We're back from a few days on the road. The Benster is beginning his college selection process and we went traveling through the largely frozen Midwest to check out a few possible landing spots.
The value of higher education is questionable these days. Most of the places we looked at are going to net out at about $50K/year, which would be far more than we could ever pay. Financial aid will likely cover a large part of the bill, but the key will be to find a way to foot the bill without saddling the family with crushing debt. Also key is finding a job that is better that doesn't involve a tip jar.
One thing becomes evident on these trips -- colleges have been devoting significant coin to feather their nests in recent years. My alma mater, Beloit College, has been buying up buildings and renovating them for a number of years now; they bought the old city public library and have turned it into a performing arts center, a multi-million dollar renovation. Now, the college is pursuing the purchase of an old power plant, a massive space that would be turned into a student activities Taj Mahal.
It's easy to see why this is happening. One of the schools we visited on our trip, St. Olaf, has conference facilities that compare favorably to the spaces in a modern office tower. Another school we visited, Cornell College in tiny Mount Vernon, Iowa, is awash with construction and renovation projects all over campus. I'm not clear how these projects will improve the quality of a Cornell education, but it surely will look pretty.
I'm a believer in the value of a liberal arts education, mostly because it took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up. It's not certain that prospective employers place similar value on such an education. It's one of many things that we'll have to weigh as we go through this process.
9 comments:
Believe me, a science/engineering education isn't the golden ticket it used to be either.
The main thing to realize going into college these days is that your degree will not get you a job when you graduate. It's what you do in addition to it that will make you competitive. Internship, work/study, writing for the paper, editing a lit mag, working as a research assistant...that kind of thing.
Good luck to Ben, and to you.
Perhaps my ancient history will be instructive in choosing a major. When I graduated, I was hired by a big company. When asked why, the recruiter said, "You've proven two things: that you can stick at something for four years, and that you have learned the language of your major. Everything else we will teach you." Then, when I went in for orientation with 1000 other new hires (literally), people were asked their major (engineering, chemistry, business, whatever) and what "assignment" they wanted. About half of them switched on the spot! 6 months later I entered a largely different field and spent a career there.
J. Ewing
J. Ewing
You might take a look at College Plus. Tiger Lilly now has more than 70 credits accumulated between CP and PSEO while working and living at home. We could talk about it.
http://www.collegeplus.org/
What Brian says. Engineers and scientists are being increasingly treated as a commodity, not as a fountain of ideas from whence come the next generation of products. Not that I'm bitter or anything at those.....oh never mind. :^)
If I were to go through college again, I'd make a point of getting more of a liberal arts education. Might or might not go into engineering again.
Yeah, it's a tough question. I think a lot depends on what his goals actually are.
In the back of my mind, I've got a plan to guide my kids toward trade school. Shorter, much less expensive, with job opportunities on the other side. This will give them a financial footing to get going with life and also to pursue something else if they really want to. It's an idea.
I refer to the college building craze as the "arms race". Young minds are impressed, as are some parents, by these new buildings. It's a safe haven for their babies.
Why do they build--because they can. This is the next bubble--and the cost will be borne by academic staff and faculty. And us if they can squeeze anymore.
Yeah, it's a tough question. I think a lot depends on what his goals actually are.
Aside from world domination and HYYYYPPPPE, that's a good question.
This is the next bubble--and the cost will be borne by academic staff and faculty. And us if they can squeeze anymore.
Yep. The bubble will burst soon, too.
the bubble cannot burst until the govt stops funding it.
if i had to do it again, i would have opted for trades, or some kind of engineering in a hands on manner... where i actually did something that i could drive past and point: yeah, i did that (when it didnt involve some act of mischif.)
oh, and i would actually arrive in class daily, sober and on time.
for me, (junior) college afforded too much freedom that i was not responsibly up to handling at that period of my life.
the path of my life was set during those 4yrs i should have been in college. i think that was the best lesson i ever learned, though belatedly...
for Benster: there is cheap, quality, education in the military if he chooses the right MOS.
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