Posted on 01/03/2021 2:24:18 PM PST by CheshireTheCat
All throughout high school, Brian Williams planned to go to college. But as the pandemic eroded the final moments of his senior year, the Stafford, Texas, student began to second-guess that plan.
"I'm terrible at online school," Williams says. He was barely interested in logging on for his final weeks of high school; being online for his first semester at Houston Community College felt unbearable.
"I know what works best for me, and doing stuff on the computer doesn't really stimulate me in the same way an actual class would."
Paying for college was always going to be hard, but it was even harder to justify the expense during a pandemic. "We had no money for it," he says, "and I'm not trying to go into debt and pay that for the rest of my life."
He wondered if college in 2020 was "really worth it." So he postponed and instead got a job at Jimmy John's so he could start saving up.
Williams is one of hundreds of thousands of students who decided to put off higher education this year. According to new data from the National Student Clearinghouse, undergraduate enrollment this fall declined by 3.6% from the fall of 2019. That's more than 560,000 students and twice the rate of enrollment decline seen last year. Most of that decline occurred at community colleges, where enrollment fell by more than 10%...
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
Who said there is no good news?
My 19-year-old son has been working full-time at Walmart since late August. By fall 2021, when college might be back to normal, he’ll be a lot more mature with money in the bank if he decides he’s ready to have a goal and work hard.
Instead of Jimmy John’s, he should consider going to trade school for HVAC, plumbing or electricity.
He will learn more useful skills at Jimmy John’s than he would in the typical non-STEM college class.
Poor choice. He could have got an entry level job with a contractor, plumber, electrician, and made twice the money. Plus the work is more satisfying.
Why is the employment vision of our young people severely limited to college or fast food?
> Instead of Jimmy John’s, he should consider going to trade school for HVAC, plumbing or electricity. <
That’s excellent advice. A good from of mine has his own HVAC business. His biggest problem is finding good apprentices.
The drop was almost all community colleges, which is ironic because they’re so cheap that they ARE a cost-effective way to learn in the age of COVID.
no kidding.
my son is weeding for a neighbor and picking up 20-30 bucks here and there.
he wants to go into engineering.
See if he likes the idea of being a lineman.
Bingo! The most common complaint I hear from tradesmen is that "young people don't want to work". They can't find helpers or apprentices to pass skills onto the next generations.
College consumes a lot of money, time and beer just to teach narrow minded thinking and fear of opposing ideas.
Maybe students have wised up to the fact that they are overpaying for a product of decreasing value.
The article quotes a counselor who worries that without people in college, they will lose an educated citizenry. In point of fact, an educated citizenry is not dependent on higher education.
Another item that is not mentioned at all is the sense of value of college to individuals. Given the cost and the decreasing likelihood of getting a job in many areas, perhaps students are simply looking around and asking what the best way to achieve their dreams might be.
Also, the cost of college is addressed a bit - but other than layoffs at some schools, not acknowledged. When colleges costs start coming down, they might also see more enrollment.
I have often recommended a trade to him. However, I think it’s more likely to take with the next one, who is almost 17. There is a surveying course at our local community college that would have him ready for the workforce when he graduates from high school, and there are plenty of jobs.
But when you think about it being commuter schools students lose out a lot if classes are online and don’t have the camaraderie of other students in class. It sounds as if they recognize this.
Students who can afford to go away may go to college thinking that they will have the camaraderie of dorm life and not realize how covid restrictions have rendered dorms solitary confinement prisons until they get there.
Plus, students who can afford to go away usually have a lot more family pressure on them to go to college period.
Only learning that is taking place is hate white-E Caucasian self loathing and communism.
Yep. Today’s snowflakes don’t want to get cold, wet, work in the elements nor do anything that requires physical strength.
My tradesman husband could probably take 3 or 4 snowflake gen Zs and break them in half. He’s almost 53.
I do electrical distribution design, and there will be tons of jobs. My career field is old. The poles and equipment, are often old. A 2 year electrical degree and CAD experience help. I hope they both do well.
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