College?

[~darkelfgirl~]

I want to know the truth from actual people (besides my Oscar-nominated teachers, invisible guidance counselors, or fake people on pretty paper).

How is it? Is it like Dante's Inferno or is everyone just exaggerating? How about term papers/midterms/finals? How about free time?

[EricTheFred]

It depends upon your major, and also pretty strongly upon what your high school was like. My son is in an IB program, and is already using college textbooks in some of his courses as a high school junior, so he's probably going to have a much easier time with the transition than what I went through. I came out of a high school 'honors program' so weak that I hadn't even been able to take some courses that colleges expect anyone entering college to have taken. (My counselor had a lot of trouble wrapping her mind around the concept that, not only had I not taken Chemistry in hich school, my high school didn't even offer Chemistry. Or Calculus. Or AP Courses...)

Your individual preparation is vital, too. If you are going into a technical or science field, start relearning how to write papers, because you really did need to know how to write, and make sure you didn't leave any math skills behind. If you are headed into a liberal arts program, start thickening your hide now, because you will not believe how forceful and opinionated the teachers will be getting. And arguing with them is better known as "digging your own grave."

The most important thing is, don't fall behind. If you take it easy at the beginning, you will regret it. The time to take it easy is toward the end of the semester when everyone else is pulling all-nighters and stressing out. Get this stuff out of the way early so you can attack exams and such with a working brain.

[LadyRushia]

According to my father (who is an actual person), the key to college is time management. Not putting enough time in your work will lead to a lot of the stress. Also, I think it depends on where you go.

[minakichan]

Doesn't it... depend on the college? I mean, I have friends at art school, tech school, community college, state school, Ivy League, etc, and their stories are all different. It also kind of depends on what kind of student you are... And EECS people have it super-tough, whereas a business/humanities major like me? I can laugh at them all mwahahaha.

I happen to go to the school that most people consider to have the highest suicide rate in the nation (whether that's true or not, I don't know; I doubt it, though). For some people, it's hell, for others, it's a giant party; not everyone actually studies hard (they're too busy pulling pranks on this one itty bitty liberal arts college down the street), and if you're a C student, life is goooooood. For me, it fluctuates. I have free time when I don't have exams (midterms), but it vaporizes when I do, but that might because I can't time-manage. Hmm, I actually have a lot less stress than I did in high school, but that's partially because I time-manage better and I don't waste time doing pointless things like... eating. Or chores, or watching TV. Or getting yelled at by my stereotypical Asian parents.

Too many variables!

[EricTheFred]

It matters more what your major is, and how you are preparing for it, in my opinion.

My credentials are graduate engineer, magna cum laude, from a not-so-difficult-as-MIT-but-still-tough program (UTD. You probably haven't even heard of it in your neck of the woods.) and I tutored several of my fellow students whilst going through. I would say what you bring to the party is a lot more important than the school itself in the context of the question asked.

The good students work hard through the semester and figured out ahead of time what their deficiencies are. The frazzled, near-suicide pack were the unprepared ones and the late starters.

I was one of the good students, but only because I had made a false start as a music major in another school before switching majors. My first couple years I had to bust my butt to catch up, but I was fortuitously not in a technical program yet. I am very glad in retrospect that that happened, because I would have crashed and burned as an engineering student straight out of high school. I could see myself in every one of those poor kids I was tutoring.

Wait a minute.... Stereotypical Asian parents and they didn't insist that you go to "Hahbahd"? I thought my wife was the only Asian mom in existence not trying to get her kids into that place!

[Peanut]

As someone who's in college and whose parents have worked at colleges for as long as I can remember, I can tell you that what everyone has said so far is true. Your work load is going to depend on three things: 1) the school your attending, 2) your teachers, 3) your course load. If your lucky, all of these will be relatively balanced and you will have a decent work load and will actually have some free time to waste on other things. A few other things I've learned from my parents and my time at SEU:

1. Every degree has you take a class which is meant to weed out those who really aren't cut out for said degree. You'll hear upper classmen complaining about how hard these classes are so you should be able to figure out when you too will have to deal with them...

