I agree with most of the posters on here, but would sum it up as follows:
1.) Do not bitch about the cost of an Ivy League education. We don’t want to hear it.
2.) A college education is not the end-all be-all to success in life.
3.) How you approach your education and what you do with your knowledge for an employer is more important than where you went and how much you paid.
4.) If a parent is assuming the entire cost of the education without requiring the student to work and contribute, do not bitch. We don’t want to hear it.
I got my degree from a state college after spending four years in the Navy. My parents gave me free room and board, but I had a job the entire time and commuted to school.
I think I provide quality work and good value for my employer, and even though I got degrees in both Nuclear Medicine and Chemistry, I have never, ever used my BS in Chemistry, and stopped working in Nuclear Medicine in 1996. What I learned in college that was useful was not how to titrate a solution or calculate how much isotope would decay over time. What was useful was learning how to think things through and analyze a problem.
I agree with everything in your post.
I bitch/complain about college costs today because I have 4 kids I want to help attend college. And the fact is, college costs for the working middle class, those with no special preferences, are screwed. I probably should be thankful that my eldest is a female intending to major in engineering since there’s still a quota not met in that field. Many colleges are still heavily recruiting females for engineering. I have no doubt she’ll get a full scholarship (tuition) and possibly a merit scholarship for books or fees. Until I see those numbers on paper, I’m still going to worry how we’ll help her pay.
My husband works with a guy who never went to college and he pulls a salary more than any in their group. However, if he were applying for the job today, his app would be tossed in the trash. That’s the reality.