College

[final fight cd]

Looks like you didn't put in much.[/quote]

ouch. that was harsh!!

[MrPopo]

The main problem I had with college is I went from an absolutely fantastic high school experience to a dry, mediocre college experience. That said, I did learn things in college that I've used in my job, but I could have just as easily learned them from a book. The real reason the college degree is a requirement for many professional jobs is that it lets employers get a sense, no matter how imperfect, of how you might do in the work world. Getting through college takes a certain amount of dedication; getting good grades even more so. So your degree and your GPA are a way for employers to be able to determine whether you will work hard or not. Then for the applied degrees (engineering) employers also know that you will have a certain knowledge base that can be built upon.

Of course, once you get a few years of work experience your degree becomes less important from a hiring perspective.

[Limewater]

I've come to the conclusion that college is simply there to suck the money out of young kids who go to college because it's what you do.

I've learned a lot in college, no doubt. Much about life, much from books. Regardless, I haven't learned $15,000 I couldn't have taught myself from books.

It's a racket really.

Then again, maybe I'm jaded. I am at one of the largest schools in the nation, and the number of absolute idiots here is astounding.

I think there is some truth to this statement. In some regards it is a racket. It's pretty pathetic that they teach junior-high level mathematics in college.

"In one century we went from teaching Latin and Greek in high school to offering remedial English in college."
-- Joseph Sobran

For students like this, it really is a racket. And at state schools you will find a lot of people who don't really have any business in college. But that's at a state school. People say that the difference between Ivy League students and students at state schools isn't in the top five percent, but in the bottom ninety-five percent.

[fastbilly1]

Ive never had an employer ask for my college GPA, ever. Even when I was first out of college. But what Popo said is true, it is a sign that you are dedicated enough to push through it. I may not use what I learned in my class that was in a slaughter house in my day to day life, but because of that class I know how far I can push my body and mind before they start to shut off.

[Anapan]

One plus side: The girls are hot! I loved walking around the campus perving at girls during breaks and lunch. That's the part I miss the most.

[Inazuma]

I strongly believe that education is a very important thing. However, I dislike school. I don't think it's the best way to learn. If I want to learn something, I learn it myself. I tried taking college classes for Japanese language but ended up dropping the class and teaching myself.

A big part of the reason I dislike school is wasted time. If I already know the material, I don't want to be taught it again. Also, there are some things I just don't care to learn about, so that would be a waste of time too. If I go to college with the goal of learning computer programming, I will be required to take classes on psychology, history, etc. Fuck that. What a horrible waste.

Money would be another reason. The amount they charge for college is absurd. Then you have to buy super expensive textbooks even though you only use em for a few months. Hell, they charge you for parking as well. It's all about making money. Actually teaching the students doesn't matter, so long as it keeps the money coming in.

Now, it would be easy to just say "fuck it" and not do college. However, it's not that easy. The vast majority of good jobs require a college degree. They don't give two shits about your abilities or intelligence. They only want people who took out a massive loan to pay for many years of college. Sad but true, a moron with a college degree will be hired before a competent person without a degree.

So that brings us to the problem. Smart people who didn't go to college have a hard time getting jobs. They have the skills but nothing to show for it. What I would like to see happen is the implementation of a new method for acquiring a college degree.

Someone should be able to visit a college, prove to them that they are worthy of having a degree by showing their skills, and receive the degree without having to waste time and money by taking all those classes.

If that sounds too simple, I have another idea. For each individual class, the very first thing the students should do is take the final exam. If someone is smart enough to pass it, they should instantly get credit for completing the class and not have to pay for it. They can quickly move on to the next class.

Now, how come these ideas will never actually happen? Yep, you guessed right. Money! If I went to a college asking to take a level 3 Japanese class, they would demand that I pay for and waste my time doing levels 1 and 2 first, even though it probably wouldn't be necessary. Education isn't their top priority. It's money.

tl;dr
School isn't nearly as good as it could be and that's because making money is more important than actually helping students learn.

Oh btw, I dropped out of college, for those who were wondering.

[Limewater]

If someone is smart enough to pass it, they should instantly get credit for completing the class and not have to pay for it. They can quickly move on to the next class.

Actually, this does exist:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_Le ... on_Program

I'm not sure all schools participate, though.

Also, the requirement to take classes unrelated to your desired subject of study isn't necessarily a result of greed on the part of schools. A big part of it can be accreditation. For example, if you wish to study Engineering, you can find schools that don't require you to take English or History classes. However, those schools won't have ABET accreditation. In Engineering, and ABET degree is more valuable than a non-ABET degree because it means that you meet some minimal standards of competence and a have a sufficiently broad range of experience and ability for the employer to have some idea what they're getting.

[slowslow325]

I strongly believe that education is a very important thing. However, I dislike school. I don't think it's the best way to learn. If I want to learn something, I learn it myself. I tried taking college classes for Japanese language but ended up dropping the class and teaching myself.

