College, a time of learning, self exploration, and, well…just plain fun. College can be a glorious time, and for most, it is. It’s that time between adolescence and full blown adult hood. I like to call it a half adult. You definitely have added responsibilities, but not as many as your parents. You have the opportunity to study, explore, and have fun.
However, a lot of people find themselves asking…IS COLLEGE A RIP-OFF? IS THIS EVEN WORTH IT? IS THIS FOR ME? For most it is, even someone like me who doesn’t necessarily enjoy the company of textbooks. Nonetheless, we do it, we get through it, and typically have more debt than the average family has in credit card debit. In fact, the average person has about $26,700 in student loan debt according to ValuePengiun.com. I mean really? That’s pretty much the average salary of most college graduates with no work experience. Don’t even get me started about doctors… Oh, and believe me, this gets worse. According to CNBC, as of 2015, the average student will pay off their student loans by the time they are 60 YEARS OLD!
So if the average student graduates when they are 23, that means it will take them 37 years to pay off their student loans given they are just average income earners, which most are. Just a little side note student’s, if you work for a non-profit like the YMCA, your student loans will be forgiven in 7 years of service. Anyway, what is my point to all of this? Well, it has puzzled me for a long time, but why do colleges make students take useless classes like art history, or music appreciation if they are a computer science major? Studies firmly believe it’s all to do with money, and has nothing to do with the student. To put it in perspective, it has a lot to do with paying your presidents salary. Just so you know, Lou Anna K. Simons of Michigan State University makes a yearly salary of $850,000 per year plus bonuses! That just makes me sick.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am a firm believer in education, it’s very important if you want to succeed in todays world. Unless you have trade skills, in which place, god bless you! But for the rest of us millennials that do not, we need to demand better out of these “amazing colleges” we attend. We should be spending less time in senseless classes, and more time studying and preparing for what we are actually going to do post college. We, as students, pay all this money for classes that aren’t beneficial, and I for one am tired of it. The typical bachelor’s degree takes 4 solid years’ dependent on how quickly the student decides to progress. If it weren’t for the “pre-reqs,” and senseless classes, we could probably finish in 2 and a half years, or even 3.
Something needs to change, the education system in the United States is one of the worst in the WORLD. We as students need to demand better! I compel you to talk to your school, ask why you have to take these classes. If you feel compelled, look at the school’s budget. Wait until you see how much of your hard earned tuition dollars go towards exuberant salaries, and when deciding your degree, choose something that you can actually apply when you graduate.
I am hopeful. I am hopeful someone will finally speak up and change this. Until then, god speed students.
Contributing Sources:
CNBC.com
MSU.edu
Lansingstatejournal.com