Posted on 06/05/2011 7:42:28 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Did Peter Thiel pop the bubble? That was the question on the minds of parents, taxpayers and higher education leaders late last month when the co-founder of PayPalannounced that he was offering $100,000 to young people who would stay out of college for two years and work instead on scientific and technological innovations. Thiel, who has called college “the default activity,” told USA Today that “the pernicious side effect of the education bubble is assuming education [guarantees] absolute good, even with steep student fees.”
He has lured 24 of the smartest kids in America and Canada to his Silicon Valley lair with promises of money and mentorship for their projects. Some of these young people have been working in university labs since before adolescence. Others have consulted for Microsoft, Coca-Cola and other top companies. A couple didn’t even have to face the choice of putting off college — one enrolled in college at age 12 and, at 19, had left his PhD studies at Stanford to start his own company.
Of course, Thiel’s offer isn’t going to change the way most universities do business anytime soon. These 24 kids represent the narrowest swath of the country’s college-bound youth. (Though it’s important to note: When we talk about America having the greatest system of higher education in the world, these are the kind of people we’re bragging about.)
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Unfortunately, College is excessively expensive. It is “big business.”
Local accredited community colleges and smaller universities can offer degrees for A LOT less money than the huge institutions. Plus the smaller colleges don’t have the facilities for dorms — a huge expense. So they can’t demand that students live on campus. Plus the added distractions of the “campus life” are much less. After all, the function of higher education is to learn.
Thanks SeekAndFind.
Depends on the degree, too. What is the end goal? — a job.
That's the "benefit" part of "cost-benefit" analysis.
If you are going to be qualified to work at Walmart with your degree, you probably shouldn't spend much on it.
If you're going to be qualified to do heart surgery, you can probably spend a bit more.
Student loans are a scam —there are no consumer protection laws on them, and if you find yourself a sociology PhD with no way to earn money, bankruptcy won’t wipe them out —there’s no relief.
It’s fine that fools should suffer, but hey, the system is set up to enslave students and prop up liberal arts profs who have nothing to offer the private sector.
They say the default rate on such loans is myabe 5% but that’s wrong —it’s like 40%. They’re keeping it quite so that all sorts of people who shoud not be in college are kept there, paying and keeping the system rolling.
After the dollar crashes I think everyone at leading Universities will be from China. The system will be as healthy as ever —it will simply have changed hands.
Since the leftist ‘academics’ have taken charge, colleges primary goal is turning out brainwashed kids without marketable skills. They preach social justice but have no problem extracting hundreds of thousands of dollars from students. That afterall, benefits them, which is their real agenda.
A huge part of college teaching is that companies underpay their workers and give paltry benefits, but just look at what they pay T.A.’s.
Greed in business? Online courses often cost more than their in-person equivalents, while costing considerably less.
The University system is greedy, and enslaves KIDS.
A prof mark you down or harass you, simply because you’re conservative? You have no legal recourse.
College is useless nowadays and only pushes the left wing agenda. You don’t need a degree to succeed in life you need common sense and hard work.
Yup. And this kind of discussion is good. Sort of a free market solution or cost/benefit analysis. And it grounds us all to the real reason for College — to “learn a trade.” Otherwise, why bother.
Community College dormitories are a current but little known issue in New York.
From Community College Week, whatever that is: "Meeting student demand, bolstering their images and generating revenue are behind the move of several New York community colleges which are opening, planning or contemplating student housing.
But the colleges are finding they must clear difficult legal and political hurdles to build student housing.
College officials must overcome state regulations which prohibit community colleges from building or acquiring dorms, working through indirect mechanisms such as contracting through their foundations or non-profits for the lease or construction of dorms."
I don't know what's behind the push for these dormitories but it's intransigent. Real people are all against it.
Education is not big business, it’s big government. For some reason it’s the one soft spot that even Freepers have for government. I can think of nothing more detrimental to our country than to have the government teach our children. It is a self propagating system that breeds more and more government and stupidity. Government education = religion.
Oh it’s priceless because it makes you a superior human being. Just ask anyone who has one.
Yes, what the heck is going on??
Maybe it is thought to be one of those “selling points” to attract students. But the overhead and ultimately the cost to the student to support it is prohibitive.
that was called common sense before it was taught in college.
Two areas a college education should include:
How to start a business and how to obtain government grants and tax breaks.
That is the question. There is no good answer forthcoming.
Maybe it is thought to be one of those “selling points” to attract students. But the overhead and ultimately the cost to the student to support it is prohibitive.
An argument is that the dorms are necessary for the CCs to remain competitive. Competitive with what? The parking lots are full so they are not lacking students.
And you're right about the costs. Costs both to the schools and to the surrounding communities.
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