I wrote the following response to the article "Should All Students Got to College? The Media Obsession With the Wrong Question." over at aacu.org. However, the website wouldn't let me put it on there because of an incorrect capcha response when the website hadn't given me one to type in. Therefore, I thought I'd put it on this blog instead.
I have to present the opposing view that not all students should go to college. For starters, the colleges are filled with students who either don't want to be there or who don't want to be there for the right reasons. I once attended a college where the dorms were filled with rowdies. There was no quiet place to study, and I didn't feel safe there at all. A least half of the students were the tough sorts.
Secondly, it's costing a fortune in public money to have them there. Billions of dollars a year are being spent on students when half of them will never graduate, and this results in fewer resources for the serious students.
Although it's true that society benefits from having a large number of well-educated citizens, it's also worth considering Charles Murray's argument that only a minority of students have the intelligence to do college level work. Most students aren't really interested in their studies, and therefore, will forget what they've learned after the final exam. Also, a college student has already been in school for at least 13 years. Why aren't they graduating high school with the vocational skills they need along with the other general knowledge of history, civics, etc. which is needed to function as a citizen? The grade schools are also costing billions of dollars a year. What are they doing there all day, if the kids graduate without the knowledge they need in life? Earlier generations graduated high school with this knowledge.
There's also the argument that the employers keep saying that they need more college-educated employees now and in the future. If that's true, they should be making better use of the college graduates who are already around. Many graduates can't find work associated with their degrees, and many are doing jobs which don't require any college degree. There are even law school grads and MBAs in this category, and many of them have student loans which they can't pay back because of it.
I know it sounds unfair to say that not everyone should go to college.That's what I thought when I first heard that only about 15% of German young people ever go to university. However, I've lived in Germany for the past several years, and most young people learn their occupation during a three-year period in which they attend a paid apprenticeship some days of the week and attend a free vocational school on the other days. The vocational schools are considered part of the public school system. Other European countries have similar systems, which means that a European can get trained for a good job without starting life with a huge amount of debt. As most American students attend college because they want a good job, this kind of system might be worth considering in America. There's no indication that the vocational path is making people any less qualified as voters and citizens.
Showing posts with label college alternatives. Show all posts
Showing posts with label college alternatives. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
A Good Source of Free Online Courses
Free online courses are always appearing on the internet, and Annenberg Learner offers an interesting variety of them. There's an assortment of traditional college courses which are presented in the form of online video documentaries. Two foreign language courses are on offer, French in Action and two levels of the Destinos Spanish course. There's also a variety of history courses. One blogger thinks that the course A Biography of America could replace traditional history textbooks. Annenberg Learner might also be considered as a way to homeschool the "tough" high school subjects, as there are courses in chemistry, physics, microbiology, and statistics. Documentary series often present the material in a more entertaining and easy-to-absorb fashion than traditional textbooks, so Annenberg Learner might be worth a look.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
The Hourly Cost of College
Many people are thinking about the fact that college is getting increasingly expensive. According to the College Board, the average tuition at a public four-year college is $7,605, or $3,802.50 per semester. Presuming the student is taking 12 credit hours per semester, or four courses worth three credits each, that means that each course costs approximately $950. If the course meets three times a week, that means with a total of 42 class meetings, each meeting costs $22.62. College costs nearly $23 an hour, and that's not including textbooks, room and board, or any other additional costs.
For $23, the average class meeting doesn't cover much ground. A student studying the books at home could probably cover more ground during that hour than would be covered if he spent it in a classroom.This option also saves the transportation costs, and the student doesn't have to learn at a set time. It's often possible to find a suitable self-study book for less than $23, or even for free if you use library books. If you miss a class meeting on a college campus, that $23 is gone with nothing to show for it.
