There is a lot of generalization going on here. The Boomer and Gen X generations pushed college as the only way to get ahead in life and to delay getting married and having children. It worked for them. As more people went to college, it became much more competitive. You can't get into any college in my without at least at 3.8 GPA alo…
There is a lot of generalization going on here. The Boomer and Gen X generations pushed college as the only way to get ahead in life and to delay getting married and having children. It worked for them. As more people went to college, it became much more competitive. You can't get into any college in my without at least at 3.8 GPA along with very high test scores and loads of extracurriculars. Well meaning parents did everything for their kids so they could focus on academics just to have a fighting chance at going to college. The kids never learned basic life skills or got a high school job but they have terrific grades!
Degrees have become less valuable overall, so we ended up with a bunch of smart Millennials with no real life skills. They need years to catch up, have loads of student debt and live with a much higher cost of living.
Generational bickering is getting old. How do we fix the problem? For me, I'm teaching my boys to work hard, no social media, and not focusing on a college degree. They will be better off with a strong work ethic first and little to no debt.
Your comment - "degrees have become less valuable overall" - is definitely true, but with the understanding that the key word is "overall". Some degrees are worth far more than others.
We have two kids in their 20's - both of whom did well back in their high school days, and balanced academics, athletics, activities, and part-time jobs. My son majored in Computer Engineering in college and has started a nice career with a high-tech company and makes a very nice income. My daughter majored in Accounting/Finance and has started a nice career with a government agency making a pretty nice income.
Both of them are 1000 times better off than if they had majored in Gender Studies or Art History.
My daughter got a four year BA in geology, specifically geographic information science. She has received every job she ever applied for in the field. Really good jobs.
You can get into pretty much any state college by transferring from community college with good grades. The very high test scores and extracurriculars only matter if you have been duped into believing your future depends on getting into the college of your dreams, right away, as soon as you graduate high school.
my youngest son is a National Merit Scholar, top 2% of his class and did well on the SAT's. He received a partial scholarship offer from a smaller university ($22k per year). My wife was ecstatic until I pointed out that for that school with the scholarship offer it would still leave about $30k per year we would have to pay out of pocket.
There is a lot of generalization going on here. The Boomer and Gen X generations pushed college as the only way to get ahead in life and to delay getting married and having children. It worked for them. As more people went to college, it became much more competitive. You can't get into any college in my without at least at 3.8 GPA along with very high test scores and loads of extracurriculars. Well meaning parents did everything for their kids so they could focus on academics just to have a fighting chance at going to college. The kids never learned basic life skills or got a high school job but they have terrific grades!
Degrees have become less valuable overall, so we ended up with a bunch of smart Millennials with no real life skills. They need years to catch up, have loads of student debt and live with a much higher cost of living.
Generational bickering is getting old. How do we fix the problem? For me, I'm teaching my boys to work hard, no social media, and not focusing on a college degree. They will be better off with a strong work ethic first and little to no debt.
Your comment - "degrees have become less valuable overall" - is definitely true, but with the understanding that the key word is "overall". Some degrees are worth far more than others.
We have two kids in their 20's - both of whom did well back in their high school days, and balanced academics, athletics, activities, and part-time jobs. My son majored in Computer Engineering in college and has started a nice career with a high-tech company and makes a very nice income. My daughter majored in Accounting/Finance and has started a nice career with a government agency making a pretty nice income.
Both of them are 1000 times better off than if they had majored in Gender Studies or Art History.
My daughter got a four year BA in geology, specifically geographic information science. She has received every job she ever applied for in the field. Really good jobs.
This is great!
You can get into pretty much any state college by transferring from community college with good grades. The very high test scores and extracurriculars only matter if you have been duped into believing your future depends on getting into the college of your dreams, right away, as soon as you graduate high school.
my youngest son is a National Merit Scholar, top 2% of his class and did well on the SAT's. He received a partial scholarship offer from a smaller university ($22k per year). My wife was ecstatic until I pointed out that for that school with the scholarship offer it would still leave about $30k per year we would have to pay out of pocket.
State U here he comes
This is the best comment I have read today.