2. Some teachers have a mission...a mission to prove that you know nothing...to the best of your ability try to avoid taking classes with these teachers.

3. No matter how good the dorm food is that first week, you will inevitably find yourself complaining about it later in the semester.

4. Be sure you can write well...AP classes help...

5. Time management skills...use them if you have them or learn how to use them if you don't...if you can manage your time you will keep your sanity.

6. Even though everyone else will tell you not to, get some sleep. Sleep deprivation is the number 1 cause of sickness among college students...if you live in a dorm you'll understand why...

That's all I have, I hope it helps you...

[EricTheFred]

Some teachers have a mission...a mission to prove that you know nothing...to the best of your ability try to avoid taking classes with these teachers.

Eeyehp. I remember one professor (teaching a class on communication theory) who looked out across the classroom after two weeks and declared that not one single student in the class was qualified to be an engineering student. Sitting in that classroom were two people working on their second degrees (one had a degree, and experience, in Chemistry, the other had a Law degree from U Texas, one of the best law schools in the South) and three future Texas Instruments employees (that I know of.) I went on into Analog Circuit Design. The other two went into semiconductor engineering and RF Circuit Design. (and the RF guy went on to earn a Ph.D.)

And that so-and-so is still there, trying to convince everyone they should give up now and transfer to the business school where they belong.

6. Even though everyone else will tell you not to, get some sleep. Sleep deprivation is the number 1 cause of sickness among college students...if you live in a dorm you'll understand why...

It's also the number one cause of bad test grades. Remember that, when you're tempted to pull an all-nighter to cram for a test.

[Technomancer]

I want to know the truth from actual people (besides my Oscar-nominated teachers, invisible guidance counselors, or fake people on pretty paper).

How is it? Is it like Dante's Inferno or is everyone just exaggerating? How about term papers/midterms/finals? How about free time?

Like Eric said, it depends on your major. Generally though, you *need* to keep up with your homework assignments/reading or whatever. Doing the practice problems is what will keep you on the ball, and your mind ready for the next test. Also, don't cram for tests. If you've kept up with your work, you won't need to, but it's not something you should be doing anyways. If you get a good night's sleep before the test, you can go in with a fresh mind and work out problems even when you're not wholly familiar with them, or if you've forgotten something.

[Dante]

It depends on a lot of things, I had the joy of going through both an animation program at GCC and the physics program at ASU. While I worked diligently at both subjects, I can definitely attest to the incredible difficulty of the physics program. I had straight As as an art student and I was the top of my class at the time, but in physics at ASU, I was happy to survive with a C after bringing my mind to beyond the brink of mental instability. When I would approach the time managament faculty at ASU, they asked me how my time was distributed between work, play and school... I threw the other two markers away and blacked out the paper in school work. It frightened them, and they told me that I was going to utter ruin my mind, body and spirit completely... I went ahead and did it anyways... if I didn't I am certain that I would have failed.

The numbers show the results better than the actual statements though. In art, I could expect that most students who entered the program would finish at GCC if they put their hearts into it. At ASU, out of thirty-five incredibly talented, frighteningly hard working juniors, only 10 would graduate with me and five would be held back at least one year. The rest would simply be "cut out".

That stated, college is also an incredible growing experience and often the more difficult the struggle the more you are learning. College has apparently been an incredibly powerful influence in my life, or else I wouldn't have spent ten years enrolled in various colleges (well it will be ten years this coming fall). Overall, if the pain of learning wasn't worth the knowledge you gained from the experience, why attend at all? Yes, adults like to hammer kids all the time about how they will live a miserable life without college, but you have to take many things into consideration.