The colleges must be taking in a tremendous amount of money. If a class contains 30 students, the university has taken in $690 brutto for only one hour. A class in a large lecture hall with 100 students takes in $2300 for that same hour. Now imagine this occuring simultaneously in many classrooms campus-wide, all day, five days a week, all semester. Admittedly, the colleges do have the expenses of professors, staff, maintenance, etc., but a lot of the money which the schools take in these days is spent on non-essentials like huge sports stadiums, climbing walls, and other resort-style trappings. They charge a lot of money for things which you can mostly learn at home by yourself from books and the internet. Is doing college the old-fashioned way really worth it?
For $23, the average class meeting doesn't cover much ground. A student studying the books at home could probably cover more ground during that hour than would be covered if he spent it in a classroom.This option also saves the transportation costs, and the student doesn't have to learn at a set time. It's often possible to find a suitable self-study book for less than $23, or even for free if you use library books. If you miss a class meeting on a college campus, that $23 is gone with nothing to show for it.
The colleges must be taking in a tremendous amount of money. If a class contains 30 students, the university has taken in $690 brutto for only one hour. A class in a large lecture hall with 100 students takes in $2300 for that same hour. Now imagine this occuring simultaneously in many classrooms campus-wide, all day, five days a week, all semester. Admittedly, the colleges do have the expenses of professors, staff, maintenance, etc., but a lot of the money which the schools take in these days is spent on non-essentials like huge sports stadiums, climbing walls, and other resort-style trappings. They charge a lot of money for things which you can mostly learn at home by yourself from books and the internet. Is doing college the old-fashioned way really worth it?
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Low Cost Online College Courses
Online college courses
are popular with students who want to study at home, but they're frequently just as expensive as on-campus courses. Some colleges even stick on a "technology fee" for their online course offerings, thus making the online courses even more expensive. However, there is a cheaper option. Straighter Line offers many lower level college courses, and is constantly adding to their offerings. There are courses in English, math, business, and science, along with plans to add courses like anatomy and pharmacology. They offer the freshman year of college for $999, along with a subscription plan whereby if you pay $99 per month, you can get as many courses as you like for $39 each. Along with the instruction, these courses also come with the option of 10 hours of online tutoring. The courses are also self-paced. As for getting recognized credit for these courses, all three of the credit-by-exam colleges are on their list of partner colleges which accept their courses for credit. The courses are also recommended by the ACE for college credit. Straighter Line courses are worth considering for anyone looking for cheaper college options. Hopefully, they'll soon add on the sophomore year of college as well. Maybe it will one day be possible to get an associate's degree entirely through Straighter Line courses. The day in which college is only possible with massive expenses seems to be coming to an end. 
Friday, December 10, 2010
Foreign Distance Colleges Are a Low-Cost Alternative
Foreign universities have long been known to offer a more economical education than is offered in the US, but traveling to a foreign country to live there for a few years can be an obstacle in itself. Moving anywhere can be a hassle, and especially when you add on the bureaucracy of moving abroad. You also have to put your life at home on hold, leaving your job, family, home, and most of your belongings behind.
However, there's still a way of taking advantage of lower foreign tuition without the move. Many foreign colleges and universities offer degrees by distance learning at a much lower cost than the same degree would cost in the US. The University of South Africa is popular amongst distance learners who want to save money. This university offers a wide variety of degrees in the arts, sciences, business and technology. In fact, UNISA offers just about every degree which you'd expect to find at a large American university. A bachelor's degree takes three years, and only consists of courses which are directly related to the major. A computer science degree costs R7216 per semester, which is $1,054 according to xe.com. That's a total of $6324 for the six semesters. The last US college I attended now charges that amount for only one semester, and it takes eight to get the degree.
India also has numerous distance learning colleges which are cheaper than in the US. Annamalai University offers a wide variety of distance degrees, and the tuition is so low that I'm sure I'm missing something. However, the tuition for a Bachelor of Communication in international business is 8250 rupees, which is $182 according to xe.com. There are also MBAs on offer for 25850 rupees, or $569. Some degrees require traveling to India for a month for on-site instruction. The degrees which require this are mostly science degrees and degrees in music and dance. This website offers more information on India's distance learning schools.
