A relative of mine is a PSU student (big Pitt fan but the family is a afraid of cities). He has 4 online classes and 1 in-person class, yet is living on campus. So, he could have dropped that 1 in-person class and went to college from home. Not that I agree with online college but at this point, they are paying for him solely to have a "college experience" without even having a need to be there. I'd bet there are kids living on campuses throughout the country who have ALL online classes. I mean at this point, colleges are truly becoming solely 100% party zones.
How stupid is this?
- Thread starter Sean Miller Fan
- Start date
100% agree. I know a ton of kids going to school for this same reason. My brother put his foot down with my niece and nephew and said "fine you pay for it then" . Needless to say they are both home this semester.
I get some value that experience, but with the cost of tuition plus room & board, not sure I’d want 30 years of debt for “the college experience.”
In some cases, some of these colleges who brought students back on campus, only to have them go virtual because of COVID are requesting students stay on campus to help mitigate the spread if they are all sent home.
I know this is easy for me to say as my kids aren't college age, but aint no way I'd pay for them to live on or close to campus just for the "experience" while taking all online classes. That's essentially a scam. By the same token, I wouldn't pay for online college either. I'd tell them they're taking a redshirt year and getting a job. Maybe knock out a few gen-ed requirements at the community college.
See even we can agree on somethings.
To add on to what you said I have 2 nephews that are seniors. It would be hard to tell them to take a year off. My niece and nephew that are sophomores, I told them to just do the CCAC route this year, but it is hard for kids to accept that after how much people down talk community colleges. Personally I think most of college is a scam to begin with. I believe it all should be like trade schools. You want to be an engineer/accountant/etc, go and take only classes in your major, be done in 2 years. This 4/5 years of college is a scam if I ever saw one.
I think a solid Liberal Arts education is important. It gives you some balance, it helps develop critical thinking and research skills, and just a general exposure of things outside your major.
I do think some majors though are essentially donations to the Universities and landlords of those areas, that you were much better off getting a trade.
A lot of kids signed leases to live in off campus apartments. Many of these leases aren’t voidable. One state school seemed to wait until most of these leases would have been signed and then made the decision to go mostly virtual.
I can see a senior who wants to get done and get on with their life, living on campus but going to school virtually....however, the job market is pretty bad right now so if it were me, I'd add still encourage redshirting. There's no need to rush through this year. At a place like PSU, 75% of the reason to go to school there is for the football games and they don't even have that now. There's really no point to be there.
To some extent. I'd rather the college system focus on a heavy dose of core classes your first two years and the third year with upper level specialty courses combined with field experience. The fourth year should primarily be field experience with internships or apprenticeships. There is so much more you learn by doing on-the-job training and too many senseless classes. I am in favor of general studies courses such as ethics, communication, etc...classes that apply to all aspects of life.
I know of a student who was set to start CMU this fall but she is delaying enrollment until fall 2021. It's a really good decision from a financial standpoint as she can make a good bit of money tutoring and working.
I think a year off is a great idea for most college students but I know 18-21 year old me would have been begging to go back to Oakland.
I think a year off is a great idea for most college students but I know 18-21 year old me would have been begging to go back to Oakland.
This.
I don't know how it is in more urban settings like Pitt or Columbus or somewhere like that, but in State College the leases are very strict and hard to break. Basically, if you signed an off-campus lease, you are going to be in town to at least use what you are paying for.
pittdan77
Athletic Director
The rental situation in State College is a terrible scam. They really can milk every penny out of those kids.
It's not just State College. I bet every PSAC town has this going on. The question is Penn State, Slippery Rock, CalU, etc., complicit.
You don't just go to college to learn from classes. You learn from professors and TAs during office hours. You learn about dealing with people and handling challenging, non-academic dynamics by living in a dorm or apartment. You learn leadership skills by being involved in clubs and activities. You learn how to manage your time and make wise decisions by not living in your childhood bedroom. Besides, it's the last four years of your life where you won't be yoked to earning a paycheck. Living on campus has value beyond dollars and cents.
I think the rental situation on any college campus is a scam. I mean you have a captive audience for the most part willing to pay.
pittdan77
Athletic Director
The biggest renter in State College is called The Apartment Store, which is part of the Keystone Realty Group and is owned by Bruce Heim. He sat on the Board of a rather controversial charity that was connected to PSU.
pittdan77
Athletic Director
Besides inflated rent, they always find reasons to hold on to the security deposit or even charge excess fees and then do the bare minimum, if anything at all, to actually do what they charged you for.
It could be a Covid related situation. I know a friend of mine’s daughter had several of her courses moved to online this fall due to the professor being high risk. I also know some courses have a reputation as being much easier online so some student opt to do a mixture. I think you will find this far more common this year.
The part inside the ( ) in the first sentence of the OP describes SO MANY of the nits I know. They tell me that PSU is "safe". I just SMH. Since they have been forced to actually report the crime up there through Clery Act requirements after the Sandisuky/PSU scandal, they are among the national leaders in on-campus crime.
But like with most things, people believe what they want to believe and disregard the rest. That's up to them. No sense trying to convince those that already have their minds made up, despite the facts and statistics
But like with most things, people believe what they want to believe and disregard the rest. That's up to them. No sense trying to convince those that already have their minds made up, despite the facts and statistics
It is a scam except in certain fields. Most of the time a company has to teach them everything anyhow. I have often said at company meetings we should drop the degree requirement for some jobs.
My neighbor was telling me about this the other day. His son goes to Shippensburg and its the same way there. Like you said maybe in cities wih more housing and less demand but these small campus towns do nt have much in the way of housing and the leases reflect it
A few years old but proves this point. Only 27% of people work in a field related to their degree.
In the company I work at, it is a world wide engineering/construction firm. In the division I'm in the top 2 guys do not have college degrees. Most of the jobs are fielded by college grads (as a requirement), almost none of them need it, on the job training is what is actually required.
Similar threads
