Aug 2012
College: right for everyone?
20/08/12 08:45
Q. Do you really think that college is right for everyone?
A. Do I think it is good for everyone? I do. Do I think it is right for everyone? I am not sure I know what that means. Do I think that age eighteen is the best time for all people to go to college? I do not.
Sometimes I think we make too much out of the idea of college. I am a fan of education. It is a good thing. Generally, the more education, the better. I don’t run into many people who are over-educated. Some people do find that they have a job that they like, and further education may not increase their satisfaction with their work significantly. Many people learn a lot outside of more traditional academic institutions. Many people learn a lot at work – from practice and from others. Sometimes colleges are places where people with knowledge gather to share their knowledge.
Almost all the research shows that a college education will often help you do better in your career, it will give you more opportunities, it will give you more confidence in the world of work, and the average graduate from a four-year college makes about $19,000 a year more, over a lifetime, than someone with only a high school diploma. More talent. More opportunities. More confidence. More income. Everyone can benefit from those.
What about all the students who just go to college and party and waste their parents’ money? I agree. Unfortunately, that happens much too often. It has been that way for many years. Perhaps it happens more often today. Even the biggest partiers will learn something, maybe even a lot. Would they learn more and get a greater return on the investment of their parents’ money if they went to college later? Very likely. So, we need to be cautious with our message that college is the answer to everything and everyone should go. I would argue that everyone can benefit from a college education, but right out of high school may not be the best time to do it. But, many people who graduated from high school, got a job, got married, had kids, and then tried to go to college will say to any students who will listen, “Go to college and get it done before your life fills up with 100 other responsibilities. You will be glad you did.”
But what about plumbers and electricians and carpenters and cooks? We need them. They can make a good living. They don’t need to go to college. Absolutely true. But, what about colleges like the University of Southern Maine or Clarkson University with majors like electrical engineering, electrician, industrial electronics, and power transmission? What about colleges like Southern Maine Community College or the University of Maine with majors in plumbing, pipefitting, property management, or mechanical engineering? What about colleges like Central Maine Community College or Colorado State University or Wentworth Institute of Technology with majors in carpentry or woodworking or architectural engineering or construction management or civil engineering or CAD or construction site management or structural engineering? What about going to Eastern Maine Community College or Washington County Community College or Johnson & Wales University to study culinary arts or restaurant management. More talent. More opportunities. More confidence. And, very likely, more income.
A good, well-chosen college education can be great for everyone, at the right point in their life when they are eager to learn and know why they want to learn. Perhaps some feel our economy needs more plumbers and welders and electricians. I say we should focus on creating as many opportunities as possible for our youth. “Our economy” will be theirs soon. We should help them build one that is full of opportunities.
I am a fan of knowledge and education. So, I like college.
A. Do I think it is good for everyone? I do. Do I think it is right for everyone? I am not sure I know what that means. Do I think that age eighteen is the best time for all people to go to college? I do not.
Sometimes I think we make too much out of the idea of college. I am a fan of education. It is a good thing. Generally, the more education, the better. I don’t run into many people who are over-educated. Some people do find that they have a job that they like, and further education may not increase their satisfaction with their work significantly. Many people learn a lot outside of more traditional academic institutions. Many people learn a lot at work – from practice and from others. Sometimes colleges are places where people with knowledge gather to share their knowledge.
Almost all the research shows that a college education will often help you do better in your career, it will give you more opportunities, it will give you more confidence in the world of work, and the average graduate from a four-year college makes about $19,000 a year more, over a lifetime, than someone with only a high school diploma. More talent. More opportunities. More confidence. More income. Everyone can benefit from those.
What about all the students who just go to college and party and waste their parents’ money? I agree. Unfortunately, that happens much too often. It has been that way for many years. Perhaps it happens more often today. Even the biggest partiers will learn something, maybe even a lot. Would they learn more and get a greater return on the investment of their parents’ money if they went to college later? Very likely. So, we need to be cautious with our message that college is the answer to everything and everyone should go. I would argue that everyone can benefit from a college education, but right out of high school may not be the best time to do it. But, many people who graduated from high school, got a job, got married, had kids, and then tried to go to college will say to any students who will listen, “Go to college and get it done before your life fills up with 100 other responsibilities. You will be glad you did.”