An additional cost along with the textbooks would be test proctoring fees, as distance learning schools often require that the final exam be written under supervision. There's also the question of the degree being recognized back home, and there are a number of credential evaluation services which are helpful in this regard. The National Association of Credential Evaluation Services has a list of its members on their website.
With so many jobs being outsourced, outsourcing college is well-worth considering. A foreign distance degree offers yet another option of getting a college degree without putting your life on hold for four years and graduating with a lot of debt.
However, there's still a way of taking advantage of lower foreign tuition without the move. Many foreign colleges and universities offer degrees by distance learning at a much lower cost than the same degree would cost in the US. The University of South Africa is popular amongst distance learners who want to save money. This university offers a wide variety of degrees in the arts, sciences, business and technology. In fact, UNISA offers just about every degree which you'd expect to find at a large American university. A bachelor's degree takes three years, and only consists of courses which are directly related to the major. A computer science degree costs R7216 per semester, which is $1,054 according to xe.com. That's a total of $6324 for the six semesters. The last US college I attended now charges that amount for only one semester, and it takes eight to get the degree.
India also has numerous distance learning colleges which are cheaper than in the US. Annamalai University offers a wide variety of distance degrees, and the tuition is so low that I'm sure I'm missing something. However, the tuition for a Bachelor of Communication in international business is 8250 rupees, which is $182 according to xe.com. There are also MBAs on offer for 25850 rupees, or $569. Some degrees require traveling to India for a month for on-site instruction. The degrees which require this are mostly science degrees and degrees in music and dance. This website offers more information on India's distance learning schools.
An additional cost along with the textbooks would be test proctoring fees, as distance learning schools often require that the final exam be written under supervision. There's also the question of the degree being recognized back home, and there are a number of credential evaluation services which are helpful in this regard. The National Association of Credential Evaluation Services has a list of its members on their website.
With so many jobs being outsourced, outsourcing college is well-worth considering. A foreign distance degree offers yet another option of getting a college degree without putting your life on hold for four years and graduating with a lot of debt.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
The Case for Apprenticeships
When many people think of apprenticeships, they think of something from about two hundred years ago which wouldn't work in the modern world. At the very least, they see this as only being an option to train for a very small number of very specialized occupations. Still, it might be well worth considering reintroducing apprenticeships as an alternative to college in the United States for a number of reasons.
First, the main reason why most students go to college is the hope of getting a job. But very little of what one learns at college would be applicable to most jobs. Unless one's shooting towards an "academic" career like engineering or medicine, it's worth asking why so many employers demand college degrees for jobs which have nothing to do with academic knowledge. In Germany, most people learn their vocation through a paid apprenticeship which typically lasts for three years. During this time, the apprentice does on the job training a couple of days a week while visiting a vocational school on the other days. Although apprentices are only paid the equivalent of about $280 a month, it's quite a bit of money for the young people who do apprenticeships, who are normally between 15 to 18 years old at the time that they start. Also, the vocational schools are part of the public school system, so the vocational training is free.
Such a system would be a step forward in the US as it would reduce the number of young people starting out in life with a load of student loan debt. In the US, even most vocational schools charge some type of tuition. Considering the fact that a high school graduate has spent 13 years in school, it's interesting that most high school graduates have few, if any, vocational skills, when the supposed idea behind the school system is to prepare the kids for jobs. It seems that in the US, one has to go into debt in order to get vocational training if one doesn't have parents who are able or willing to pay for it. The only alternative is often unskilled, low-paid jobs which don't offer much chance for advancement.
