Is College Right for Me? Thinking Beyond a Bachelor’s Degree
Several experts insist: “Too many Americans are going to college.”
The question, “Is college right for me?”, is a relatively simple one to pose. Unfortunately, while it is easy to construct the question, the answer is extremely complicated.
First, there is the ongoing message from a number of government officials (including President Barack Obama), that to compete in a global marketplace, we need to have an educated populace. Given the recent economic downturn, that idea translates to a more distinct message, to find meaningful work you must have a college diploma.
Backing that assertion is a great deal of data. From higher wages over one’s lifetime to greater job security during economic recessions, those with a bachelor’s degree consistently fare better than those with only a high school education.
But more and more we are learning that the above statement fails to carry the whole message. Today we know that many of those employed and earning higher wages are also struggling immensely because of the significant debt they took on while earning that degree.
Worse yet is the group that made the attempt to follow the American dream but could not complete the coursework along the way. These individuals, many also saddled with enormous college debt, now find themselves without the means to pay off the debt they accrued.
The problem with the college assertion is that officials consistently point towards the traditional, four-year bachelor’s degree program as the answer. The result is that many students who are unprepared for and thus unable to handle the academic rigor associated with such programs are pursuing access to that specific form of higher education.
Given that college has become big business, these students always find some school willing to accept them. These individuals then often borrow vast sums to pursue a degree that is not only well beyond their financial means, it is questionable as to whether they have the academic ability to be able to earn that coveted diploma.
The bottom line, according to a number of experts, is that too many Americans are going to four-year colleges to pursue a bachelor’s degree. That statement is often shortened to a more generalized assertion, “Too many Americans are going to college.”
The Experts
There are a number of critics of the assertion of college for everyone. One of the most outspoken is Charles Murray, a political scientist and scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. In a recent discussion with The Chronicle of Higher Education on this issue, Murray offered this telling assessment.
“It has been empirically demonstrated that doing well (B average or better) in a traditional college major in the arts and sciences requires levels of linguistic and logical/mathematical ability that only 10 to 15 percent of the nation’s youth possess.”
The focus on the need to handle the academic rigor associated with higher education is often overlooked. The fact of the matter is that most college majors are extremely demanding, far more challenging than anything a student faces in high school, and thus many students, once admitted, are simply unable to match the curriculum demands of their program no matter how hard they try.
Murray went on to add the right piece of information, that education in total is not the issue. He further stated:
“That doesn’t mean that only 10 to 15 percent should get more than a high-school education. It does mean that the four-year residential program leading to a B.A. is the wrong model for a large majority of young people.”
Yet another cautionary realist is Marty Nemko. The career counselor based in Oakland, CA was a recent participant in the same Chronicle discussion:
“Students with weak academic records should be informed that, of freshmen at ‘four year’ colleges who graduated in the bottom 40 percent of their high-school class, two-thirds won’t graduate even if given eight and a half years. And that even if such students defy the odds, they will likely graduate with a low GPA and a major in low demand by employers.”
Nemko believes that most students are not provided with in-depth counseling regarding the higher education decision. Prior to application, acceptance and matriculation into a collegiate program, Nemko asserts: “All high-school students should receive a cost-benefit analysis of the various options suitable to their situations: four-year college, two-year degree program, short-term career-prep program, apprenticeship program, on-the-job training, self-employment, the military.”
This sane voice not only cries out amidst the rather simplistic assertions of college for everyone, he is willing to task those institutions wrongfully accepting students.
“A college should not admit a student it believes would more wisely attend another institution or pursue a non-college, post-secondary option,” states Nemko. “Students’ lives are at stake, not just enrollment targets.”
And as for those who insist that the failure to earn a diploma results in a lifelong sentence to unemployment, Richard K. Vedder, director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity and professor of economics at Ohio University, had this to say to folks at The Chronicle:
“The number of new jobs requiring a college degree is now less than the number of young adults graduating from universities, so more and more graduates are filling jobs for which they are academically overqualified.”
To which Bryan Caplan, associate professor of economics at George Mason University, added: “Most college courses teach few useful job skills; their main function is to signal to employers that students are smart, hard-working, and conformist.”
