Santorum is right; college is overrated

I was curious to see what would happen to Rick Santorum after being subjected to the harsh glare of the media spotlight, now that he's the Republican flavor of the week. It speaks highly of him that one of the worst things you can say about him is about a comment he made about college attendance.

On MSNBC Monday night, Ed Shultz expressed shock that Santorum would say that President Obama is a snob for insisting that everyone goes to college. The progressive media framed his comment like this:

"President Obama once said he wants everybody in America to go to college. What a snob," Santorum said Saturday at the Americans for Prosperity Presidential Forum in Troy, Michigan.

At first glance, it seems odd that Santorum would think that Obama wanting people to be educated somehow makes him a snob. But here is his comment in context to some blue collar workers:

"There are good decent men and women who go out and work hard every day and put their skills to test that aren't taught by some liberal college professor to try to indoctrinate them. Oh, I understand why he wants you to go to college -- he wants to remake you in his image."

Santorum is saying that Obama is assuming that a worker doesn't have value if he doesn't possess a college degree.

I'd argue that people who go to college nowadays are often less useful to society than those who don't. The immigrant laborer who operates a Bobcat, drives a forklift, or digs trenches has more practical value to our nation than some college graduate who got his degree in communications or psychology or sociology or music or environmental science or education. The former's experience tethers him to reality; the latter is taught things that sever his ties to reality.

College is sort of an alternate universe--students go there without paying (up front, anyway), professors teach without having to worry about achieving results, and the money keeps flowing, thanks to generous government-backed loans.

When President Obama says that everyone needs to go to college, I start thinking about who is going to pay for that. Currently, it's the students, although they don't realize it yet. They can defer payments, but one day they wake up and realize they are $100,000 in debt and have no marketable skills.

Why does college cost so much more than it did a decade ago? Joe Biden said, "By the way, government subsidies have impacted upon rising tuition costs."

More people going to college means more people buried in debt, thanks to government subsidies. It might not be so bad if the students were learning something useful, but sadly, that's not the case.

I have a college degree and I’m not a snob and I wasn’t indoctrinated... I’m as conservative as you can get. That was the route I chose... to each his own.

I wouldn’t have gotten the fabulous job I have now if I didn’t have my degree. I work for a conservative, family-friendly company for conservative people. It’s my dream job.

It all depends on WHERE you go to college. I went to a state school here in Texas that I didn’t go deep into debt for. On my first day my history professor told us to return our history books because he wasn’t going to use it. He taught us REAL history. My geology professor had styrofoam rocks he’d throw at the sleeping morons in the back of the class. I had a wonderful,unforgettable experience that I would do all over again. No regrets.

College isn't over-rated, IF:

You learn a marketable skill, that pays well, has job security, and requires a college degree.
You don't pay more for college than the skill is worth.
You can afford it, or someone else is willing to pay for it.
You have the aptitude and desire to learn, instead of partying.

If you can't meet these prerequisites, then college is a waste of time and money.

There are plenty of jobs that don't require college. Some of them are dead-end jobs. But, there are many that aren't. The last requirement listed above also applies if you want to advance in any career.

I'll also note that "someone else willing to pay for it" isn't necessarily your parents, or a scholarship. If you have the aptitude and desire, it's not difficult to find an employer that is willing to pay your college tuition. But, you first have to demonstrate to them that you are worth the investment.

However, college is NOT an entitlement. That kind of attitude is what has created another "bubble" in higher education. Just like the relaxation of mortgage underwriting standards led to a bubble in house prices, the widespread availability of guaranteed student loans have created a bubble in university tuition.

As usual, government meddling in the market has had unintended consequences that are worse than the original "problem".

College has descended from “over-rated” to a complete joke.

Why?

1) Little of value is taught.

2) Colleges dropped classical logic, yet claim to teach “critical thinking skills.”

3) Teaching is more like indoctrination.

4) Because they receive a graduation certificate, students think themselves wise, when they are fools.

5) Students learn lifetime vices, like cheating, fornication, drug use, laziness, etc.

6) Students lose 4 years of earnings.

7) And people pay for this abuse.

As a genX author recently said, college is a bar with a 20-grand cover charge.

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