Elite colleges skate by on reputation, leaving grads unprepared
Can you name one Axis power from World War II?
Most graduates of top U.S. colleges can’t. That’s because it’s possible for a student to graduate without ever taking a U.S. history course at most colleges, including the top 30 liberal arts colleges in the country, such as Amherst, Swarthmore, and Oberlin.
High costs, low education quality
At today’s colleges, students can take courses from disciplines as varied as electronic dance, movie animation, aliens, and Harry Potter.
But a new report from The American Council of Trustees and Alumni, a nonprofit that tracks and assesses college and university performance, has found many colleges aren’t teaching students the fundamentals of core disciplines like history, economics, and science–even while charging as much an average of $40,917 per year at private colleges, according to The College Board.
That’s up from $16,979 in 1973-74, way ahead of the rate of inflation.
Traditional subjects cast aside for pop culture
The report has led many to criticize elite colleges for “coasting by” on reputation–after all, if students will pay the price no matter what, why bother to take educate them? And if you can get more applications and students applying by offering “cool” courses on topics like Harry Potter and zombies, why make students take “boring” classes like chemistry and literature?
As Anne Neal, president of the ACTA , puts it bluntly, says it’s time to take a stand against the “‘anything goes’ curriculum that reigns on college campuses nowadays.”
It’s time for students and families to take a hard look at what they’re paying for and what they’re going to get.
It’s possible to invest $250,000 in an education that ends in little intellectual growth, narrowed perspective and which qualifies the graduate for very little.
Taking colleges to task for high costs
We completely agree that colleges need to start being held accountable for the quality of education they’re offering. If you’re charging students and families $200,000 for an education, they expect to come out with a valuable degree and meaningful experience. But as employers and education professionals have expressed, that’s increasingly not the case.
Today’s graduates often aren’t prepared for jobs, making that expensive degree impossible to pay back.
Be diligent in your college search
With such high college costs, never been more important for students and families to be careful in their college search.
College is much too large an investment to take lightly, and the last thing you want to do is take out tons of loans, graduate, and still be unqualified for jobs that will allow you to pay back your degree–or spend all that money and still be completely ignorant about basic concepts.
Finding a quality college you can afford
That’s why one of our main goals is to match students and families up with quality colleges at affordable prices.
We don’t think you should waste hundreds of thousands of dollars on an education when you can get a better or similar one at a lower price. In today’s economic climate, it’s too much of a risk for most students to go hundreds of thousands into debt for a degree that doesn’t pay off.
If you need help finding quality, affordable schools or paying for college, give Rick and Andy a call at 1-888-234-3907 or contact us using this form.