the moment to online education available for everyone.
• Xemnas wrote on 2011-10-11 03:12
  The entire US education system is a joke IMO, very little skills are actually taught in colleges/grade schools these days.
• Mama wrote on 2011-10-12 02:23
  the point of college is just to teach critical thinking, and to prepare them to handle the stress of working. The field of engineering is best for this IMO.
  
  
  also.. my other thoughts:
  
  the idea that everyone should go to college is terrible. The system just gets flooded with degrees when there just aren't enough jobs; the value of a bachelor's gets lowered and the blue-collar sector gets more compromised. It's depressingly common to hear of people with Master's who can't find jobs in their field post-grad.
  
  as for colleges being a scam in America.. the price is a scam, for sure. It's bloated because it's so easy to get a loan and the culture surrounding it makes it seem like if you DON'T pay a metric ****ton for your tuition, then the quality is somehow poor. People get in an uproar if they even consider lowering the tuition. That kind of pricing for tuition only exists in America, and we can all see how well that's working for the economy.
• Cucurbita wrote on 2011-10-12 03:38
  I think critical thinking is a complete load of crap.
  
  I've been doing this liberal arts stuff for a while now and its been a colossal waste of time, and more importantly, my money.
• Sayoko wrote on 2011-10-12 22:54

  Quote from Mama;616774:

  the point of college is just to teach critical thinking, and to prepare them to handle the stress of working. The field of engineering is best for this IMO.
  
  
  also.. my other thoughts:
  
  the idea that everyone should go to college is terrible. The system just gets flooded with degrees when there just aren't enough jobs; the value of a bachelor's gets lowered and the blue-collar sector gets more compromised. It's depressingly common to hear of people with Master's who can't find jobs in their field post-grad.
  
  as for colleges being a scam in America.. the price is a scam, for sure. It's bloated because it's so easy to get a loan and the culture surrounding it makes it seem like if you DON'T pay a metric ****ton for your tuition, then the quality is somehow poor. People get in an uproar if they even consider lowering the tuition. That kind of pricing for tuition only exists in America, and we can all see how well that's working for the economy.

  
  
  Many real life hardships involve critical thinking too. Life experiences often teach much more than the classroom~
  
  Too bad it's hard to advance these days without a college degree. Some employers won't even bother considering those without one even if the college degree does little. Ex. Social workers don't need degrees in sociology, great inventors/innovators don't need PhDs or even degrees.
• Chockeh wrote on 2011-10-12 23:02
  :sigh:
  I'm lucky that college is free here... I'm probably going to have to go through this after I'm done with this and go to university. I probably should start saving 75% of my paycheck for university.
  :doom:
• chaolin wrote on 2011-10-17 06:18
  As much I as want to say this is over exaggerated, the fact that I work 30 hours a week says something. 20 of those hours are considered research credit (aka unpaid) yet this kind of experience is required to apply for literally any job in the field. The other 10 hours a week goes to pay for my living expenses. My Dad is now pressuring me to get a full-time job to pay for the final year of my college when I really am trying to get an internship in my field of work. Then there's the issue of sub-par grades that make getting an internship difficult to say the least. This was consequence of taking too many credits and working too much and dealing with my parents nearly divorcing. So yeah, whether or not all this is worth it will be decided when I graduate. I'd LOVE to bump this thread at that time.