College is becoming less popular

Perhaps the numbers speak to the fact that consumers are better-informed about the ills of for-profit colleges.

 

I don’t know man Federal Budget was about 4 Trillion in 2018.
2022 about 6.27 Trillion.

Over a 50% increase that wasn’t mainly entitlements and interest payment increases. The Fed didn’t start really raising rates until mid 2022. The rates didn’t really shoot up on Gov Debt right away.

 

I think you’re being simplistic.
Obviously I went to college.
Took a year off after HS I had zero idea what I wanted to do and did not try in HS so no scholarship for me.
We didn’t have the money for me to go.
After 3 months of living on my own and working FT I decided I need to make more money so I decided to go to Respiratory Therapy school local CC. Still worked worked and did school FT. At that point I just wanted to make more money and it wasn’t a permanent career. Eventually went to PA school.

Point is while my Dad wanted me to go to college I wasn’t ready emotionally, had to want it for myself.
My son just graduated and he is very similar in that regard. He has zero desire to be in a classroom right now and I don’t want to pay for him to screw around. He’s likely doing Air Force so I’m fine with that. I think he will eventually do college, he’s too smart not to but he won’t be getting a degree that doesn’t have a decent ROI.

I’m for college but it’s not for everyone nor needed for everyone to have a successful career.

I think that’s the point some are trying to make.

If my kid said “I want to go to a 4 year private school” to get a degree that paid crap I’d tell them, go for it. On your dime…..
I wouldn’t support a poor financial decision just like I wouldn’t support them buying a 100k car…

 

I've been learning Monty Python the last 30 years, and I have to say its been helpful.

 

. . . for other people

 

Did you take their fish slapping dance class?

 

Perhaps you missed the part where I said I don’t even think it’s the right choice for my own son right now….?

Perhaps I didn’t type that exactly but there it is.

 

Universities are described as "devouring money". The more money the government throws at college education, the less affordable it is. But they do get some nice buildings . . .

'These places are just devouring money': US colleges are splurging on new buildings, programs to attract rich kids, report shows — and passing along the bill to everyone else

 

Also from the piece:

Adjusted for inflation, overall state funding for public two- and four-year colleges dropped a staggering $6.6 billion between 2008 and 2018, according to a report from The Center on Budget and Public Policies.

Between 2020 to 2021 alone, state funding for higher education dropped 6% across 37 states, says the National Education Association (NEA).

I think it's pretty well-known that state appropriations for higher ed have lagged far behind those for other industries. I can't speak for UK, OK or Penn St, but our state scrutinizes spending on buildings big time. The approval process is extensive and vetted by the state; not like the universities can just throw millions around.

 

Getting a college degree can be transformative - for generations. My parents grew up poor in small towns during the depression - my mom was an orphan. Prospects were few and Higher Ed wasn’t even a fantasy but some anonymous benefactor saw some potential in my father and paid his full tuition to Presbyterian College and my mom got on a bus with a single suitcase and rode to a small college in a town she had never been before with her education paid for from money her brother sent home from his stint in the Army until Okinawa caused that to stop.

Having parents with college degrees changed my life for sure and I think the lives of my children as well. It matters.

 

Python is great. Fun to learn and very flexible. And geared to AI/ML, if you are looking to expand capabilities.

 

https://i.redd.it/889wkb95cbd41.jpg

 

My dad was a perfect example of what you are talking about here. He quit school in the 11th grade to help support his younger sisters when his father fell ill. He worked his way up to foreman in a factory then got drafted when WWII started. With his factory experience he became a Staff Sargent in his battalion's maintenance company. After the war that experience gained him a supervisors position in a growing corporation. After a few years he worked his way up to Executive VP in one of the largest corporations in Florida.

 

Student loans were scheduled to resume in October, and only 40% of the loan recipients failed to make their first payment. They may be holding out for some loan forgiveness from Uncle Joe.

40 percent of student loan borrowers missed payments in October

 

That wouldn't happen today. In 1960, only 41% of Americans had graduated from his schools and roughly 8% from college. In 2022, 91.2% were high school graduates and 37.7% had earned college degrees. Your father lived in a very different time with regard to educational attainment.
Educational attainment in the U.S. 1960-2022 | Statista

 

Community College enrollment drops off. I suspect that part of the problem is that some high schools are now offering job specific training programs to qualify students for careers that typically require two years of college education. These high schools have academies that train students in agriculture, (pre-)engineering, architecture, EMT, law enforcement, animal medicine, sports medicine, nursing, communications, electrician jobs, etc.

As far as cost goes, I can't see how anyone can complain about the cost of college if they have not considered the option of going to a community college first. Community college is much cheaper than a 4-year university (with one scholarship it's essentially free), and if you get the AA degree, the university generally accepts the credits for the classes taken (unless they've changed things).

There were 11 million students in community colleges in 2010, and only 6.7 million in 2022.

I know in Florida that some of the junior colleges converted into four-year state colleges.

Community college enrollment is down. Here’s what will happen to workers and the US economy if it doesn’t come back

 

Bad news for this country.

 

Whike I think we’ve undervalued vocation/trades and overvalued college the past 30-40 years in the US, assessing the value of either is more marathon than sprint. Building a career in finance or banking can take years. Earning a decent hourly but entry level wage might not, but becoming a master plumber or electrician does.

To me, the comparison is not in saying one is better than the other (and I’m not saying the post I quoted does that) , but in trying to figure out what students should pursue which path so we have an ample supply of both. That’s how the middle class gets rebuilt with a solid, generational foundation.

We’ve served no goal in creating a country with an over supply of unemployable poli-sci/philosophy majors if we don’t have enough electricians or plumbers be able to turn on a light or flush a toilet.

 

I know several plumbers and electricians...they all live on navigable bodies of water.