A big part of the reason I dislike school is wasted time. If I already know the material, I don't want to be taught it again. Also, there are some things I just don't care to learn about, so that would be a waste of time too. If I go to college with the goal of learning computer programming, I will be required to take classes on psychology, history, etc. Fuck that. What a horrible waste.

Money would be another reason. The amount they charge for college is absurd. Then you have to buy super expensive textbooks even though you only use em for a few months. Hell, they charge you for parking as well. It's all about making money. Actually teaching the students doesn't matter, so long as it keeps the money coming in.

Now, it would be easy to just say "fuck it" and not do college. However, it's not that easy. The vast majority of good jobs require a college degree. They don't give two shits about your abilities or intelligence. They only want people who took out a massive loan to pay for many years of college. Sad but true, a moron with a college degree will be hired before a competent person without a degree.

So that brings us to the problem. Smart people who didn't go to college have a hard time getting jobs. They have the skills but nothing to show for it. What I would like to see happen is the implementation of a new method for acquiring a college degree.

Someone should be able to visit a college, prove to them that they are worthy of having a degree by showing their skills, and receive the degree without having to waste time and money by taking all those classes.

If that sounds too simple, I have another idea. For each individual class, the very first thing the students should do is take the final exam. If someone is smart enough to pass it, they should instantly get credit for completing the class and not have to pay for it. They can quickly move on to the next class.

Now, how come these ideas will never actually happen? Yep, you guessed right. Money! If I went to a college asking to take a level 3 Japanese class, they would demand that I pay for and waste my time doing levels 1 and 2 first, even though it probably wouldn't be necessary. Education isn't their top priority. It's money.

tl;dr
School isn't nearly as good as it could be and that's because making money is more important than actually helping students learn.

Oh btw, I dropped out of college, for those who were wondering.

I completely agree

And about the your first paragraph, A lot of members of this website can probably tell the release date of any console along with an extensive history, critic reception, and a personal review and can say something (whether it be the history of or something else) of thousands of individual video games; even though they weren't taught it. Yet, those same members may have failed history and probably couldn't say the birth date or even who an important member of history was; even thought they were taught it. It's all about caring enough about something to learn and remember information.

[dlmvii]

I can't think about anything else but getting out of college. Counting down the days. 92 left. But I agree with your sentiment, I haven't learned but a few things in 3.5 years at a university :\

2217 hours. Just saying.

so are you saying you didn't learn anything because are astute and already knew everything there is to know?

or are you saying you didn't learn anything because you didn't put any effort into it?

i have a feeling it is the latter. you get out what you put in.

I'm not saying I'm a genius, but I'm certainly no slouch academic wise, I do fairly well. Only in maybe one class I have taken have I had to prove my intelligence. This isn't to say I'm so great I know everything about everything, I definitely don't. But most classes just require students to go through the motions, and don't present any sort of real challenge outside of an occasional large workload (which isn't necessarily difficult, more time consuming)
I interned in my intended field of employment for 6 months, and I learned way more in those 6 months than I did in 4 years of school, and to be honest, I think those 6 months will be what helps me get a job anyways, instead of a degree.

@Inazuma:

If I went to a college asking to take a level 3 Japanese class, they would demand that I pay for and waste my time doing levels 1 and 2 first, even though it probably wouldn't be necessary. Education isn't their top priority. It's money.

I agree with your points, but I think at most schools you can test into a higher language through a competency test. Where I am going, you take entrance exams on math and english (both required), and many other things optionally, like chemistry, foreign language, etc. So if I can demonstrate on that test that I know two years of Japanese or whatever, I don't have to take the first two years.
Of course, you still have the minimum credit requirement to graduate, so you have to pick up credits from somewhere else, even if it does not pertain to your major at all. I feel the money you brought up is strictly to blame here :\

[Frag Mortuus]

One on the points that most college's try to enforce is how to think critically. I hear everyday how people in my classes bitch because an answer on an assignment wasnt in the book or notes. However, if you applied what you learned in the book AND OTHER CLASSES, you should have been able to discern the answer by evaluating the issue, ruled out incorrect answers and decided on a possible solution. Most times, even though the answer wasnt what the professor had in mind he will mark it correct, if the solution you propose is correct and would fix the problem.

Im in computer science, so there are many many ways to approach any single problem and text book answers wont always work. Sometimes you have to evaluate the problem and apply things you have learned in other classes in order to come up with the best solutions.

If a paint by numbers education is what you want or need, then you can really stop with high school. Because in the real world employers want people that can think outside the box. Anyone can memorize a book and spill off answers, but someone that can sit back and evaluate a situation and come up with a solution when the text book answers dont work, thats who I want to hire.

Any college worth its weight will, over the 4 or 5 years you are there, enforce these methods of thinking.