While gaining a college degree does increase your salary, unless you have a scholarship or your parents are willing to pay for it, you may find that your student debt will continue to follow you around until your forty... and you can't get rid of it by declaring bankruptcy... it will always haunt you. Furthermore, especially in today's unstable economy, college grads are often underpaid and underhired because the US market is looking to other countries for "cheap labor". Granted, factory jobs have the same problem, but I'm not saying that college grads are immune from the effects of exported jobs. That stated, you can think of your college career as an investment of time and money... if you simply worked a full time job and stayed home with your parents saving the money for the four-six years, you could come out with enough to put a downpayment on a house. However, in college, you may have a debt equal to a downpayment on a house and come out of it into a less than fertile job market...

Finally, many of the majors offered in college don't pay whatsoever. If you're thinking that you're going to gain a great living from a degree in art or literature, think again. The only degrees that will increase your standard of living are the degrees that are in high demand in the job market. That includes boring incredibly difficult and often boring fields that may not interest you in the slightest. But without the interest to fuel your passion, you won't make it through the difficult course loads, money just doesn't provide the drive, you need a passion about the area you are studying. For many college students, this passion comes through the belief that their college studies not only impact themselves economically, but more importantly, their college studies impact humanity for the better. Their hard work isn't self serving, it serves the whole of humanity by producing a labor force that wouldn't exist if not for students like themselves. Others however, gain their drive from personal interests that already consume their lives. Finally others see college as the source of financial independence, a way to work as ones own boss, by starting their own bussiness.

As you can tell, the list of reasons to go to college are numerous, and the above is certainly not exausting. But if you can pick your own reason out from your own heart, and you see college as the bridge to your inner most dreams, then going through the gates of Hell to get to them won't seem so bad. After all, it had to be something incredible to drive me to take three advanced physics courses and a course in Japanese all at the same time. I might not be the same afterwards, but I was driven to make that choice, despite its outcome.

[Mithrandir]

As a real person who works at a college, I'll try to sum up some of the most salient facts (that others have mentioned, to be sure):

1) If your major involves subject with specific answers, it will take you more time. I'm only half-kidding. Majors with lots of math and science take a lot, whereas every philosophy/theology/english major I knew had more free time.

2) If you go to a COMMUNITY COLLEGE, it will be an easier transition to a 4 year college. A local CC can get you the experience of the college curriculum difficulty without having to have the extra stress of leaving home. Then when you go to a 4 year, you can have that piece of it under your belt (it cheaper, too. )

3) You get out what you put in. If you apply yourself hardest during the FIRST years of college, you can slack a tiny bit later. HOWEVER - this only works if you are planning to cram 4 years of college into 5. Or if you are like me, 6.

4) If you go for a masters/doctorate/Ph.D., don't plan on doing anything else. Really.

That's my $0.02, anyway.

[~darkelfgirl~]

Thanks guys ^^. Your info is very helpful!

I'm majoring in meteorology (weather science). I know that involves Physics, and I really stink at Physics. (Hey, I passed my test with an 80--a miracle from God). I wanted to major in literature, but only few get far in that (I guess most end up as English teachers).

Argh...I applied to universities...(one of them ridiculously expensive--$41,000 a year). I'm definitely going to need lots of scholarships.

[minakichan]

Haha, I don't know about you guys, but part of my awesome time management strategy of doom is deciding which assignments to do and which tests to study for... and which ones to neglect, or to expend minimal effort upon. I made the illogical decision of doing all of my homework and studying for all of my tests in high school, and I regret it; now, in college, I can get the same grade results with 2-3 hours extra of free time or sleep (but it might help that my college considers A- and A+ the same...). >DDD I've only fallen asleep once in a semester in college, whereas it'd be 3-4 times a semester in high school!

[Ashley]

Coming from a college senior...

College is mostly what you make of it. You can be a slave to the institution and live for nothing but homework (*ahem*) or you can be a social bug and party it up, or something completely inbetween.

My advice to you would be to stay at home if you can--I hated dorm life and never made the transition to a new city by myself very well, and dealt with a lot of homesickness. Plus, it's a LOT cheaper to do your own laundry and eat your parents' food, etc. But I know plenty of people who did just fine, so I guess it depends on the person.

My other word of wisdom would be to take some classes you think would be fun just for the heck of it. College is one of the few times in life you're allowed to do things that seem ridiculous.

