Community Chat

[Desert Lily]

It scares me to hear that some people think a solution is to acquire less knowledge in this highly tech, highly scientific world that also has global competition. No one would be on this website, on their cell phone, having medical cures, having an excellent military, etc. without higher education. Education should be made more afforndable and more available.

[Noel7]

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@blackhole99 wrote:

Higher education has always been expensive for the average person and almost out of the question for the poor. The rich can afford to send their kids to school and they don't worry about getting a high paying job out of the box so they can start paying back a loan. If an educator is honest they will tell the students the trades are a better bet for today. Unless you are great at math,you have no business in a 4 year college today. In fact, the colleges are just blowing smoke up your ___ to get your money and stay in business. Higher education is a waste if you can't put to use what you have learned. That's the thing, we are in debt getting an education and not actually learning something we can use to make money.

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Well, that's one person's depressing take on higher education, most of it not true in my experience.

It's very difficult to work your way through college nowadays, but not impossible.

It was easier when I was in college.  I worked two jobs, lived with roommates and didn't take a dime from anyone, no loans, either.  I doubt that's possible now, times have changed and not in a good way.

So many here are constantly pushing trade jobs, not basic college. That's great for those who want to work as tradespeople, but how are we going to get teachers, doctors, engineers, lawyers?

@LinaL  was correct, we rarely see anyone bashing people who don't have a college degree, but we see a lot of people here who routinely bash those who worked for and earned degrees, and made good use of them.

BTW, thanks for all the nurses here who worked hard to enter their profession.  You all are my favorite people

[KarenQVC]

The problem is that the best students are getting grants from the best BA colleges.  They are also the ones to get a crack at the best BA jobs.

Then there are the so-so students who borrow for degrees from the lower tier schools.  They leave with tons of debt and much poorer chances of getting a decent job.  This group pays for a Caddy and gets a Chevy.

[CrazyDaisy]

It really gets old when people continue to say people are bashing education when if fact that is not what is being said.

Would be more interested in this:

What is the purpose of a college degree?

Whatever you believe the purpose of a college degree is, given the high cost and high debt incurred by many could that purpose be achieved by other means?

[Noel7]

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@CrazyDaisy wrote:

It really gets old when people continue to say people are bashing education when if fact that is not what is being said.

Would be more interested in this:

What is the purpose of a college degree?

Whatever you believe the purpose of a college degree is, given the high cost and high debt incurred by many could that purpose be achieved by other means?

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Looking forward to your telling us all an alternative way of becoming a doctor or a nurse.  Shamanism, perhaps?

[CrazyDaisy]

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@Noel7 wrote:

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@CrazyDaisy wrote:

It really gets old when people continue to say people are bashing education when if fact that is not what is being said.

Would be more interested in this:

What is the purpose of a college degree?

Whatever you believe the purpose of a college degree is, given the high cost and high debt incurred by many could that purpose be achieved by other means?

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Looking forward to your telling us all an alternative way of becoming a doctor or a nurse.  Shamanism, perhaps?

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Well since I believe that the main purpose of a college degree is to prepare a person for a career, think that answers your sarcastic question.

[Cakers3]

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@CrazyDaisy wrote:

It really gets old when people continue to say people are bashing education when if fact that is not what is being said.

Would be more interested in this:

What is the purpose of a college degree?

Whatever you believe the purpose of a college degree is, given the high cost and high debt incurred by many could that purpose be achieved by other means?

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@CrazyDaisyDepends upon the career.  I had no student loans for my undergrad degree but did have a small one to accelerate finishing my graduate degree in order to move on faster to another graduate degree.

I needed those degrees for my chosen field.  I also doubled in a foreign language which gave me an edge in a competitive market back then.

I think the issue is what degree will promote finding a suitable job to financially sustain a person in the world.

What would be your suggestion for other means?

[Noel7]

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@CrazyDaisy wrote:

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@Noel7 wrote:

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@CrazyDaisy wrote:

It really gets old when people continue to say people are bashing education when if fact that is not what is being said.

Would be more interested in this:

What is the purpose of a college degree?

Whatever you believe the purpose of a college degree is, given the high cost and high debt incurred by many could that purpose be achieved by other means?

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Looking forward to your telling us all an alternative way of becoming a doctor or a nurse.  Shamanism, perhaps?

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Well since I believe that the main purpose of a college degree is to prepare a person for a career, think that answers your sarcastic question.

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No, it doesn't answer my question, you merely changed the subject so you wouldn't have to answer your own question, once given an example.

[CrazyDaisy]

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@Cakers3 wrote:

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@CrazyDaisy wrote:

It really gets old when people continue to say people are bashing education when if fact that is not what is being said.

Would be more interested in this:

What is the purpose of a college degree?

Whatever you believe the purpose of a college degree is, given the high cost and high debt incurred by many could that purpose be achieved by other means?

---

@CrazyDaisyDepends upon the career.  I had no student loans for my undergrad degree but did have a small one to accelerate finishing my graduate degree in order to move on faster to another graduate degree.

I needed those degrees for my chosen field.  I also doubled in a foreign language which gave me an edge in a competitive market back then.

I think the issue is what degree will promote finding a suitable job to financially sustain a person in the world.

What would be your suggestion for other means?

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Don't want to make assumptions, I get from many of the posts that some feel that a college degree is more of a general studies rather than preparation for a future career.  I think that general studies do not have to occur on a college campus.  There are many ways and methods to learn.  Military, travel, work various jobs, volunteer etc. all can provide knowledge, insight and skills employeers look for.  Society in general seems to be pushing high school graduates into colleges as the only option.  Even colleges are changing, preparing students for careers rather than general.

[Cakers3]

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@CrazyDaisy wrote:

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@Cakers3 wrote:

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@CrazyDaisy wrote:

It really gets old when people continue to say people are bashing education when if fact that is not what is being said.

Would be more interested in this:

What is the purpose of a college degree?

Whatever you believe the purpose of a college degree is, given the high cost and high debt incurred by many could that purpose be achieved by other means?

---

@CrazyDaisyDepends upon the career.  I had no student loans for my undergrad degree but did have a small one to accelerate finishing my graduate degree in order to move on faster to another graduate degree.

I needed those degrees for my chosen field.  I also doubled in a foreign language which gave me an edge in a competitive market back then.

I think the issue is what degree will promote finding a suitable job to financially sustain a person in the world.

What would be your suggestion for other means?

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Don't want to make assumptions, I get from many of the posts that some feel that a college degree is more of a general studies rather than preparation for a future career.  I think that general studies do not have to occur on a college campus.  There are many ways and methods to learn.  Military, travel, work various jobs, volunteer etc. all can provide knowledge, insight and skills employeers look for.  Society in general seems to be pushing high school graduates into colleges as the only option.  Even colleges are changing, preparing students for careers rather than general.

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@CrazyDaisy  Ok I understand better now what you meant.