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A twenty-year professor on starting college this fall: Don’t

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Re: A twenty-year professor on starting college this fall: Don’t

#21

Post by wikibob »

frankbreetz wrote: post #18

As a millennial college graduate, my number one piece of advice to college bound high schoolers is do the first two years at community college. The debt is not worth the experience. Most people spend the first two years figuring stuff out, community college is a great place to do that. I didn't even know this was an option until after college and I feel failed by my high school college advisors. Unless you are very c…

Disagree.

Graduation rates are drastically lower from community colleges.

There is vastly less academic support available.

The people around you will be vastly less ambitious. This will rub off on you.

Yes 4 year university is now overpriced in America. But if you can, go to a 4 year university.

Yes maybe go to an in-state university instead of out of state if that is cheaper, or go where you get the best financial aid.

Re: A twenty-year professor on starting college this fall: Don’t

#22

Post by Robotbeat »

Hydraulix989 wrote: post #13

By the time it is fall, this professor's advice will be obsolete. The death rate is already slowing down in NYC and Italy. The curve is flattened in South Korea and China, and there, many are going outside to cafes and the Han River park. San Francisco has had a grand total of 20 deaths. US is already planning to gradually reopen the economy.

On the contrary: Reopening before the test and trace infrastructure (like South Korea’s) is in place is likely to cause another wave right about the time when the Fall Semester is starting..

Re: A twenty-year professor on starting college this fall: Don’t

#23

Post by einpoklum »

> Don’t like any candidates? Then get engaged in issue activism.

Recommendations to be politically active regardless of the cause and position sound rather vacuous. Or rather - sound like someone has an opinion, but not the guts to voice their opinion.

Anyway, the main problem is the debt issue. If students going into the first year of University (or "college") did not have to pay for it, it wouldn't be such a gamble.

So, here's the political cause to pursue:

* Occupy your university campuses, state parliaments and governors' offices, together with existing and other incoming students, to

* Demand tuition-free higher education and free/discounted housing for students, in both "private" and state/federal-state-owned institutions, effective immediately. And let the federal government do some "quantitative easing" to pay for that - which they seem to have no problem doing ten times over to cover the financiers' losses.

Even in regular times, this is not an outlandish demand and not even revolutionary; it's a meaningful but not earth-shattering reform. In these times and with the Corona crisis it is closer than usual to achievability, especially w.r.t. the potential of mobilizing students.

PS - If organized labor in the US had not been so week, an alliance on common demands would have been quite relevant, but at the moment it's not a realistic recommendation.

Re: A twenty-year professor on starting college this fall: Don’t

#24

Post by RHSeeger »

wikibob wrote: post #21
frankbreetz wrote: post #18

As a millennial college graduate, my number one piece of advice to college bound high schoolers is do the first two years at community college. The debt is not worth the experience. Most people spend the first two years figuring stuff out, community college is a great place to do that. I didn't even know this was an option until after college and I feel failed by my high school college advisors. Unless you are very c…

Disagree. Graduation rates are drastically lower from community colleges. There is vastly less academic support available. The people around you will be vastly less ambitious. This will rub off on you. Yes 4 year university is now overpriced in America. But if you can, go to a 4 year university. Yes maybe go to an in-state university instead of out of state if that is cheaper, or go where you get the best financial a…

Also, make sure that the college(s) you want to go to have a plan in place to accept transfers from the one you want to start at. It does you no good to get two years under your belt at college A in preparation for college B, then find out college B is going to make you start over because the credits don't transfer. Also, how hard is it to get a spot in college B as a transfer from college A. You should know this going in.

Re: A twenty-year professor on starting college this fall: Don’t

#25

Post by jkmcf »

Hydraulix989 wrote: post #13

By the time it is fall, this professor's advice will be obsolete. The death rate is already slowing down in NYC and Italy. The curve is flattened in South Korea and China, and there, many are going outside to cafes and the Han River park. San Francisco has had a grand total of 20 deaths. US is already planning to gradually reopen the economy.

The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention said it's trying to understand why the patients retested positive for COVID-19 despite previous negative tests.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2020/04/18/COVID-19-Survivor...

