Originally posted by: bozack
My college was a large party school and that was one of my main motivators in attending, in retrospect I really wish I had rethought that decision....I was constantly exposed to people who did take advantage of their situation and didn't get the most out of their education whereas in contrast I also knew many bright individuals....seemed that those who came from money didn't strive as hard to succeed as those who were less fortunate and really had to work to be there, ironically though most of those who came from money that I know have excellent jobs through the networking of their parents whereas those who excelled in school are either doing somewhat well or rather poorly...
I think overall many here take college for granted...but from my own experience the teachers didn't really seem to care, I fondly remember the classes where the teachers were engaging and think if I had more teachers that were interested in what they were doing then I might have been more engaged myself, I wonder if the same goes on in many universities with only the best schools having truly amazing teachers in the US, whereas in other countries since admittance is much more difficult there is a higher chance of getting better teachers.
I hear that. One of my prime motivations to go to college was to get the hell out of my parents house. I was already going to city college on their dollar, but I made the choice of paying for school so I could transfer and go to a better school and live in a dorm. I dont so much regret not working hard enough as I do my choice of major. I learned a lot from studying psychology, but I also learned that they dont know jack about psychology, and I thought I would be taking a science and with a few exceptions, ended up studying a lot of assumptions and a lot of failed theories. Go into a bio and chem class, and you get taught knowledge, even if there are still questions. Go into a psych class, and learn "perspectives", only to find out that theyre wrong, and why they cant be totally right.
Anyway, aside from that, regardless of my quality of education, I did learn a LOT in college. Funny now that I have the degree, Im not really putting it to much use. I cant think of anything that would interest me enough that Id want to dedicate my life to it. And any chances of going back to school and getting a second bachelors in a different field are pretty much out of the question right now. I simply cant afford it. I live well below my means and save a decent chunk every month, and I suppose I am doing better than everyone else I know, but it still feels like Im not going to meet my full "potential".
Both my parents never finished high school, and my brother never went to college. Im the only one in my family who graduated, and had to do it mostly on my own. My parents had delusions of what college is really like, and expected me to be an astrophysicist on my own accord. Now that Ive been through college and been on my own for a while and I have a different perspective, if I had the chance I just might go back to school and work hard. I did just fine studying psych, graduated with a good GPA, I wouldnt go as far as to say it was easy, but if youve got a good memory you can mostly blow off class and learn from a book. I used to go to class, but the professors would do nothing but reiterate what was in the books, so there was no point.
But the most discouraging thing is exactly what you said. The rich people and middle class keep it in the family, and in the class. My mom was an immigrant, and my dad was kind of a loner, self employed, worked alone. Both are retired now. I have no extended family. I have no connections to speak of, and never have. My roomates and girlfriends would get jobs like its nothing because they always have a parent or uncle or parents friend or some other "hook them up". I know I could learn any job well enough to do it well, but the job either goes to a hookup, or to someone with more experience or education than me. Never get a chance to get some experience without already having experience. Ive had many a job before, but the only really good one came through a one time hookup.
I dont think the biggest problem is so much that this generation takes education for granted, but that they dont know how to handle money. No one, no household, who earns 50g a year combined should be financially struggling. There is no excuse for it. If my parents could raise two kids on 20g a year, and still save and invest enough to have over half a mil, then anyone can. Instead of saving, people go into debt. Its so backwards.