Too lazy to work? Go to College instead.

[TomSrOfBoston]

I came acrosss this column while bouncing around the internet;
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2015/06/dont_waste_your_time_or_your_p.html#incart_river

While many here on CC argue that it doesn’t matter where you go to college, attending a low tier school alongside many of the students that she talks about can be a hindrance to a good student’s performance.

While a top 20 school is not necessary, a good student should strive for the best school that they can get in to, and afford.

Congratulations, high school graduates.

Thousands of you have walked across the stage in recent weeks to receive your well-earned diplomas.

Thousands of you are ready to move on to the next step – college.

If that’s where you are headed, I’d like to share some advice.

Nancy Eshelman

I know. I know. People your age do not want to listen to advice from a dinosaur who attended college before computers took over everyone’s lives.

But be patient a minute.

You see, in addition to being a writer, I have spent a lot of time standing in the front of college classrooms. I’ve taught writing and journalism in a bunch of local institutions of higher learning. And I’ve learned a lot doing it.

One thing I’ve learned is that too many of you are going to college.

In that first week, when I try to get to know my students, I ask questions: Where are you from? What are you studying? What are your career goals?

Invariably, I come across those who get an A for honesty. They will tell me flat out they are in college because that’s what their parents want. Often they will add that mom or dad said if they don’t go to college, they have to get a full-time job.

Chances are good I won’t see much of these honest folks in class, their assignments will be nonexistent or late, and their final grade will reflect that lack of effort.

Please, don’t waste everyone’s time and your parents’ money attending college because you are too lazy to work. A few years of menial labor might spark the incentive you need to succeed in a classroom or steer you in the direction of vocational training.

Remember, plumbers and electricians often out-earn the folks in suits and ties.

Another thing I’ve learned is that those with no incentive often possess the power to drag down students who could have shined. If a lackadaisical person happens to be your roommate or buddy, his bad habits can spread like a stomach virus in the dorm.

If you are a decent student who cares about your future, don’t be pulled down by a so-called friend who insists that you won’t miss anything if you skip class today or encourages you to stay up all night watching a “Breaking Bad” marathon.

College is a testing ground. Be true to who you are and what you want. Without mom and dad, it’s easy to get lured into bad habits. I routinely have students who tell me they overslept, an interesting excuse since I never teach a class before 11 a.m.

My third piece of advice concerns what goes on in the classroom. The first week of class, your professor is going to give you a syllabus. It’s a road map, or in your vernacular, it’s your GPS.

Instead of advising you to drive 2.8 miles and turn right on Route 13, it will tell you when assignments are due, what to read, what to write, what’s expected of you.

Don’t lose it. Refer to it often. And for pity sake do not stop at the professor’s desk after class and ask, “When is that assignment on William Shakespeare due?”

It’s on the syllabus.

Which brings me to procrastination. I teach a course that culminates with a research paper. Our classwork revolves around that paper. We spend hours talking about topics, thesis statements, research.

Don’t wait until three days before the final paper is due to start. You were supposed to be working on it all semester, and your grade will reflect your procrastination.

Finally, let’s talk about what happens in the classroom. If you aren’t accustomed to speaking to people, spend time this summer practicing.

If you want to look sharp in class, you’re going to have to speak up. Hold your head up. Look people in the eye and speak at a volume that can be heard in every corner of the room.

And, it should go without saying, turn off your phone in class. If you have a computer with you, don’t use it to surf or check Facebook.

The person in the front of the room is savvy enough to know when you aren’t paying attention.

And, should you regard that person as an aging dinosaur whose advice is about as helpful as typewriter whiteout, remember this: Miss T. Rex will be the one grading your work.

[Nikkix3]

OK

[mitchklong]

Parents and students seldom think about the possibility of failure. One third of students that enter college fail to get their degree in 6 years. That can be devestating in many ways, not the least of which is the parents and students finances.

So whille its great to want your kid in a college you can write to your siblings about, its better to choose someplace where failure is unlikely. Thats the deffinition of the word match.

[rhandco]

I don’t think that “going to college” is seen as a privilege any more. It’s seen as a right. And low tier colleges are seeing that and are dropping requirements and being “egalitarian” in terms of admissions which equals $$$$$.

Colleges are “sold” based on low acceptance rate and high 4-year graduation rate, but too many want as many students as possible (“record enrollments!!!”) and them to stick around as long as possible (“yes, we have rules about being thrown out due to academic probation, but we’ll let you take this course for the fifth time!”).

I see it where I work and I find it sad. I think HS principals want as high a number of graduates going to college as possible, and they honestly do NOT care what kind of debt they’ll take on or whether they’ll end up with a decent job let alone career after college.

Goodness knows it is hard enough for professors to help the smartest and most applied students, reaching out to disengaged students who worry about paying their tuition more than their classes is very very difficult.

[mathprof63]

<< Goodness knows it is hard enough for professors to help the smartest and most applied students, reaching out to disengaged students who worry about paying their tuition more than their classes is very very difficult.>>

Absolutely agree. I am finding it more and more difficult to teach my classes because the university wants $$ and continues to lower its admission standards. Students have no clue about financial aid and struggle to pay their bills. They don’t buy textbooks and just have no interest in education. The low tier, non-selective colleges are the majority of higher ed institutions, and it just saddens me to see Pell grants and financial aid money just go to waste (these colleges have less than 50% six-year graduation rate). The for-profits are not the biggest problem - these non-profit, non-performing universities are.

[TomSrOfBoston]

I am finding it more and more difficult to teach my classes because the university wants $$ and continues to lower its admission standards

There are some schools that have gone in the opposite direction and raised their admission standards: Northeastern, USC, WUStL etc. the response from many in CC’dom is that these schools are just trying to boost their rankings.

[compmom]

The pressure for all to have the “opportunity” to go to college amounts to indoctrination. I know too many kids with high debt who left school with bad transcripts. Our high school used to honor kids who didn’t go to college- even just 10 years ago. The new principal wants a high rate of college attendance for stats. The real estate industry loves this. I worked on a local ed foundation trying to preserve programs for those going to work or the military but everyone wanted to fund those bus trips for middle schoolers to college campuses that most could not afford.