Also, the option of paid apprenticeships would improve life on the college campuses, as the disinterested students might not be so interested in spending four years with academia when they can be spending the same time earning money. It would help to restore the universities' original image of being institutions of education and research, instead of the increasingly rowdy party image that they have. If only serious students attended colleges and universities, the degrees from these institutions would retain their value. In fact, their value might even increase, as it would be no longer necessary to dumb down the coursework and practice grade inflation for the sake of the students who really aren't college material. The campuses would also be safer, as not so many tough kids would make it in.
Finally, paid apprenticeships might reduce the costs of college. In most European and Asian countries, college is either low-cost or free. If American colleges were populated with fewer students, but students with better academic skills, it might be possible to provide American students with this same advantage.
Some people would say that it's not fair to only give the smarter kids the chance to go to college. After all, shouldn't the American value of equality give everybody an equal chance? I admit that I also thought it was unfair when I first heard that only about 15% of German young people ever attend a university. That was before I came to Germany. Most German young people aspire to an apprenticeship, and consider it a bad thing if they don't find one. On the other hand, America's colleges are filled with students who don't really want to learn. About half of them drop out before getting their degree, many of them during or just after their freshman year. As most colleges are heavily funded with public money, that's a lot of wasted tax money, let alone the money that their parents often waste. If the reason why they want to go to college is to train for a job, it would be better to use the time and money to actually teach them a trade.
As the costs of education continue to rise and the number of student loan horror stories rises with them, it's worth considering changes in the education system to lower costs. If the US is supposed to be the land of opportunity, these reforms should try to make it possible to learn a vocation without excessive costs. Apprenticeships would be one good option, as would teaching more vocational skills in the high schools, so that kids would leave the public school system with the job skills necessary to support themselves.
First, the main reason why most students go to college is the hope of getting a job. But very little of what one learns at college would be applicable to most jobs. Unless one's shooting towards an "academic" career like engineering or medicine, it's worth asking why so many employers demand college degrees for jobs which have nothing to do with academic knowledge. In Germany, most people learn their vocation through a paid apprenticeship which typically lasts for three years. During this time, the apprentice does on the job training a couple of days a week while visiting a vocational school on the other days. Although apprentices are only paid the equivalent of about $280 a month, it's quite a bit of money for the young people who do apprenticeships, who are normally between 15 to 18 years old at the time that they start. Also, the vocational schools are part of the public school system, so the vocational training is free.
Such a system would be a step forward in the US as it would reduce the number of young people starting out in life with a load of student loan debt. In the US, even most vocational schools charge some type of tuition. Considering the fact that a high school graduate has spent 13 years in school, it's interesting that most high school graduates have few, if any, vocational skills, when the supposed idea behind the school system is to prepare the kids for jobs. It seems that in the US, one has to go into debt in order to get vocational training if one doesn't have parents who are able or willing to pay for it. The only alternative is often unskilled, low-paid jobs which don't offer much chance for advancement.
Also, the option of paid apprenticeships would improve life on the college campuses, as the disinterested students might not be so interested in spending four years with academia when they can be spending the same time earning money. It would help to restore the universities' original image of being institutions of education and research, instead of the increasingly rowdy party image that they have. If only serious students attended colleges and universities, the degrees from these institutions would retain their value. In fact, their value might even increase, as it would be no longer necessary to dumb down the coursework and practice grade inflation for the sake of the students who really aren't college material. The campuses would also be safer, as not so many tough kids would make it in.
Finally, paid apprenticeships might reduce the costs of college. In most European and Asian countries, college is either low-cost or free. If American colleges were populated with fewer students, but students with better academic skills, it might be possible to provide American students with this same advantage.
Some people would say that it's not fair to only give the smarter kids the chance to go to college. After all, shouldn't the American value of equality give everybody an equal chance? I admit that I also thought it was unfair when I first heard that only about 15% of German young people ever attend a university. That was before I came to Germany. Most German young people aspire to an apprenticeship, and consider it a bad thing if they don't find one. On the other hand, America's colleges are filled with students who don't really want to learn. About half of them drop out before getting their degree, many of them during or just after their freshman year. As most colleges are heavily funded with public money, that's a lot of wasted tax money, let alone the money that their parents often waste. If the reason why they want to go to college is to train for a job, it would be better to use the time and money to actually teach them a trade.
