Should College Be One Big Party?

Parents Forum
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<p>My vote is for academics and career prep, but your neighbor’s son is likely to earn a lot more than your son. :(</p>

<p>As for self-discovery - that’s gonna happen for free, no matter what.</p>

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<p>University of Georgia which is ranked #2 party school by Princeton Review.</p>

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<p>There are always good jobs for people with the gift of gab and the ability to do very basic math. Our firm’s brokerage side has many of them. They do very well. They have a guy to do advanced math and other complex stuff. He makes about $75K. They average closer to $500K+</p>

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<p>Yes, his father is more than okay with it. It sounds like he wishes he was there with his S right now. On the other hand, his mother is rather apologetic about his escapades and run-ins with the police in high school.</p>

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<p>What matters to me is the self discovery which I think leads to the career prep (or least the academic grounding to onto grad school for career prep). There are ways that you can party and have a good time that does not affect your ability to get a quality education. The semester that I enjoyed both 25 cent taps and $2 pitcher night was not my best but I learned important things about my personal limits . My D is different and it will be interesting to see the path she chooses.</p>

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<p>University of Georgia doesn’t seem to have D1 lacrosse for men, so this must be a club team or intramural fraternity team?</p>

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<p>Paying 200k+ to send kid to one big party? That’s a scary thought.</p>

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<p>My two cents – definitely academics and career prep. I look at it this way, if I’m in Paris, I want to experience what Paris is uniquely able to offer. Creme brulee and the fabulous museums. I’m not going to sit in the hotel room and watch Seinfeld. As much as I love Seinfeld. If I’m in college (infinitely more costly than Paris, as to both time and money), I should take full advantage of what college is uniquely able to provide. Drinking and attending sporting events, and the other things mentioned on the FB page do not have to cost $50K/year.</p>

<p>Some people believe that if you have a degree to your name, it’s enough – it doesn’t matter what school, what major, or how hard you worked. I have been out of college for about 30 years, and in my profession, at least, it’s quite the opposite.</p>

<p>Some people are confident that a family business or family money is all their kids will ever need. But I have seen new money family businesses bungled in the second generation. Sometimes there’s enough for the second generation to skate by, but the third generation grows up with unprofessional attitudes and work habits, accustomed to living like they’re rich, then the money is gone, and they have the worst of both worlds. Not what I want for my kids or grandkids.</p>

<p>I think Goethe nailed it – “That which thy fathers have bequeathed to thee . . . Earn it anew, to really possess it.”</p>

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<p>I believe he plays club lacrosse.</p>

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<p>Both of our kids worked hard in high school. I wanted D1 to have more fun in college. I wasn´t that concerned what she would learn in college because I really didn´t use much of what I learned academically for work. D1 knew she needed her college name, diploma, and a certain GPA to get a job. I encouraged her to network with other students because most likely they would be the people she would do business with someday. I told her not to spend all of her in the library, it really wasn´t that important if she had a 3.5 or 3.8.</p>

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<p>Should College be one big party?..maybe for the new empty nesters…but not for the 50K a year student.</p>

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<p>If someone puts their mind to it, there’s plenty of time to learn how to do that without blowing their parents’/taxpayer’s money on majors in partying, alcohol, and/or SO’s at the expense of a real major, part-time jobs, internships, and otherwise expanding one’s intellectual and other horizons. </p>

<p>I didn’t really learn how to navigate parties until I was working my first job after college graduation. Never had an issue and they’d be the last person to suspect I spent too much time in the library so long as I stick to the prevailing “small-talk topic du jour”.</p>

<p>In short, so long as one has an extroverted personality or a friendly accessible mentor/older friend to provide advice and tips…it isn’t that hard to figure out. After all, navigating parties cannot be remotely compared to rocket science.</p>

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<p>Navigating adult profession-related social events and parties, attended by the kind of people who will remember what you said, is a whole different story from dancing on a bar in a frat house. I think the latter is a whole lot easier (if your shoes fit).</p>

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<p>Well…my answer might be different than some of yours. I was a pretty straight, brainy kid in high school. Not nerdy, but very goody two shoes and pretty darn narrow-minded about it. Then I went to Madison, Wisconsin. Where I learned about beer (drinking age then: 18). I did have a ball. I became less self-righteous and holier-than-thou, met the best friends I’ll ever have, laughted til I cried just about every day. I still remember college not so much for my degree, but for my friends and the fun I had. I was not in the pre-med track but went to med school (where I had even more fun, truth be told).</p>

<p>I want my kids to study hard and get a foundation for a life of learning, a good career (not just a job), and to find out who they really are. I want them to have a great time as long as they keep their grades up and stay curious intellectually. I didn’t plan on it, but I reinvented myself in college and I’m so glad I did.</p>

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<p>For the sales professions to which these kids are heading, the most important thing to learn about parties is to learn “when to leave”! (before the party gets out of control). Sounds like the girl in the FB photo failed test #1. </p>

<p>I told my kids if they just wanted to party to please skip the tuition payments and school and spend their tuition on traveling the world.</p>

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<p>It’s a lot cheaper to just party ,without college . When a student is ready to learn and find a useful place in society ,then he or she should think about college .</p>

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<p>Yes, sad but true. Many nerds, geeks and academic types will never make as much $$ as people in finance or sales.</p>

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<p>I feel the exact opposite. Then again, the latter IMHO is like being thrown back into a “Lord of the Flies” version of kindergarten with a mostly gigglingly silly guestlist, non-existent interesting conversation on the most banal of topics and often crappy dance/techno-pop music. Only saving graces in those situations is that there’s plenty of decent free food and some drinks. Really helped with the food budget the first few years out of college in Beantown. :D</p>

<p>With the former, I actually feel much more in my element as most of the guestlist are guaranteed to at least be reasonably sane, coherent, and make a decent attempt at being interesting conversationalists without crashing face-first to the ground because he/she can’t even stomach one can of bud light.</p>

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<p>When you send your child off to a major party school (like my neighbor) and actually encourage them to party their *ss off, aren’t you risking the possibility that they are going to end up in a tragic situation like George Huguely and Yeardley Love at UVA? Look at the similarities (affluent families, lacrosse players, and alcohol).</p>

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<p>I like the way you think ;)</p>

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<p>Whoa, easy on the LAX bashing there. It’s a very popular sport that a lot of studious, serious kids also enjoy. Not a very pricey one either, lots of lower income kids are playing it these days. I haven’t observed them drinking any more than other kids, or certainly other athletes, either.</p>