DGS49
Diamond Member
There is a classic bar-room riddle, exchanged by crude males like me while in a state of semi-inebriation. It goes like this: Why does a (male) dog lick its balls?
Answer: Because it CAN!
The riddle comes to mind because this is PRECISELY why colleges charge such outrageous tuitions and fees. Because they CAN!
Somebody please 'splain to me how a typical public high school can provide 180 days of instruction, 6 hours each, at a cost of, say, $12 thousand per year, while a typical private college struggles to provide much less instruction (15 credits times 15 weeks times two semesters, plus exams) at twice that cost. Doing the math, the high school is providing 1,080 hours of instruction, while the college is providing about 500 hours of instruction and testing - less than half as much. Twice as much money: half the instruction. Maybe if they didn't have a palatial Student Union, superfluous campus police, a gigantic, modern fitness facility, and more "administrators" than faculty, they wouldn't have to charge so much.
And theoretically, high schools carry the burden of educating the chillens, while college instructors merely guide students through the materials, and the students must learn most of it on their own.
But all that is beside the point.
How we go about deciding on a college. selecting a major, and figuring out how to finance it is one of the perversities of our culture. It is a decision that requires maturity, sound judgment, and experience in economic matters - none of which is possessed by an 18-year-old high school student. And yet most parents expect - indeed, DEMAND - that their 18-year-olds make these decisions. Then, once the decisions are made by the CHILD, the child and the parent go about the process of financing the venture. While it is nice that the child be happy, the parents should hold an absolute veto on the school, and should exercise that veto when the child's desires make no economic sense.
"If you want to major in Beowulf, Community College will be fine!"
And historically, our Federal and State governments have done their best to facilitate the assumption of massive amounts of education-debt, in the mistaken belief that regardless of how much debt is accumulated, the immeasurable financial benefits of a Bachelor's Degree will provide sufficient adult income to pay it off. Dare I suggest that anyone not a member of Congress knows that this is nonsense?
Is there any question that the greed of the institutions, the stupidity of the government student loan programs, and the irrational indulgence of the parents create a "perfect storm" of catastrophic misjudgment that results in the situation complained of in the OP? You almost want to say, Why not pop out a few illegitimate children while you're at it, to fuck up your life completely?
But even with today's stratospheric college costs, it is possible for a middle-class American (meaning, pretty much anyone) to pay for and finance a college education such that the prospects are favorable for having it paid off within a decade or so, and living a fairly prosperous life. Especially if one's Baby Boomer parents have the good grace to die at a propitious time.
Pick the right school; pick the right major; work your ass off. It still works.
Not to get personal here, but I financed my own college, MBA, and law school with a combination of personal savings, personal earnings (including those of my wife), the GI Bill, employer support, one small bank student loan, one small ($300) personal loan, and $1,200 scholarship from the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency - given to me gladly because I was a Vietnam Fucking Vet. I still am.
Any middle class kid who is majoring in Art Appreciation deserves a Dope Slap, along with his idiot parents.
Answer: Because it CAN!
The riddle comes to mind because this is PRECISELY why colleges charge such outrageous tuitions and fees. Because they CAN!
Somebody please 'splain to me how a typical public high school can provide 180 days of instruction, 6 hours each, at a cost of, say, $12 thousand per year, while a typical private college struggles to provide much less instruction (15 credits times 15 weeks times two semesters, plus exams) at twice that cost. Doing the math, the high school is providing 1,080 hours of instruction, while the college is providing about 500 hours of instruction and testing - less than half as much. Twice as much money: half the instruction. Maybe if they didn't have a palatial Student Union, superfluous campus police, a gigantic, modern fitness facility, and more "administrators" than faculty, they wouldn't have to charge so much.
And theoretically, high schools carry the burden of educating the chillens, while college instructors merely guide students through the materials, and the students must learn most of it on their own.
But all that is beside the point.
How we go about deciding on a college. selecting a major, and figuring out how to finance it is one of the perversities of our culture. It is a decision that requires maturity, sound judgment, and experience in economic matters - none of which is possessed by an 18-year-old high school student. And yet most parents expect - indeed, DEMAND - that their 18-year-olds make these decisions. Then, once the decisions are made by the CHILD, the child and the parent go about the process of financing the venture. While it is nice that the child be happy, the parents should hold an absolute veto on the school, and should exercise that veto when the child's desires make no economic sense.
"If you want to major in Beowulf, Community College will be fine!"
And historically, our Federal and State governments have done their best to facilitate the assumption of massive amounts of education-debt, in the mistaken belief that regardless of how much debt is accumulated, the immeasurable financial benefits of a Bachelor's Degree will provide sufficient adult income to pay it off. Dare I suggest that anyone not a member of Congress knows that this is nonsense?
Is there any question that the greed of the institutions, the stupidity of the government student loan programs, and the irrational indulgence of the parents create a "perfect storm" of catastrophic misjudgment that results in the situation complained of in the OP? You almost want to say, Why not pop out a few illegitimate children while you're at it, to fuck up your life completely?
But even with today's stratospheric college costs, it is possible for a middle-class American (meaning, pretty much anyone) to pay for and finance a college education such that the prospects are favorable for having it paid off within a decade or so, and living a fairly prosperous life. Especially if one's Baby Boomer parents have the good grace to die at a propitious time.
Pick the right school; pick the right major; work your ass off. It still works.
Not to get personal here, but I financed my own college, MBA, and law school with a combination of personal savings, personal earnings (including those of my wife), the GI Bill, employer support, one small bank student loan, one small ($300) personal loan, and $1,200 scholarship from the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency - given to me gladly because I was a Vietnam Fucking Vet. I still am.
Any middle class kid who is majoring in Art Appreciation deserves a Dope Slap, along with his idiot parents.