My final word would be to actively make free time; get involved with a local church's college group and make relationships. Plan on seeing a movie on Friday night, or having a girls' day once a month, or even just taking Sunday off. It will help your stress levels (college is, I'm afraid, truly stressful) and your overall well being.

[Peanut]

My advice to you would be to stay at home if you can--I hated dorm life and never made the transition to a new city by myself very well, and dealt with a lot of homesickness. Plus, it's a LOT cheaper to do your own laundry and eat your parents' food, etc. But I know plenty of people who did just fine, so I guess it depends on the person.

This reminds me of something I forgot to mention. Generally, the first stretch of the first semester (from the beginning of school to thanksgiving) is the hardest part of the year. This is generally when most freshmen living away from home deal with homesickness and a lot of times end up going back home because of this...I was one of the weird ones who instead of missing my home and friends and family just missed my cat...hmm...

[mechana2015]

To act as a counterpoint to Ashley, I got over the switch from hometown to city, partially due to the structure of our school fairly quick, partially due to the ability to visit home on every other weekend, and then slowly go home less and less. One option that I bring up with this is to look for colleges that are both nearby and have good programs for what you wish to do. I have broken away from home almost completely, but it took about 4 years.

[~darkelfgirl~]

I definitely want to make free time for myself. I'm a nervous wreck without a bit of down time. Plus I don't want to ditch my writing (which I'm afraid will happen).

Me =/= Partying. It's boring and I'll sit there observing the actions of everyone else.

If I get accepted to either college (both at the ends of the state) I'll probably visit home once a month (or my parents visit me).

[shiroineko]

I've been out of college for almost 2 years now, and I'm in a ton of debt - I foresee myself living with my parents for a long time, lol (I ended up gong to a private school). While I don't regret my major (it was elementary teaching), it is extremely difficult around here to get a job and NY state requires a Master's for me to teach permanently...and I'm not yet sure if I'm going to go in that direction anyway (I'm considering going the alternate route for Christian Education through Bible college) but yeah... it really was a great experience for me, a very stressful four years but it was worth it. Keep on top of your school work so you don't fall behind and have panic attacks (which was very common for me lol). If you live close enough and drive, commuting wouldn't be a bad idea; I lived on campus mainly because I didn't have a license or car. Definitely seek out college church groups or Bible studies on your campus if you can (I didn't have much of a campus ministry/support at the time I went, but definitely see if it's out there).

do you have any thoughts on what you'd like to major in?

[Silent Hunter]

Is there a local community college you can attend to get the basic requirements out of the way? That's what I'm doing right now. My grades in high school were decent, but not good enough for scholarships. So, I'm going to a community college that's a good price and I've got good classes and teachers.
In fact, my brother did the same thing and is now at a big college an hour away from home, and he thinks a lot of the teachers from the local college were better than some of the ones he has now.

Anyway. I am using my time more wisely than in high school and I am getting much better grades and I still have a decent amount of time to myself and for work.

[Dante]

I'm majoring in meteorology (weather science). I know that involves Physics, and I really stink at Physics. (Hey, I passed my test with an 80--a miracle from God).

You could always do meteorological studies of Arizona... if you became the weather woman, all you would have to do is say sunny and hot EVERY SINGLE DAY FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE ^_>! Granted... that could get very boring... plus we don't have sunny weather EVERY day... but it rains here so infrequently that they may as well act like it! (Plus when they try to guess the rainy weather during the one or two times during the year that it does rain, they are HORRIBLY AND TERRIBLY WRONG... ALL THE TIME!) They're getting laughable too, like nowadays, they'll come on TV and predict "where" the rain will fall down to your zip code... for tomorrow... problem is the entire storm system they are talking about doesn't come in until two days later and dumps on everyone far more or far less then they predict T_T... Nice going there weather man, a day late, and off by a rain order of magnitude! Or then theres the monsoonal weather patterns... where they predict 70% chances of rain day after day... but it never rains... maybe they consider big thick clouds of dust equivalent to rain... or maybe because it rained SOMEWHERE, that qualifies their statements... "Hey we were right, it rained today... in Tuscon... didn't we say there would a 70% chance of rain anywhers near you! Yeah, we meant a 70% chance of rain in the ENTIRE state of Arizona! " Ahem... end rant, now back to college discussions...

