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False Advertising for College Is Pretty Much the Norm

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Re: False Advertising for College Is Pretty Much the Norm

#241

Post by sadamznintern »

toomanybeersies wrote: post #239
sadamznintern wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Seems like you overtuned things and hit a lot of diminishing returns, where you worked hard but didn't see much for it, but now you assume people who work less hard have seen even less I know for a fact people who have worked less hard have more...but again, mostly at better schools, or have wealthier backgrounds or are just plain luckier than me. I guess the real problem is I'm still a failure no matter how much e…

I don't want to sound like some bullshit life coach, but are you really a failure, or are you just measuring success wrong?

Probably both. I"m just angry that I had to work hard for [relatively] little when I could have just done nothing for 4 years and been in the same spot or better.

Re: False Advertising for College Is Pretty Much the Norm

#242

Post by AnimalMuppet »

dragonwriter wrote: post #238
AnimalMuppet wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are there competency-based degree programs that grant a degree that is generally recognized (by employers and/or grad schools)?

In that most employers (and grad schools) generally recognize degrees from accredited institutions, yes. Obviously, there aren't any with the prestige of top traditional schools.

Could you name a few of these accredited competency-based institutions?

Re: False Advertising for College Is Pretty Much the Norm

#243

Post by kermittd »

lsiebert wrote: post #38
sigfubar wrote: post #12

I think that most people shouldn't aspire to go to college. They should learn a trade instead in order to become a plumber, carpenter, electrician, or car mechanic. There are lots of occupations that don't require a college degree, yet provide a solid paycheck without the crushing mass of student debt accrued in the pursuit of a useless degree. Michael Bloomberg himself said it best: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2…

That implies that college is only important for skill transfer towards an occupation. Historically, part of college was to help an individual grow personally and intellectually, to learn not just what to think, but how to think clearly, in order to better engage with civil society as an active participant. It's always a little off-putting when I see people suggest that higher education is just for a job, and discount…

The fact that college can teach critical thinking I find highly suspect. Also when exactly does all the critical thinking skills "taught" activate?

Is it after my freshman year, going into my senior year, or only once I have that holy piece of paper (a college degree).

Regarding history...well historically colleges were for wealthy white men/the upper class.

Re: False Advertising for College Is Pretty Much the Norm

#244

Post by kermittd »

toomanybeersies wrote: post #50
lsiebert wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That implies that college is only important for skill transfer towards an occupation. Historically, part of college was to help an individual grow personally and intellectually, to learn not just what to think, but how to think clearly, in order to better engage with civil society as an active participant. It's always a little off-putting when I see people suggest that higher education is just for a job, and discount…

The viewpoint that college is a place for vocational education seems to be a very common viewpoint here on HN, a similar viewpoint seems to be that it's normal and easy to pack your life up and relocate so XYZ city because cost of living is low and wages are high, or some other reason. I guess being a tech-centred community this is to be expected. I don't know about others, but for me university was an important expe…

Fair point about your experience but at the same time some people hate(ed) their formal educational experience and/or had to work constantly through college.

Re: False Advertising for College Is Pretty Much the Norm

#246

Post by dragonwriter »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #242
dragonwriter wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In that most employers (and grad schools) generally recognize degrees from accredited institutions, yes. Obviously, there aren't any with the prestige of top traditional schools.

Could you name a few of these accredited competency-based institutions?

Here's a few, there are more:

Western Governors University

Brandman University MyPath

Southern New Hampshire University College for America

Re: False Advertising for College Is Pretty Much the Norm

#247

Post by dan-robertson »

_hardwaregeek wrote: post #27

It's extremely hard to get good, unbiased information on colleges. Almost every news source is either based on metrics that students don't care about (number of papers published by the department, NSF grants, etc), or basically advertising done by the school itself. If there was a way to get information about schools, stuff like "oh XYZ college has really great campus life" or "ABC college has an amazing hackathon co…

A problem with this is that it’s harder to do useful comparisons when most people have experience of only one of the things being compared. Eg if students say they are happy, does that mean the College is good or that they just bring in students who were happier than average in the first place.

Re: False Advertising for College Is Pretty Much the Norm

#248

Post by vertex-four »

foldr wrote: post #220
mrguyorama wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Part time education in america is still expensive

It's not free in the UK. The open university certainly isn't cheap.

You get the OU funded the same way you get regular university funded, in Scotland at least.

Re: False Advertising for College Is Pretty Much the Norm

#249

Post by foldr »

vertex-four wrote: post #248
foldr wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not free in the UK. The open university certainly isn't cheap.

You get the OU funded the same way you get regular university funded, in Scotland at least.

Well, yes, you can fund it by borrowing the money, but only if you don't already have a degree.

Re: False Advertising for College Is Pretty Much the Norm

#250

Post by weberc2 »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #223
ryandrake wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are only willing to pay X because X=Y+Z, where Y is what they can afford and Z is the max loan they can get. If they couldn’t get that loan Z, market forces would cause college costs to approach Y.

True, but then only rich parents would be able to send their kids to college, because they'd be able to win all the bidding wars.

We don’t have to speculate. There was a time before the federal student loan program and tuition prices were roughly 10% of their current price.
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