Shadow versus Substance
Unfortunately, we Americans have consistently sold the shadow in place of real substance. As Murray so aptly puts it, the bachelor’s degree has “become an emblem of first-class citizenship” in our country.
It is a completely misguided focus according to Murray who goes on to add, “We have a moral obligation to destroy the current role of the B.A. in American life.”
Meanwhile, everywhere one turns there is a growing consensus that America is facing a real shortage of skilled tradesman. Whether it is a reliable automotive mechanic or a competent plumber, there are a number of jobs that offer excellent wage potential without the need for a four-year degree. Yet these positions go wanting in today’s push for college for all students.
What has disappeared, likely for good, are highly-paid, low-skill jobs. To be successful today, one does need core academic skills such as the ability to read, to write, and to think. One also needs to have a strong work ethic. But one does not need to attend four years of college to obtain these basic core skills.
In addition, other skills are highly valued, but such skills can be learned in a variety of settings. In addition to the four-year bachelor’s degree option, higher education includes the vocational trades. Instead of blindly following others on the path of the four-year institutions, students should consider viable schools that teach one of the many trades. Becoming a beautician, truck driver, carpenter, mason or plumber involves learning specific skills that are available at these trade schools, often at a fraction of the cost.
Within the medical profession there are also a number of entry-level positions that offer solid career potential. Medical office personnel are in extremely high demand as are personal care assistants and other patient support personnel. Here again, a four-year degree is simply not required though students may need to pursue a two-year associate’s degree for access to the better-paying options.
Who Should Attend College?
We started with the basic question, “Is college right for me?” To answer that question, we note there are a number of students who should bypass the wrongful emphasis on a four-year degree.
First, the figures from Nemko are very telling – if you had trouble with the academic expectations set forth in high school you are truly at risk for not being able to complete a four-year college degree. As Murray notes, the level of difficulty associated with college coursework is a full shelf or two above anything the average high school student faces.
Second, you need to understand your preferred learning style. Traditional colleges rely extensively on book learning, i.e., reading and writing, to introduce material to students. While some schools have shifted to e-learning, higher tech models that offer more in the way of visual and auditory stimulus, the bottom line is much of what you learn at the university-level is done in abstract formats.
If your preference is to learn by doing or by using your hands, then you may want to consider something other the traditional four-year, higher education model. Otherwise you could become frustrated and disenchanted over time by the book learning process. The last thing you want to have happen is to become one of those negative statistics, five and half years of higher education, tens of thousands in debt, yet still without a diploma in hand.
Most importantly, unless you or your family possesses unlimited means, you owe it to yourself and to them to carefully think through the concept of college. The fact of the matter is that too many students are mortgaging their future by borrowing huge sums to be able to pursue that bachelor’s degree.
Today the average school-related debt for college graduates tops $20,000. That figure does not include other debt students might soon incur, whether it is in the form of a credit card, the purchase of that first automobile or ultimately buying a home.
If you are one of the people who will need to borrow such sums, then you must take the time to do the cost analysis described by Nemko. Taking on such a debt level requires a full cost-benefit analysis based on potential future earnings you can expect to receive upon completing your diploma. In too many cases, students have taken on debt levels that require such large repayment schedules that they essentially crippled the very future they were hoping to secure.
College Is Not for Everyone
There is a growing consensus that college, specifically the traditional four-year bachelor’s degree option, is not for everyone. There are many other viable options of higher education that can lead to promising careers, options that feature solid earnings potential and job satisfaction.
As a student, it is imperative that you do not get caught up in the rhetoric or the idea that the only path to career success in America involves a four-year degree program. Instead, assess the various options according to your skills, your interests and your means, then select the path that is right for you.
Currently touring the country with Tucker Max during the screening of his new movie:
Another reason I don’t think grads should be too focused on money is because it will REALLY force you to figure out what your priorities are. I have a few friends who jumped into industries they don’t like because they were tempted by the promise of $60-80K in the first year on the job. Even I played with the idea of being a landman for an oil and gas company because I would have made $70K straightaway. But I also would have quickly grown to hate my life. And after a certain point, I would have been so emotionally and financially dependent on that big paycheck that there’d be no turning back. It’s far better, I think, to do free work for a few months. You’ll figure out what you truly want to do.