But what about plumbers and electricians and carpenters and cooks? We need them. They can make a good living. They don’t need to go to college. Absolutely true. But, what about colleges like the University of Southern Maine or Clarkson University with majors like electrical engineering, electrician, industrial electronics, and power transmission? What about colleges like Southern Maine Community College or the University of Maine with majors in plumbing, pipefitting, property management, or mechanical engineering? What about colleges like Central Maine Community College or Colorado State University or Wentworth Institute of Technology with majors in carpentry or woodworking or architectural engineering or construction management or civil engineering or CAD or construction site management or structural engineering? What about going to Eastern Maine Community College or Washington County Community College or Johnson & Wales University to study culinary arts or restaurant management. More talent. More opportunities. More confidence. And, very likely, more income.
A good, well-chosen college education can be great for everyone, at the right point in their life when they are eager to learn and know why they want to learn. Perhaps some feel our economy needs more plumbers and welders and electricians. I say we should focus on creating as many opportunities as possible for our youth. “Our economy” will be theirs soon. We should help them build one that is full of opportunities.
I am a fan of knowledge and education. So, I like college.
Liberal arts? Good? Bad?
15/08/12 10:37
Q. What is liberal arts, and would a liberal arts education make it harder to get a job?
A. “Liberal arts” is a semi-well-defined term generally applied to colleges. A liberal arts education is intentionally broad and tries to cover a lot of subjects in the humanities, arts, and sciences – that’s like studying why and how people and things work within the world, used to work, and maybe will work in the future. It is probably easier just to explain what “liberal arts” usually doesn’t include. A typical liberal arts college, like Bowdoin, Bates, and Colby, offers Economics courses and English, History, Sciences, and weird humanities courses like psychology and sociology and philosophy and anthropology and psychobiology and ethnomusicology, but they don’t usually offer business and accounting and engineering and culinary arts and poultry science and forensic entomology and turf management and other “preprofessional” courses that help you prepare for a specific job. In truth, the large majority of universities offer all of the above; they have a liberal arts program among many other “preprofessional” programs. Interestingly, many community colleges, which have in the past been focused on preparing students for a particular trade, are now expanding their liberal arts programs, and will continue to do so, if they don’t loose their courage.
So much for my more boring answer to your first question. To me, the second half of your question is much more interesting. At least to me!
If there is a subject within a liberal arts education that interests you a lot, I encourage you to pursue that. You will be more successful in college and in your career if you are working on something you care about.
Honestly, a liberal arts education is usually closer to subjects you have studied in high school, so if you really need a change of pace, you may want to pursue a more preprofessional program that seems more useful, and interesting, to you. But, if you announce that you plan to pursue a Peace Studies major instead of Molecular Genetics, be prepared for the adult world (which includes many parents) to groan a collective sigh covering over “how’s that kid ever going to get a job?”
You spend sixteen or seventeen years in education, if you go to a four-year college, and the adult world falls apart if their child can’t find a job in the first month after college. If finding a quick job is your priority, a liberal arts curriculum may not be the way to go. Liberal arts majors are generally slower to get jobs, but usually end up making more money over a lifetime. There is research on this, but it is complicated. A liberal arts education will help you integrate many different sets of knowledge to solve complex problems of the world, of a business, of your career. A good liberal arts education will help you reason and analyze, but if that doesn’t “float your boat,” you should pursue something of greater interest and a more immediate return, like naval architecture.
The “most liberal arts college in the country?” I cast my vote for St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland. Least liberal arts college? I will split my vote between NASCAR Tech and Cosmotech. But even Cosmotech has a course on theory. That sounds very liberal arts!
