College: The Biggest Scam in America

I haven't watched the entire video...

But during the Spring Semester I attended a lecture by Charles Murray, an author and Political Scientist. He wrote a book stating that the mere idea that college is necessary to live a successful and meaningful life is insane AND he believes that too many kids are going to college. His argument was that most college students have no interest in even being there; they're simply there because they have to be.

He then went onto to argue how all colleges/universities need to re-structure their entire philosophy. He believes that colleges eliminating gigantic libraries would be a perfect start.

I read about that, and he has a lot of extremely valid points. college isn't for everyone, especially these days. A degree isn't the golden ticket is used to be, especially now as there are a lot more women in the workplace, and people are working well into their 60s, or longer instead of retiring. Many universities pump out tons of degrees in fields that have extremely heavy competition, and very few openings. All too often people end up with a degree in a field that they never even work in, and yet they will pay tens of thousands of dollars for.

Colleges and universities are there for one reason. To make money.

I'm all for the idea that college isn't for everyone, but to say that it doesn't serve a purpose other than making money is a little bit ridiculous in my opinion.

There are people who didnt graduate college but make lots of money and others who went to Ivy League schools but cannot perform basic office duties.

Everyone here seems to be for getting all of the people who DO learn what they need to get the job they want, the people who DO have a happy and successfully life after college, and the people who DO benefit from the experience.



This is true for some people. More so than it should be, but in my opinion, they should have researched what they were doing beforehand. They should have known the classes they were going to be taking, and should have known the college's reputation for having good or bad programs in the fields they were going into. It's just plain stupid to spend the amount of money that it takes to go to college without knowing if it will really benefit you.

To quote myself,

As soon as I find the time, I'm definitely going to watch that video.

In a world where the job market has become increasingly competitive, I think most will find that having a college degree will help their cause. Regardless of the information provided, I don't need to watch an hour long documentary full of jaded facts and shots against 'the system' (whatever that is) to know that college is not a scam, it's an opportunity. Kind of insane to blame the failures of an unmotivated minority on the process as a whole.

Also- to those of you saying that people graduate college and then are unable to find work, this may be true to an extent, but depending on the field one is interested in getting into, there is always work for dedicated, competent graduates. I just completed a two year degree at a community college and plan to continue until I have my doctorate, and I already have had professional job offers. To each his own, but to say college is a scam is downright idiotic.

To be honest, if people don't watch the video, it's hard to have a discussion about the subject, because they don't know the points raised by the video.

I watched it all, and it raises some very interesting, and valid points. It is very heavy handed and dramatic sometimes, but a lot of things are very valid, and real concerns about college, and our economy. I would say at least watch the first 15-30 minutes of it.

For reference, I have a bachelors degree in Management Information Systems. I went to a community college for 2 years to save on the costs of college, and finished my degree at UGA. I would say that maybe 20% of what I learned in college was actually important in what I do now.

Right now I am a manager of a computer help desk for a major law firm. I have employees who have degrees in computer science, and employees that have G.E.D.s. Personally, I am not more likely to hire a person with a college degree. It really comes down to the individual, the amount of skill they show in the interview, and how they present themselves as being able to do the job. My assistant, never went to college, and makes more than the people on my help desk who have bachelors and masters degrees.

I also work with many lawyers who went to school for 6-10 years. They have 200k in student loan debt. And now work as paralegals or project attorneys who make less than my help desk people. Many of the lawyers don't pay off their loans until they are in their 40's or later.

My personal opinion, is that college is only for about 25% of the people who go. I believe I could easily have the same job today without my degree. In fact, my boss recently told me he didn't remember I went to college and it wasn't a factor in me getting the job.

Basically, one of the main points of the video, is that you can actually make as much entering the workforce at 18, especially if you invest wisely, without the crippling debt hanging over you. That the "college graduates make 1 million more in their life" statistic is greatly exaggerated when you include costs of school, lost incolme during school, and interest of loans.

Great post. I went to an overrated private university and the number of courses I took that I would find useful in a real job can be counted on with one hand. I now wish I had entered the workforce when I was 19-21 because really, you can go to college at any age you want. Unless you love law, law school is the stupidest thing because it costs $40,000/year and any six figure income you might make mostly goes into paying student loans.

People who care about getting high GPAs are a hoot. A high GPA does not always mean the person is or will be a good worker. It just shows that the person is good at taking exams (or cramming for exams or cheating on exams) or writing papers.