What shows up in Google when you search for someone’s name is a little different from having an online presence. A few years ago, I had a Facebook and LinkedIn account — technically, that’s an online presence. But when you searched for ‘Charlie Hoehn,’ a CollegeHumor video of my friend riding his bike drunkenly down a flight of stairs (and crashing) was one of my top 5 results. Another one of my top results was an online article from CSU’s newspaper where I was quoted talking about abortion. My old Google results didn’t really give any employer much to work with in terms of figuring out what I’m like or whether I’d be worth hiring.



Fortunately, I had greater expectations for myself. I also was a relatively fast-learner – I say relatively fast because it did take me one full semester to figure things out.
The bottom line was that many times I got caught not looking far enough ahead. On more than one occasion I found myself running out of time as materials became due or test dates arrived.
To get some real focused time you must find a place where you can truly disappear. I have heard some say you must find a cave somewhere on campus.
No, Pitman is suggesting that all colleges are guilty of this endeavor. The only difference is that the established schools ask for a significant commitment from the student before providing that diploma: four years, 120 hours of coursework and tens of thousands of dollars.
Therefore, while it may be nice to be able to set four years of one’s life aside to “really think and grow in ways that don’t even relate to work,” that perhaps has become just too costly for a large number of American families. Today students need credentials; they do not necessarily need the peripheral experiences associated with college.
Given the developments noted by Pitman it is easy to see why online education has become the choice for so many students. First, it eliminates those bundled extras, focusing instead on the learning. There is no costs for room and board and no athletic fees.
As for why these rules demand a review, we turn back to Foundations magazine, and to the mention of a rather unknown name to most Americans, Parson Weems. While the name might not be on every one’s tongue, Weems is the man who gave us perhaps the most famous George Washington story, the one involving a felled cherry tree and an honest young man with a hatchet.
5. Being to advise or reprehend any one, consider whether it ought to be in public or in Private; presently, or at Some other time in what terms to do it & in reproving Show no Sign of Cholar but do it with all Sweetness and Mildness (Rule 45 Translation: Whenever giving advice or criticism, carefully consider where to deliver those words, in public or behind closed doors – when delivering, do so delicately).
The school recently agreed to pay a settlement totaling $780,000 to both current and former students for steering those individuals towards a specific preferred lender. Though the maximum sum per student is limited to $833, about four thousand students will receive some money because of actions taken by the school.
In what has to be a real sore spot for those thinking that colleges would conduct themselves with higher ethical standards, when students filled out the online Stafford Loan application they were given but two choices, Chase or Citizen’s. If students submitted paper applications that sought a loan from a non-preferred lender, the school
But unlike what I was taught, that instead of keeping those colorful no-nos locked up and in its place you should utter some other more appropriate phrase, something like, OH FUDGE or CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, well that was just plain wrong. It seems that it takes the real thing, one of those down and dirty expletives that your mother best never hear to make the pain and suffering truly more tolerable.
According to
The consensus is that within the first five minutes the interviewer or the committee conducting the interview will form their impression of you. If it is negative, the remainder of the interview will be immaterial – simply stated it is nigh-near impossible to change a poor first impression.
The key is to project an air that you can overcome that feeling. The ability to conquer one’s fears is considered one of the most positive traits a person can have.
While you must set the tone early, it is also important to understand that others will do so as well. Those who are able to control their nervousness and project their basic level of confidence throughout the interview stand the best chance.
You see, her mom had done what so many of us do (here’s the first place we all need to pay attention). Ms. Quinlan had asked the computer to store log-in information to make it easier to bring up those sites she would use frequently.
But what is truly amazing is an internet search of the name Pipi Quinlan now reveals page after page of links to reports and commentary of this cute little story (OK, us too). It reminds us that in this day and age, privacy is minimal and our actions can be shared globally in the matter of minutes.