I WANT OUT!!!

[Berkshire Bull]

of college that is... i have 3 semesters remaining and i can't wait to get out. thus far this semester, amonth the valuable things i have learned include:

1. The root of all evil is George W. Bush

2. Jesus was a vegetarian

3. Indians that are members of tribes with lucrative casinos are actually impovrished despite their montly stipend, free college, affirmative action... etc

4. The pentagon was not struck by a 757 on 9/11, it was a missile (possibly fired by karl rove, or it could have been rumsfeld as well)

But despite all this mis-education, my schooling will get only better, because as of this year, each student must pay an additional $33 a semester, on top of the $400 increase the state gave us each semester, to pay for the "recruiting and retention of minority and/or religeously diverse students"

i really hate universities

 

[John Galt]

My gosh Mr. Bull, what a depressing way to start my
day. The worst part is I have seen it all up close and
personal. My youngest goes to a very expensive
private (church affiliated) school while her mother
hauls me into court from time to time to see if there
might be any loose cash laying around somewhere
to pay for this. Then they teach her the stuff you
describe along with something called "gender studies".
As far as I can tell the prof. thinks all men are satanic
and all the female students need to convert to lesbianism. For this someone pays $27,000 a year
MOL. BTW, my son (the guy's a saint) just got
his Bachelors from Southern Illinois U. It took him a long
time (me too) but he never asked me for a dime.
What's wrong with this picture?

John Galt

 

[unclemick]

Mr B

Of course what you are hearing is probably true - you need to pay attention. Heh, heh, heh.

In my day all the girls walked around with copies of Ann Rand books and my Far East profs (Aussie's) thought Goldwater was a closet liberal and given a hundred years the myth of trade with China would come true.

 

[Nords]

So, are you handcuffed to your desk?!?

Two things I should have learned a lot earlier in college:
(1) Never let learning stand in the way of an education.
(2) Never let class attendance interfere with course completion.

Sorry to hear the frustration, Bull. Have you considered that in five years you may look back on this time as the best part of your life?!

Maybe it's time for a change. TMND's author, Tom Stanley, says that one of his favorite students turned in the worst assignment he'd ever graded. The guy graduated with a 2.01 GPA (0.01 of "excess" effort) and went on to become one of the world's best salesmen. Stanley realized that the guy was using college as a big practice arena for making contacts, pitching proposals, and closing sales. Attending classes and completing homework were only viewed as necessary evils to allow continued attendance at the practice sessions. I'm not sure who were the subjects but apparently the practice paid off (and I doubt it was boring!).

So what's keeping you in college? While I agree that a college degree is a long-term payoff, a semester or two of work experience can't be bad. It's valuable experience to a potential employer and, even better, it's a great way for you to decide if you want to become a business worker or a business owner.

Or maybe your GPA is too high. I grade-grubbed throughout my college to make sure I could get my chosen career field. (In retrospect maybe that wasn't such a smart idea.) I "succeeded" but three years later I had a chance to attend grad school. I was much busier with more money, more liberty, a new house, a spouse to enjoy life with, and no end of social distractions. We got involved with our local community, learned to SCUBA dive, ranged from Napa Valley to LA, made lifelong friends, and basically partied our butts off. Oh, and my grad-school GPA was higher than my college grades.

Another great college read is "Bringing Down The House", about a dozen MIT students who supplemented their classroom learning by winning millions at card-counting blackjack. I believe more learning occurred in the casinos than in the classrooms.

I guess it's a choice. You can focus on the stupid parts of the subject matter. Or you can enjoy the interesting parts while reflecting that someone will always believe that the rest of it is the stone-cold truth. That person may also be called a "customer". Hopefully they won't also have to be addressed as "boss"!

Maybe that extra $33 is tax-deductible. Sounds like a great finance research project... and it also sounds like you'll have plenty of class time available to do the work!

 

[ordway]

I've observed (from friends and acquaintences during our mutual college years) that one's attitude about college is pretty much self-fulfilling. If you think it's a pointless waste of time, it's almost guaranteed to be that way. OTOH, if you look at it as a learning opportunity and seek the good parts with a postive attitude, it's almost certainly going to be a great experience.

At the school I went to for undergrad (a large, very good public university) I saw plenty of people who whined about how sucky their college experience was and how pointless their classes were. These were the same people who chose their classes based on when they were scheduled (so they wouldn't have to get up early) or their reputaton for being easy to pass. Um, may I say... duh? There were also the people who groused about their classes not being fulfilling enough, but they didn't take the time to go talk to their professors, or go to any extra optional things like films on the subject, etc.

Three semesters is too much time to spend hating college. I would really advise taking a look at what classes/topics you *do* enjoy and feel stimulated by, and trying to get more of that. You will probably have to work a lot harder, but that sure beats being bored and hating it.

I really loved my undergrad education and got a lot out of it. In retrospect, the one thing I would change, is to not be so obsessed over grades. (I graduated with a 3.96 GPA, about 10th in my class). I would have gotten even more out of it if I'd been willing to take a few more chances on tough classes and if I'd spent more time *appreciating* what I was learning. and thinking about the bigger picture, rather than fixating on "get a good grade on this test."

Your education really is largely in your own hands - you can choose to waste it, or you can put in the extra work to make it really substantial - and I would really encourage you not to just get cynical and blow it off.

 

[Jane]

Sorry to hear about the fee increase...I also hated the cost of university (mostly because I was paying for it) but I LOVED, loved my university years.

I admit sometimes there was much to be desired about the teaching style and course content but you know, school is just more than studying to get a degree. I know some parents may hate me to say this but what I always say to "kids" going to school is: "don't spend 100% of your time at school studying".

Get involved with your school. Contibute to a cost. When you are young, it is the greatest time to be passionate about something. I was involved with 2 student groups and volunteered at a soup kitchen when I was in school (how I found time to do all these I don't know - I prolly neglected something). When I thought of school, my memories consisted more of the friends I met, and "extracurricular" activites I did rather than "what I learned in class".

Of course not all I did was noble or smart Once I signed up for skiing trip (although at that time I have never skied in my life) just to meet this cute guy I saw once No, I didn't get to go out with the cute guy but I found that snowboarding is FUN!!! Have been boarding since then.

So have fun, for this is the best time in your life.

Jane

 

[ordway]

I admit sometimes there was much to be desired about the teaching style and course content but you know, school is just more than studying to get a degree. I know some parents may hate me to say this but what I always say to "kids" going to school is: "don't spend 100% of your time at school studying".

I totally agree. One of the best things I did in college was join the fencing team. It was a huge turning point for me (basic couch potato) both physically and socially, and was undoubtedly one of the very best things I got out of my education. My husband also loved his undergraduate years (we went to the same school) but has said that if there was one thing he would change, to get even more out of it, it would be to put less emphasis on grades (he graduated with a 4.0, in an engineering program!) and get involved with more campus activities.