A. “Liberal arts” is a semi-well-defined term generally applied to colleges. A liberal arts education is intentionally broad and tries to cover a lot of subjects in the humanities, arts, and sciences – that’s like studying why and how people and things work within the world, used to work, and maybe will work in the future. It is probably easier just to explain what “liberal arts” usually doesn’t include. A typical liberal arts college, like Bowdoin, Bates, and Colby, offers Economics courses and English, History, Sciences, and weird humanities courses like psychology and sociology and philosophy and anthropology and psychobiology and ethnomusicology, but they don’t usually offer business and accounting and engineering and culinary arts and poultry science and forensic entomology and turf management and other “preprofessional” courses that help you prepare for a specific job. In truth, the large majority of universities offer all of the above; they have a liberal arts program among many other “preprofessional” programs. Interestingly, many community colleges, which have in the past been focused on preparing students for a particular trade, are now expanding their liberal arts programs, and will continue to do so, if they don’t loose their courage.
So much for my more boring answer to your first question. To me, the second half of your question is much more interesting. At least to me!
If there is a subject within a liberal arts education that interests you a lot, I encourage you to pursue that. You will be more successful in college and in your career if you are working on something you care about.
Honestly, a liberal arts education is usually closer to subjects you have studied in high school, so if you really need a change of pace, you may want to pursue a more preprofessional program that seems more useful, and interesting, to you. But, if you announce that you plan to pursue a Peace Studies major instead of Molecular Genetics, be prepared for the adult world (which includes many parents) to groan a collective sigh covering over “how’s that kid ever going to get a job?”
You spend sixteen or seventeen years in education, if you go to a four-year college, and the adult world falls apart if their child can’t find a job in the first month after college. If finding a quick job is your priority, a liberal arts curriculum may not be the way to go. Liberal arts majors are generally slower to get jobs, but usually end up making more money over a lifetime. There is research on this, but it is complicated. A liberal arts education will help you integrate many different sets of knowledge to solve complex problems of the world, of a business, of your career. A good liberal arts education will help you reason and analyze, but if that doesn’t “float your boat,” you should pursue something of greater interest and a more immediate return, like naval architecture.
The “most liberal arts college in the country?” I cast my vote for St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland. Least liberal arts college? I will split my vote between NASCAR Tech and Cosmotech. But even Cosmotech has a course on theory. That sounds very liberal arts!
The hardest colleges to get into?
12/08/12 10:39
Q. What are the hardest colleges to get into?
A. It all depends.
If you are a boy, the hardest to get into are probably Wellesley, Smith, Mount Holyoke, Scripps, and Bryn Mawr. If you are a girl, I would say Hampden-Sydney, Deep Springs, Wabash, and Morehouse.
If your favorite classical composer is Justin Bieber, it would probably be Juilliard or Curtis Institute of Music. If your mother is the only one who has ever said anything nice about your drawings, it could be the Rhode Island School of Design. If you dress like the average male high school guidance counselor, it could be the Fashion Institute of Technology. If you don’t have a car, it could be Colorado Mountain College in Leadville, known as being the highest (altitude) college campus in the country.
I remember years ago pulling on a huge wooden door to get into the Dartmouth admissions office and thinking, “This really is a hard college to get into.”
Other than those, the colleges that I think are the hardest to get into include (in alphabetical order): Amherst College, MA; Brown University, RI; California Institute of Technology, CA; Columbia University, NY; Dartmouth College, NH; Duke University, NC; Georgetown University, DC; Harvard University, MA; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA; Princeton University, NJ; Stanford University, CA; Swarthmore College, PA; University of Pennsylvania, PA; Williams College, MA and Yale University, CT. Bowdoin, Bates, Colby, Pomona, Claremont McKenna College, and Carleton may be a little easier to get into, but not by much. The University of Virginia, William & Mary, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are also hard schools to get into for out-of-state students.
Not by my design, but over the past twenty years I have ended up helping a lot of students get into these very selective schools. I guess I must not be as smart as they are. For at least fifteen years I was thinking that you needed to be really smart to get into these schools. I finally realized that what they all had in common was that they just got the job done. When they knew they needed to write a great essay, they just worked at it until they got it done. When they knew they needed an A on a test, they just did whatever it took to get that done. When they needed to get to class, to practice, and get application materials in by the deadline, they just got it done. It was as if no one had ever told them that they couldn’t get it done. They just did it. They got it done. I don’t know whether or not they were “smart.” Maybe they thought Mr. Jones, their high school guidance counselor, was a fashionistus. Maybe they thought Justin Bieber wrote the national anthem. I just know they made the effort and they got it done.