EDIT: Well... at least after another side rant.

Oh and mind you... unless you have a free ride the whole way... no college education is worth $41,000 a year... Over four years (thats the minimum, it generally takes between five and six) that will cost you $164,000. NOTHING will make that worth it. Given the current crash in the housing market, you might be able to buy a house outright with that kind of money. Also take note, at $41,000 a year, if there are 30 kids in a class (there are generally more) and each kid takes an average of 24 credit hours a year, with each class having an average of 3 credits... they would have to pay their profs $153,750 per class they teach in a year (They generally teach more than one a semester) if they split the money evenly between the profs... but they won't be making that kind of money, which means some jerk is sitting back pulling in the money without producing any work whatsoever... that's just not right! Don't support the capititalistic pigs! For that type of swine believe that some pork is more equal than others, so give them no pearls whatsoever!

[Sheenar]

Oh and mind you... unless you have a free ride the whole way... no college education is worth $41,000 a year...

I would have to disagree with Pascal. A college degree is definitely worth the effort and money. (Of course, my college is only about $14,000/year and the majority of that is paid for my scholarships --I only have 1 loan to cover the rest.)
In order to find a job that pays well enough to cover the rising cost of living, you would need a college degree --most employers nowadays require at least a Bachelor's to hire you. (Unless you work retail, restaurant, etc.)
I, for example, wish to work for Texas Parks and Wildlife. The more I look at it, the more I'm realizing that I'll probably have to have a Master's. (Not sure if I want 3 or so more years of school after I graduate...). But anyway, for pretty much every position I would be looking at working with animals/wildlife, they require at least a bachelor's. (Which I am working on in Animal Science.)

Plus, college is a valuable experience. I've made my closest friends here and college has really grown and stretched my faith.

Definitely get involved in a local church and in a campus ministry. It's also important to take what you learn in church and in campus worship and take it to the campus --a college campus is definitely a HUGE mission field (even at Christian colleges). You will meet a lot of people that are searching for something to satisfy them--just build relationships with people and show them Christ.
Don't be afraid of being away from home. I know being away from my home has taught me so much. It's taught me to depend less on my mother and more on God to meet my needs. It's taken me out of my bubble of comfort and stretched me.
I mean, you have to leave the nest sooner or later, right? I agree that a gradual leaving is best --I went home a couple of times a month, then built it to just holidays, now I don't go home at all (long story.)
Remember that God is good and He will take care of you. Just be prepared to have your faith tested and possibly shaken when you go to college --but it's all in the growing experience.

[Dante]

I would have to disagree with Pascal. A college degree is definitely worth the effort and money. (Of course, my college is only about $14,000/year and the majority of that is paid for my scholarships --I only have 1 loan to cover the rest.)
In order to find a job that pays well enough to cover the rising cost of living, you would need a college degree --most employers nowadays require at least a Bachelor's to hire you. (Unless you work retail, restaurant, etc.)
I, for example, wish to work for Texas Parks and Wildlife. The more I look at it, the more I'm realizing that I'll probably have to have a Master's. (Not sure if I want 3 or so more years of school after I graduate...). But anyway, for pretty much every position I would be looking at working with animals/wildlife, they require at least a bachelor's. (Which I am working on in Animal Science.)

College is worth money, but not 41k a year kind of money, I doubt it if Texas Parks and Wildlife is going to be paying you over 120k a year. Colleges come a dime a dozen, and going to a fancy school will not enhance your income great enough to cover the losses taken by attending the school. Further more, the enhancement in income generally jumps from the 15k-30k a year rate to 30k-60k a year for most college graduates (Note that in certain brackets you will be making less money a year then you paid them... take out taxes cost of living and everything else...)

