Can You Afford The American Dream?
America is renowned as the land of opportunity. A big part of what’s often been called “the American Dream” has been home ownership. Traditionally that meant working hard and putting away savings for a number of years until you had enough to afford a down payment. I bet that’s how many of your parents bought […]
Student Loan Defaults Keep Rising
Regular readers of this blog know that a subject I hammer on repeatedly is the high cost of college and the dubious return on investment that brings for many college graduates – even worse for college dropouts. If you’re in the mood for a review, check out this blog from last August. Bringing me back […]
Reason #6 Why College Is A Lousy Deal
My past five blogs have explained why I think college is not a good idea for many of you reading this. A short summary of those reasons are: 1. The market for college graduates is saturated. 2. Grade inflation has diminished the quality of a college degree. 3. College education has morphed into indoctrination. 4. […]
Reason #5 Why College Is A Lousy Deal
This reason escapes a lot of peoples’ notice. Most folks make a distinction between college and vocational education. They think of them as separate entities, i.e., higher education versus learning a trade. Even worse is the widespread conviction among the general public and high school advisory counselors that college is for smart kids while the […]
Reason #3 Why College Is A Lousy Deal
In my last blog, I identified grade inflation as Reason #2 why a college degree doesn’t mean what it used to. I explained that grade inflation started with the anti-Vietnam War movement of the 1960s, when college students were exempt from the military draft and sympathetic professors inflated grades to keep their students from flunking […]
Reason #2 Why College Is A Lousy Deal
A college degree doesn’t mean what it used to. In my last blog I explained that one reason is because so many people have college degrees nowadays (33% of American adults, vs. just 5% in 1940). As a result, some 37% of recent college graduates are working in jobs that don’t require a college degree. […]
Debt Till Death
Do you love your Mom and Dad? There are exceptions, but I suspect most people reading this would answer yes. If you do, do them a favor. Don’t put them in such a hole supporting your college education that they have to struggle in retirement. Unfortunately, millions of America parents are facing a miserable time […]
College Enrollment Continues To Drop
January 10, 2017 But vocational enrollments are up. Regular readers of this blog know that a consistent theme to my articles has to do with the fact that vocational education in a skilled trade is a worthwhile alternative to college for mechanically minded individuals. That message seems to be getting through to society at-large. College […]
A Lifetime Burden
July 12, 2016 Student debt can stay with you forever It was chilling to read a recent Wall Street Journal article detailing what can only be called a crisis with student debt, most of which is owed by college graduates or, worse, college dropouts. The article (subscription required) said that 43% of some 22 million […]
College Grads Are SO Underemployed
February 5, 2016 Go to college if you like retail sales! Did you know the one out of four retail salespersons has a college degree? So do almost one out of five telemarketers, one out of six bartenders and one out of seven waiters/waitresses. Is that because these jobs have gotten so complicated they require […]