As the costs of education continue to rise and the number of student loan horror stories rises with them, it's worth considering changes in the education system to lower costs. If the US is supposed to be the land of opportunity, these reforms should try to make it possible to learn a vocation without excessive costs. Apprenticeships would be one good option, as would teaching more vocational skills in the high schools, so that kids would leave the public school system with the job skills necessary to support themselves.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Is College Really a Good Investment?
In an earlier post, I discussed some of the nightmares I experienced at a public college in Memphis. If I'd had the money at the time, I would have applied to a private college there. Ideally, I would have attended Rhodes College, one of the more elite schools in Memphis which has beautiful Gothic architecture with stained glass windows. I recently looked at Rhodes' website, and although it still seems like a very good school, the costs make me wonder if I really regret not going.
The tuition is $34,000 a year, meaning that a four-year degree at this college costs $136,000. If I had gone to this college, I'd now be wondering what other things I could have done with the money. If it was invested with a 10% return, it would produce $13,600 per year, and as a frugal person, I could live well on that. $136,000 is also enough money to buy a house outright, and would therefore mean not having a rent or mortgage payment each month. Being the single biggest expense in most households, getting rid of this expense is a giant leap towards financial independence.
There's also the question of whether or not it makes sense to pay all that money for an education when the contents of it are available cheaper elsewhere. For the past few months, I've been maintaining a list of free online textbooks on this website, and I'm frequently amazed at how much stuff is out there. If I attended a brick-and-mortar college at this point, I'd feel foolish for spending money on something that I know I can get for free. Not to mention the fact that it's easier to get information online at my own convenience rather than having to go to classes at a set time.
Last but not least, there's always the never-ending supply of college horror stories. My latest find is The Five Year Party, a blog written by a former journalism professor at one of the "party colleges," who gave up after a twelve-year teaching career. His blog is filled with horror stories, and he's also written a book about his experiences. It's well worth a visit if you're considering a brick-and-mortar college.
All in all, I'm glad to be doing college homeschool-style. Although I was never in the position to apply to a private college, I'm beginning to think that it was a blessing in disguise. Amongst other things, I probably wouldn't be writing this blog, and I always enjoy seeing what cheaper alternatives there are to the traditional college experience.
The tuition is $34,000 a year, meaning that a four-year degree at this college costs $136,000. If I had gone to this college, I'd now be wondering what other things I could have done with the money. If it was invested with a 10% return, it would produce $13,600 per year, and as a frugal person, I could live well on that. $136,000 is also enough money to buy a house outright, and would therefore mean not having a rent or mortgage payment each month. Being the single biggest expense in most households, getting rid of this expense is a giant leap towards financial independence.
There's also the question of whether or not it makes sense to pay all that money for an education when the contents of it are available cheaper elsewhere. For the past few months, I've been maintaining a list of free online textbooks on this website, and I'm frequently amazed at how much stuff is out there. If I attended a brick-and-mortar college at this point, I'd feel foolish for spending money on something that I know I can get for free. Not to mention the fact that it's easier to get information online at my own convenience rather than having to go to classes at a set time.
Last but not least, there's always the never-ending supply of college horror stories. My latest find is The Five Year Party, a blog written by a former journalism professor at one of the "party colleges," who gave up after a twelve-year teaching career. His blog is filled with horror stories, and he's also written a book about his experiences. It's well worth a visit if you're considering a brick-and-mortar college.
All in all, I'm glad to be doing college homeschool-style. Although I was never in the position to apply to a private college, I'm beginning to think that it was a blessing in disguise. Amongst other things, I probably wouldn't be writing this blog, and I always enjoy seeing what cheaper alternatives there are to the traditional college experience.
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