There are 4000 colleges in the United States. If you plan ahead, and make the effort, you can get into them all . . . almost.
A. It all depends.
If you are a boy, the hardest to get into are probably Wellesley, Smith, Mount Holyoke, Scripps, and Bryn Mawr. If you are a girl, I would say Hampden-Sydney, Deep Springs, Wabash, and Morehouse.
If your favorite classical composer is Justin Bieber, it would probably be Juilliard or Curtis Institute of Music. If your mother is the only one who has ever said anything nice about your drawings, it could be the Rhode Island School of Design. If you dress like the average male high school guidance counselor, it could be the Fashion Institute of Technology. If you don’t have a car, it could be Colorado Mountain College in Leadville, known as being the highest (altitude) college campus in the country.
I remember years ago pulling on a huge wooden door to get into the Dartmouth admissions office and thinking, “This really is a hard college to get into.”
Other than those, the colleges that I think are the hardest to get into include (in alphabetical order): Amherst College, MA; Brown University, RI; California Institute of Technology, CA; Columbia University, NY; Dartmouth College, NH; Duke University, NC; Georgetown University, DC; Harvard University, MA; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA; Princeton University, NJ; Stanford University, CA; Swarthmore College, PA; University of Pennsylvania, PA; Williams College, MA and Yale University, CT. Bowdoin, Bates, Colby, Pomona, Claremont McKenna College, and Carleton may be a little easier to get into, but not by much. The University of Virginia, William & Mary, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are also hard schools to get into for out-of-state students.
Not by my design, but over the past twenty years I have ended up helping a lot of students get into these very selective schools. I guess I must not be as smart as they are. For at least fifteen years I was thinking that you needed to be really smart to get into these schools. I finally realized that what they all had in common was that they just got the job done. When they knew they needed to write a great essay, they just worked at it until they got it done. When they knew they needed an A on a test, they just did whatever it took to get that done. When they needed to get to class, to practice, and get application materials in by the deadline, they just got it done. It was as if no one had ever told them that they couldn’t get it done. They just did it. They got it done. I don’t know whether or not they were “smart.” Maybe they thought Mr. Jones, their high school guidance counselor, was a fashionistus. Maybe they thought Justin Bieber wrote the national anthem. I just know they made the effort and they got it done.
There are 4000 colleges in the United States. If you plan ahead, and make the effort, you can get into them all . . . almost.
In-state or out-of-state?
10/08/12 08:50
Q. Do you think it is better to go to college in Maine or out of state?
A. I could be biased since I grew up in Maine and went to Bowdoin in Maine . . . but maybe I am not.
We have some great colleges in Maine. There are another 3950 good U.S. colleges outside of Maine. There are great options in Canada and around the world. Many of these colleges are very interested in enrolling Maine students. Most, maybe all, Maine colleges are very interested in doing the same.
If you are not likely to be eligible for any financial aid, Maine community colleges are likely to be your most affordable option, but that isn’t necessarily a good reason to choose one of them. A college education is an investment. If you are looking for your best return, you don’t necessarily invest as little as possible. If a Maine community college has a program that would serve you well, it can be a great choice. The University of Maine system can also be a relatively affordable option, but you don’t know that until you apply to other colleges, including colleges with higher tuition, room, and board, to see which colleges offer you the most financial aid. Do not limit your college list only to Maine colleges because you think they will be the only ones you can afford.
Enough about the cost of college.
A good college education broadens your world and it creates new markets for you. If you are comfortable with the world you have now, and think it will be a good world for you for fifty years ahead, you do not need to broaden your world in college. A college education close to home may increase your knowledge, and you will meet some new people, but it may not really broaden your world, as I am thinking of that.