There is a major difference between 41k and 14k, AND there is a major difference between having to pay for it all yourself and having someone else pay for it. The latter is cool, because it doesn't matter where you go. But the former can really hurt you bad time, college debt is a major problem in the US, especially if those students cannot find jobs that meet the combined needs of paying off that debt and achieving the standard of living they expected from working for a college degree. Also note that most in state colleges cost about half as much as out of state colleges, but they are harder to get into for most in-state students then they were meant to be.

Reason: Out of state students have to pay twice as much so the college can rake in more money. Foreign students have to pay even more. Thus there is a financial incentive for colleges to pull in out of state and foreign students to their campuses.

Don't get ripped off on going to college, in Arizona I would have to pay about 5k a year to attend a University (and they've skyrocketed in a lot of ways). Combined over four years, that's 20k instead of 56k or 164k. Its not an internet speed, higher doesn't mean better. Excluding potential problems from interest, that means that in whatever time it would take me to pay off my debt (my poor parents had to support me almost the entire way) it would take the other two people about twice as long and eight times as long to pay off their college debts. If we make the same income... yeah.

The best choice if you're just starting out at college I believe is to check out a community college. Out here, you pay by the credit (no penalty for going under twelve) at a rate of about 1.6k a year. That GREATLY reduces your schooling costs for the first two years. The education is first rate, the cost allows you to take more free time courses in writing and other areas of interest, and the class sizes are generally far smaller, meaning that you get closer to your teachers (generally no massive halls where you're just a face with a number). Plus, application is almost 100% garunteed, I don't believe they refuse entry to anyone, you just have to keep your grades up once you get in. They're about the only colleges that I know that don't judge a book off its cover, the easier homework load will also give you more free time to hang out and make new friends. Some universities also allow you garunteed entry if you achieved the associates degree in the same state (ASU does if you graduate from the Maricopa Community Colleges). That can be a big win, because you can get an associates in the subject you ENJOY and then move on using the credit transfer to get the upper division courses at the university in the subject you NEED to make a better living.

A couldn't survive off my animation degree, the markets too dead. But physics, I can do something good with a degree in physics, even if I'm not working in a laboratory. The degree itself comes with a LOT of momentum and terrifies small children if you throw scary equations on the chalkboard while laughing manically. I could easily find a good full time job and use my academic experience to move up the ranks. But at the same time, in my free time I can still draw and do animation. Even if you don't get a degree from a community college, they're a great place to relax when you're done with college in order to take courses in subject areas you enjoy. Writing is one of the few fields where a degree in English won't likely help you as a freelance writer... However, knowing how to write query letters, looking up potential markets for your work, understanding various rights offered in contracts, learning how to derive inspiration for your work and tuning your style are all things you can gain in at a community college level. The markets pay on a freelance per item basis (prices depend on the market type), and if you're a professional writer an agent is often your only way into the door. Once again though the boring fields win out, and most of the money in writing can be found in... NONFICTION! Yeah... how about that... novel writers don't have majority of the money with a small peak in areas you can't go into because of your Christianity (Erotica). But... Writing is a good field to make a little extra fun side money in your free time, because most authors feel as though they are driven to write (If you don't feel bad at the intial overflow of rejection letters... they come in huge waves... to everyone)... so if you're going to do it, you might as well learn how to publish, inspire and make a little side money off it while you're at it!

[Mithrandir]

Note: I really don't recommend Education as a profession. Science/Engineering are HUGE for the payback.

College is worth money, but not 41k a year kind of money,

Did you REALLY just say that?!? Do you have ANY IDEA how many studies have shown the trade off on this one???

Maybe I misunderstood what you are saying, but... Let's start here:
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/SavingForCollege/IsYourDegreeWorth1million.aspx


I don't know about Meteorological science, but a a job with a standard engineering degree will net you a half a million dollars MORE than the same job without one (on average, according to the US Census Bureau at least).