Not to mention: Denver had a significant spike in 1918 when interventions were removed.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EVHzq2AWkAEhbJo.jpg

Note: I didn't locate this image on WashPo's site.

Re: A twenty-year professor on starting college this fall: Don’t

#26

Post by dmoy »

zdragnar wrote: post #4

I generally detest the large expense of universities given the difference between what they claim to offer and the actual value. That said, the options here seem to not be any better. Get a job? Fresh out of high school kidd are going to have a hard time finding gainful employment for awhile, especially in the hardest hit areas. Volunteer for a political campaign? Meh. That isn't much of a substitute, even if it has…

> Volunteer for a political campaign?

How is that an option, do they house and feed you if you vomubt for a political campaign?

Re: A twenty-year professor on starting college this fall: Don’t

#27

Post by perl4ever »

wikibob wrote: post #21
frankbreetz wrote: post #18

As a millennial college graduate, my number one piece of advice to college bound high schoolers is do the first two years at community college. The debt is not worth the experience. Most people spend the first two years figuring stuff out, community college is a great place to do that. I didn't even know this was an option until after college and I feel failed by my high school college advisors. Unless you are very c…

Disagree. Graduation rates are drastically lower from community colleges. There is vastly less academic support available. The people around you will be vastly less ambitious. This will rub off on you. Yes 4 year university is now overpriced in America. But if you can, go to a 4 year university. Yes maybe go to an in-state university instead of out of state if that is cheaper, or go where you get the best financial a…

What exactly is the negative consequence you are envisioning from 2 years at community college and 2 years at your in-state 4-year school, vs. all four years at the latter?

The typical alternative that people need to be guided away from is one of the for-profit "career" schools that doesn't have transferable credits and is way more expensive than community college.

Re: A twenty-year professor on starting college this fall: Don’t

#28

Post by icedchai »

glofish wrote: post #6

perhaps a little bit premature advice college students are not at risk to begin with - I'd recommend waiting closer to mid summer it might be the best time to attend college, fewer people enrolled, getting more attention from educators etc

Professors, faculty, and parents are at risk, though. If corona infects a dorm it will rip through like wildfire. You'll have 100's of asymptomatic carriers overnight.

Then they go home for break...

Re: A twenty-year professor on starting college this fall: Don’t

#29

Post by technicaldonut »

collegeburner wrote: post #20

I'm looking at college this fall and seriously wondering about this. I'll have to spend a lot of money if I go to an "elite" school, and the point of doing that is to make connections with my peers and with professors. I don't see the point of paying that kind of money for that sort of experience. That aside, not starting college may not be a good idea, either. Does anyone with more experience have advice on this? I…

This really depends on why you want to go to university. Is it just for the knowledge and nothing else? Save the money and self learn. Since you specifically mentioned developer, you can take a look here https://ossu.firebaseapp.com/#/curriculum

I've looked at and talked to a lot of different people at different universities in comp sci bachelors. For the most part the curriculum is the same. What sets some schools apart are what you do on the side and general academic environment.

Some people might say that going to university just for the sake of a degree might be a waste, but again this depends on you and your circumstances. There are companies that only hire people with a degree. It's a stupid way to make a hiring decision, but here we are.

I've actually just finished my masters degree in info systems and can definitely understand your thought process. Let me know if you have any other questions. More than happy to help.

Re: A twenty-year professor on starting college this fall: Don’t

#30

Post by [deleted] »

jkmcf wrote: post #25
Hydraulix989 wrote: post #13

By the time it is fall, this professor's advice will be obsolete. The death rate is already slowing down in NYC and Italy. The curve is flattened in South Korea and China, and there, many are going outside to cafes and the Han River park. San Francisco has had a grand total of 20 deaths. US is already planning to gradually reopen the economy.

The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention said it's trying to understand why the patients retested positive for COVID-19 despite previous negative tests. https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2020/04/18/COVID-19-Survivor... Not to mention: Denver had a significant spike in 1918 when interventions were removed. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EVHzq2AWkAEhbJo.jpg Note: I didn't locate this image on WashPo's site.

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