I come down firmly on the side of new experiences and different environments. That is almost always challenging and scary. I think that is good. After Bowdoin I lived in Colorado. It was very different. Halfway through Kansas I started wondering if I had any idea what I was doing. I couldn’t even smell the ocean. Colorado was challenging. It took a while for me to get used to it. It was great. It was beautiful. It was fun. People were young and athletic. Denver had big companies, lots of them. There was a small mound of dirt they called Mt. Washington. Same elevation. I still have work in Colorado. I opened up a new market for me. After Colorado, I lived in Boston. Sometimes it seemed people were all competing to be the least friendly. Drivers always yelled at me. It was great. There was a lot of action. After Boston I lived in Texas. They didn’t even know Maine was a state. I didn’t even have cowboy boots. I did have a pickup truck, but it wasn’t a real pickup. I learned to like country music. It was a great experience, even though I haven’t been back since, and have no plans to do so. But, I learned a lot about heat and football and chicken-fried steak and am very glad I did it.
New experiences and new environments are not what you are used to, and they are challenging. Challenge is good! It makes you a stronger person. It develops new markets for your career. They still let me back into Maine. I turned down my country music and they let me right through the York tollbooth.
When you are putting your list of colleges together, I encourage you to be courageous and look beyond what you know and what looks comfortable. If you haven’t been too bad a teenage son or daughter, your parents may miss you and want you to stay close to home. But, it is your life ahead of you. You need to make it. And, if you aren’t too big a jerk, you will make new friends in college . . . many. It happens.
It is a great world, even Texas. College is a great opportunity to experience the world. That has huge value. And, if you turn down your strange music, they will always let you back in through the York tollbooth.
A. I could be biased since I grew up in Maine and went to Bowdoin in Maine . . . but maybe I am not.
We have some great colleges in Maine. There are another 3950 good U.S. colleges outside of Maine. There are great options in Canada and around the world. Many of these colleges are very interested in enrolling Maine students. Most, maybe all, Maine colleges are very interested in doing the same.
If you are not likely to be eligible for any financial aid, Maine community colleges are likely to be your most affordable option, but that isn’t necessarily a good reason to choose one of them. A college education is an investment. If you are looking for your best return, you don’t necessarily invest as little as possible. If a Maine community college has a program that would serve you well, it can be a great choice. The University of Maine system can also be a relatively affordable option, but you don’t know that until you apply to other colleges, including colleges with higher tuition, room, and board, to see which colleges offer you the most financial aid. Do not limit your college list only to Maine colleges because you think they will be the only ones you can afford.
Enough about the cost of college.
A good college education broadens your world and it creates new markets for you. If you are comfortable with the world you have now, and think it will be a good world for you for fifty years ahead, you do not need to broaden your world in college. A college education close to home may increase your knowledge, and you will meet some new people, but it may not really broaden your world, as I am thinking of that.
I come down firmly on the side of new experiences and different environments. That is almost always challenging and scary. I think that is good. After Bowdoin I lived in Colorado. It was very different. Halfway through Kansas I started wondering if I had any idea what I was doing. I couldn’t even smell the ocean. Colorado was challenging. It took a while for me to get used to it. It was great. It was beautiful. It was fun. People were young and athletic. Denver had big companies, lots of them. There was a small mound of dirt they called Mt. Washington. Same elevation. I still have work in Colorado. I opened up a new market for me. After Colorado, I lived in Boston. Sometimes it seemed people were all competing to be the least friendly. Drivers always yelled at me. It was great. There was a lot of action. After Boston I lived in Texas. They didn’t even know Maine was a state. I didn’t even have cowboy boots. I did have a pickup truck, but it wasn’t a real pickup. I learned to like country music. It was a great experience, even though I haven’t been back since, and have no plans to do so. But, I learned a lot about heat and football and chicken-fried steak and am very glad I did it.
New experiences and new environments are not what you are used to, and they are challenging. Challenge is good! It makes you a stronger person. It develops new markets for your career. They still let me back into Maine. I turned down my country music and they let me right through the York tollbooth.
When you are putting your list of colleges together, I encourage you to be courageous and look beyond what you know and what looks comfortable. If you haven’t been too bad a teenage son or daughter, your parents may miss you and want you to stay close to home. But, it is your life ahead of you. You need to make it. And, if you aren’t too big a jerk, you will make new friends in college . . . many. It happens.
It is a great world, even Texas. College is a great opportunity to experience the world. That has huge value. And, if you turn down your strange music, they will always let you back in through the York tollbooth.