Virtually all the studies I have read indicate that the lifetime payoff of a degree is completely worth it - and it's certainly proven true for everyone I know. Do you have any studies or evidence to support your claim?

[sharien chan]

College isn't too bad free time wise. Obviously theres homework and classes to go to, but you realize that theres a lot of pockets of time in which you have free time. Like most of your classes will be anywhere from 8am-8pm but most of the time they aren't straight through (like I have 2 classes on mondays, and 3 every other day) with a lot of time for homework, my job and all 3 clubs I've joined. I have plenty of free time.
As for the tests and whatnot. Really depends on your major and what your good at. Mostly for the basic general education classes they are pretty much multiple choice.
My advice? GO TO CLASS! I got lazy last semester and didn't go to a lot of classes and I suffered the consequences. Go to as many classes as you can go to , and review sessions and whatnot. They help

[EricTheFred]

I suspect the claim was actually that the difference between a 14K/year degree and a 41k/year degree wasn't made up by the payoff. I don't recall ever seeing a study on this, so I can't comment on the claim itself.

I can see a high dollar degree making a difference in a very competitive job market, like, say, classical music performance, where only a small percentage get into high end orchestras and the vast majority teach music lessons to kids or teach school. I'm not as sure in technical degrees, where the level of education (bachelor, masters, PhD) and one's on-the-job performance seems to matter more than the actual school.

I'm not sure if that extends to Meteorology though.

[Peanut]

I can see a high dollar degree making a difference in a very competitive job market, like, say, classical music performance, where only a small percentage get into high end orchestras and the vast majority teach music lessons to kids or teach school. I'm not as sure in technical degrees, where the level of education (bachelor, masters, PhD) and one's on-the-job performance seems to matter more than the actual school.

Though I'm only 18 (and in my first year in college) I know for a fact that this is true. For instance, a degree in medicine or engineering from Johns Hopkins is worth a lot more in the long run then a degree in Theater from Johns Hopkins. Of course, for fields such as engineering and medicine, PHD's and Master degrees matter a whole lot more then your bachelors.

I also would like to point out that I agree with Pascal's statement about a college education not being worth 41K a year and here's why, the mass majority of US students and their families can't afford to pay 41K a year for anything...you'd be broke before you had your degree. I think this is what Pascal was talking about, literally paying 41K a year without scholarships or financial aid, which is why I agree with him on this point. However, I don't agree about refusing to go to an expensive school unless you have a full ride, as long as you have enough financial aid and scholarships to lower the price of going to college for you to at least afford it. Then it is worth every penny...

[Mave]

I suppose it was tough for me since I squeezed my Bachelor's into 3 years and worked part-time. I did have a life though, although that required sacrificing some sleep (not for partying! Drawing comics and working part-time, that is).

My target career requires at least a Master's so I worked hard towards having an assistantship (God blessed me with one, praise Him). It sucked out a lot more energy from me so listen to OldMith in this one.

The returns aren't too bad in my mind. I'm probably earning almost thrice as much as my college education costed but really, it's too early to gauge (only worked for 1 1/2 years). It was worthed it to me.

I also took the opportunity to live in several places: shared dorm, single room dorm, grad student apartment, studio apartment, Mormon residentials and that helped me to meet up with loads of ppl.

A lot of hard work but it was fun too with good time management. I never pulled a late nighter 'coz it doesn't work for me.

Oh almost forgot to mention: My major is Science in nature.

[termyt]

I graduated with a Bachelor's of Science in Computer Science, magna cum idiot.

In my college experience with the friends I had in college, you will find that pretty much everything everyone on both sides of the argument is telling you is true. Regardless of your major, there will be a lot of work to do. Don't be afraid to take more than 4 years to earn your 4 year degree.

There will be times when you are so busy you will want to go insane. You will do nothing but study from the time you wake until the time you pass out from exhaustion many hours later.

There will be other times when your studies require little of your time outside of the class room itself.

