MAKING A COLLEGE CHOICE

In the recent past, grand children asked my advice about choosing a college and a career. My advice to all of them is that they should let a career chose them, meaning that should let their own propensities guide them. By giving experience a chance, they will end up in a career that fits their talents and personality. One of those choices should be that college is not for them. Obviously, most people have their choices somewhat limited by innate mental and physical abilities and associated drive and determination, likes, and dislikes—you cannot be a football quarterback if you are not an athlete nor can you ever be rich if you choose a career as a classroom teacher.

Start with generalities such as a desire to be a teacher, or take advantage of art or music talent, or the enjoyment of working with animals. Academic talents including mathematics, writing, politics and extend to technical skill, electronics, mechanics, construction, etc and then go on to such specifics as business verses biology verses physical sciences verses arts, etc. This all sounds complex but it is not. By the time they are asking for advice, they have answered most of these questions by introspection—and should be pointed out—that is what adolescence is all about.

If college is an option, student should focus on specific careers by judging their likes and dislikes based on experience in life as well as their success in courses they take. This should start with selection of courses the like. Why, for example, would a student interested in biology register for a course on graphic design. Obviously, if you registered in a calculus course but failed or did not enjoy it, then theoretical physics is probably not your best career choice. Starting with entry-level courses, by the time students are seniors, for or five years later, they will finalize their career choice by job opportunities. It usually does not work to choose a career before the college experience. So much for career choice; now, thought about making a college choice.

After a life long career as a professor in a professional school, a difficult truth for me to accept is our current government has allowed business interests to corrupt of our state universities. As a liberal, I believe that college level educational opportunities should be available for everyone according to talent, drive, and determination and not just those who can afford it. Therefore, the utopian interpretation of this is that anyone who desires to go to college should be able to register in what every they choose. Reference here is to the career choice matrix as presented in the first three paragraphs. Tax supported public universities with open doors for everyone but close the doors on those who lack the talent and drive to succeed, an educational system of “natural selections” based on trial and error. This smacks of social Darwinism, but so what as long as there is equal opportunity.

The fear that the freshman class would be huge would be realized but by far, most people do not want to go to college. Most young people know when they do not have the desire, talent, or drive for these type of careers. Second, the “trail by fire” will eliminate many who have made a mistake in assessing their own ability or cannot fulfill a parents dream. By adhering to rigorous standards, the size of the class would drastically diminish with only the most talented being able to complete the curriculum even extend it into the master degree level and finally the PhD level—no grade or degree inflation.

What has gone wrong with this dream and how has our state universities been corrupted is the objective of this post. There is a thing called human greed. It is something we all have; we do not want to pay taxes. In addition, we have a strong dislike of cheating. We would not want someone going to college on my tax dollars just so he or she did not have to go to work. The third and most complex and difficult thing to understand is the impact industrialization of our university system have had on higher education.

We do not want to pay taxes. Politicians we elect grant tax money to all level of education including state universities. We have had a never ending series of confrontations over taxes since government were formed. The “cut taxes mantra” has bankrupted our government. Therefore, the amount of money available for state legislature to support universities has fallen dramatically; “you” have bankrupted the institutions of learning. The universities, in compensation for loss of tax support, have raised tuition making higher education a rich family’s game. A yearly tuition of $60,000 over five years in a public” university is untenable and the cost of seven to ten years for professional degrees is ridiculous. The student loan situation make is worse: the government guaranteed student loans so lending institution can charge less, but “banker greed” steps in and the interest rates do not fall, in fact, they increase. A $300,000 to $600,000 debt with a 6% interest on graduation discourages parents and students like.

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