College or no college?

[Greebo]

People can be successful without a college education but they have to really want it just as much as a someone going to college has to really want schooling for them to succeed.

Emphasis, mine.

Win? YOURS!

[bunnys]

Study after study shows that those who graduate from a 4-year college make a significanly higher salary their entire lives than their non-college-educated counterparts.

Don't write your son off yet. I am a high school teacher. I've seen a lot of floundering, driftless kids over my career. They usually pull it together--maybe not in your desired time frame but eventually.

Here's an example of someone I knew that drifted. From 8th grade on she never passed a math class on the first attempt. In high school she failed class after class and although she was in foreign language 4 years, she only passed the class 2 of those years. When she was about to graduate she visited the guidance counselor for the first time to be told her class rank. She was #87 out of 99 in the class and was shocked she was that high.

The day she graduated her sister said to her "congratulations, but it's not like you earned anything."

She went on to community college (because she had nothing better to do) and failed out the 2nd semester. The next year she went to an acting school and again failed out the 2nd semester. A year later she tried another college and (any surprise here) failed out the 2nd semester. (Notice a trend here?)

Finally, several years of floundering (and nearly 80 minimum wage jobs later) she pulled herself together enough to try school one more time--and graduated with honors in Political Science at the ripe age of 31. She then went on to graduate school for education and earned a Master's degree, certifying in secondary education.

Eventually she began teaching high school and is currently in the middle of her 13th year as a public school teacher and loves her job and is a really good teacher, too.

You got it, it's me. I'm glad I didn't give up on myself!

College is crucial. Please, please, unless you see some type of BURNING entrepreneurial, go-get-'em spirit in this kid that can't sit still long enough to get a degree before he takes on the world and makes his first million--PUSH HIM TO GO TO COLLEGE!

[FrabjousDay]

1. It's the young adult's decision, not yours!

2. Is college necessary? It depends on the person.

3. Things change. Young adults continue to grow and develop. Maybe college isn't the right thing right now, but it might be in the future.

Prior to graduating high school my husband was not viewed as "college material"...rowdy, no goals, lacking focus, blah, blah, blah. He took some time, tried school, left school, tried different jobs, lived in a few different cities, and eventually figured out what he wanted to do. Fast forward to today...he's an accomplished professional who completed his graduate degree with honors.

[josantoro]

I had 4 years of college and I think it was a complete waste of my time and my and others money. I am now an artisan for which I am self taught.
IMHO college is no longer what it should be - an education. Instead it is a parking spot for kids who don't know what they want and parents who don't know what to do with them.
Don't push your son to go to college. It is not for everyone. There is nothing like a dead-end, min. wage job to make college or advanced education look appealing.

[Greebo]

Study after study shows that those who graduate from a 4-year college make a significanly higher salary their entire lives than their non-college-educated counterparts.

December 2, 2010: http://www.quickanded.com/2010/12/u-...-the-same.html

The last BPS found that 62.7 percent of 1996 students who began at a four-year college seeking a bachelor’s degree got one by 2001. Yesterday, NCES released the first results from the newest BPS, which tracked students from 2003 to 2009. It found a nearly identical national graduation rate: 63.2 percent. Of the remaining students, 4 percent earned an associate’s degree or certificate, 8.8 percent were still enrolled at a four-year institution, 2.9 percent were enrolled at a two-year institution, and 21 percent had dropped out.

So approximately 20% of starting college students will not graduate or get any kind of degree, according to the most recent survey. Why push someone into a path that, lacking motivation, will likely end in 20%?

Don't write your son off yet.

Who said anything about writing them off. Not getting a college degree != writing them off. Not everyone, however, is SUITED for academic degrees. There are vocational skills that some are better suited for that pay quite well, and we have a looming shortage in those fields as our best and brightest craftsmen are starting to retire.

College is crucial.

Bollocks. College is helpful for the right kind of people, crucial for certain career paths, but crucial in general? Hardly.

[bunnys]

Greebo:

Did you actually use the word "bullocks?"

I don't think you really got the point of my post. The only reason OP stated that she didn't think college would be right for ds was because she thought he was "adrift." She said nothing about his aptitude or indicated in any way that there was something like a technical track she thought he'd be suited for or some other dream he had that pushing him into college would be an inappropriate track for her son.

I said "college-educated." One is not college educated until the degree is conferred. Until that time, college students and those dropping out of college before graduating are partially college educated. It is the possession of the degree that makes college-educated people more valuable in the marketplace.

How many people actually go to college without the intention of graduating and only want to simply bide time and piss away money? I think you've set up a false argument here when you talk about how detrimental it is to drop out of college. Of course it is. I don't think many would argue that it is.

The reality is that when a student graduates from college with a humanities or sciences degree they have proved that they can learn, delay gratification, discipline themselves and write. Employers like these characteristics in prospective employees and tend to reward them with higher incomes.

The problem is that OP has a son who is "adrift." I take that to mean that he is currently doing nothing but wasting time. I think she should continue to urge him to improve himself in any way she can. Education is the classic opportunity for young people to explore themselves and their interests. It's likely ds would find something that got him excited if he went to college and was exposed to different ideas and disciplines.

But I don't think she should force him to go--just continue to encourage him.

[oheoh's momma]

some people are cut out for college. My daughter hates school she graduated 18 in her high school class got a 27 on her acts. worked from the bottom to management and will continue to do so.
My son barely graduated high school d- average got a 31 on act they called his parents and him to the school. They thought he was stupid. went 2 years to college hated it.... he is a emt and loves it.
depends on the kid.. Our youngest loves UK and is doing well so far...
my other 2 children are fine with out a bachelors degree.