You can mitigate some of this – smooth out the stress curve so-to-speak, by carefully choosing your classes for a semester. Ask your upperclassmen about the classes you need to take. Is it a good idea to take “Elementary Classical Physics 2” and “Calculus and Analytical Geometry 2” at the same time? A good sempai will tell you “Don’t let the ‘Elementary’ fool you – those two classes both require a ton of mathematical skill and taking them together is suicide, especially since Physics 2 requires you to know Calc 2 stuff from the get-go.” I wish I had asked someone before I did it, let me tell you.

You need to figure out how much college-level work you can do at one time. Freshmen level entry classes will help you adjust, since they often involve less out-of-class work. The “Rule of 60” is a good place to start as well. The Rule of 60 states that you should schedule no more than 60 hours per week in work and school using this equation:

Number of Class Hours + Number of Study Hours + Number of Work Hours = 60; where Number of Study Hours = Number of Class hours x 2

So, if you sign up for 12 hours of classes, you should expect 24 hours of study for a total of 36 hours of school work per week. That leaves you 24 hours to work. If you need to work more, take less classes and graduate later. If you need to graduate sooner, take more classes and work less.

There are 168 hours in a week. 8 hours of sleep per day is 56 hours. 168-56 = 112 waking hours.
112 - 60 = 52 hours not covered by the rule of 60 for eating, relaxing, hanging out with friends.

[Dante]

Did you REALLY just say that?!? Do you have ANY IDEA how many studies have shown the trade off on this one???

Maybe I misunderstood what you are saying, but... Let's start here:
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...h1million.aspx


I don't know about Meteorological science, but a a job with a standard engineering degree will net you a half a million dollars MORE than the same job without one (on average, according to the US Census Bureau at least).

Virtually all the studies I have read indicate that the lifetime payoff of a degree is completely worth it - and it's certainly proven true for everyone I know. Do you have any studies or evidence to support your claim?

To an extent you are and to an extent you're not getting what I'm talking about. Note that the net increases quoted on this site does not make any reference to the cost of the education. For instance, a bachelors in engineering from a 5k a year school will still net you the same as a bachelors in engineering from a 50k a year school. The gains are the same even though one is a far greater monetary investment.

With this in mind, the very website you quoted states that these are values earned over a lifetime. Meteorology does not pay anything close to engineering. Therefore, if she makes the average of $308,000 more over her lifetime, but has to subtract off $164,000 for tuition costs alone (thats for a four year minimum, most of the time it can take up to six years making it a net loss of $246,000) that only leaves an extra $144,000 made over her lifetime. That means that her education is paying her roughly $36,000 a year (Its only a little over $10,000 a year if she goes for six years).

Overall, given the work, the all nighters, the added costs from living away from home that add to the costs, and the interest required to pay for the schooling... Yeah... I think you could pull off a better net income by working a full time job (or two given that you may find yourself working 80 hour weeks doing homework) for four-six years while living with your parents, saving up the money the entire time. You'll also be ahead when its done as far as experience is concerned, and money now is better than money when your old, it can be invested in a CDs, or pay off your house (the largest investment of your life outside of perhaps children).

As an overall concept, I love college, I wouldn't still be here if I didn't think it was well worth it. But note the difference in price we're talking about. We're in two different ballparks. And even given the difference in price, the main reason I find college to be worth it is because of how it defines me as a person, and how it gives me the knowledge I desire to know... not because of the monetary payoff... If only for the money, I'm not sure that getting a masters degree will really help me out... it might even hurt me.

-Pascal

[mitsuki lover]

The most important thing about college is finding one in the part of the country you would most like to attend school.Everything else comes later.
As long as you find some place that has your major in the part of the country you want to be in that should be what matters.
Oh,and also one that is close to a Pizza Hut or Hardee's or something like that gets extra bonus points because you and your friends that you meet there will need a place to hang out.

[mechana2015]

Of course, for fields such as engineering and medicine, PHD's and Master degrees matter a whole lot more then your bachelors.

Medical yes, engineering, not necessarily. A lot of engineers are Bachelors degree holders. In most fields PHD results in more of a research and university based, educational career path.