Going to College: Don’t Believe the Haters … Earning “YOUR” Degree Can Be Good for “YOU”
The media likes to portray college as a collectively bad decision … sometimes in terms of borrowing (i.e, long-term debt), sometimes in terms of investment (i.e., money wasted on a degree). Of course, the media loves despair … it reports despair in thick, black headlines. Likewise, the media doesn’t care anything about a happy “you” … your power to choose, your good reasons for college, your specific outlook or situation. Rather, the media cares about two things: generalizing everyone (as a scare tactic) and how best to spin college into a national (and story-selling) disaster.
Despite what the media might say, many choose correctly in going to college. Every year, there are thousands of right choices … in terms of happiness, in terms of tuition, in terms of degrees. “You” … you are not someone else’s storyline; it’s okay to be personally happy in college. Not everyone second-guesses their college experience. Not everyone is drowning in debt. Not every graduate is struggling.
You Know You (Despite What the Media Says)
As a college student, you know yourself — your one-of-a-kind story — but this is what the media wants you to believe … about you:
Writing for the New York Post, John Stossel wants you to believe that your college investment — your personal experience and choice — is a “total ripoff.” He doesn’t know you, but because generalities are the media’s greatest (and laziest) weapon, you’re naturally drawn into John’s vortex of condemnation. John begins with:
It’s August. Many young people head off to college. This year, fortunately, fewer will go. I say “fortunately” because college is now an overpriced scam. Overpriced because normal incentives to be frugal and make smart judgments about who should go to college were thrown out when the federal government took over granting student loans.
“Fortunately, fewer will go,” he says, despite many universities reporting record enrollments for their freshman 2023 class. This generalization is intended to reduce you; “fewer will go” means you’ve done something wrong by going to college. Moreover, “college is now an overpriced scam” implies — sneakily — that “college” is the same thing at Harvard and Missouri State. It’s an elegant trick — to use “college” as a catch-all, to obscure individual students and institutions with a blob-ish, formless word.
Your Success Story: Sadly, It’s Not Print-Worthy
At times, I agree with some of the things John says. Look past the rant, and you’ll find an argument for better lending, better spending, and personal responsibility. But in making his arguments, John pretty much wants everyone to hate college, and he kinda hates you for the college choice you made (even though he doesn’t know you):
If private lenders gave out the loans, they’d look at whether they were likely to be paid back. They’d ask questions like: “What will you study? You really think majoring in dance will lead to a job that will pay you enough to allow you to pay us back?”
Why dance? John seems to be implying that a dance major — and by extension, I assume, any non-STEM major — won’t find a job that pays (or for that matter, a job that pays well). This is a universal trope … the struggling artist, though John doesn’t cite one dance major to support his illustration.
And yes, I’m sure there are dance majors who struggle, but there are dance majors who prosper too … whether it be in dance or some other field. My point isn’t about the struggle; it’s that people like John want to generalize certain degrees and, in doing so, degrade individual stories and successes. It’s nothing but a tired, worn-out, egotistical trope … i.e., a storytelling shorthand (“dance major”) for a concept (“poor, struggling graduates”) that the audience will recognize and understand.
Some People Need Princeton (But YOU Don’t Deserve that Luxury)
Of course, if you doubt John’s commitment to the argument, he wants you to know that:
Princeton still “teaches” by having professors lecture. Super boring. I slept through many. Although today, I guess I should thank Princeton because its tedious lectures inspired me to try to find better ways to present information. That made me successful on TV.
This is an elegant type of writing, akin to the humble brag. Here John lets you know two things: 1) he graduated from the prestigious Princeton (so he’s gotta be smart); and 2) he’s honestly enraged because he’s willing to throw precious Princeton under the bus. But this raises a couple questions. First, if Princeton was such a tedious snooze-fest, why is “Princeton” part of John’s bio?
Earlier in his career, Stossel served as consumer editor at Good Morning America and as a reporter at WCBS-TV in New York City. His first job in journalism was as a researcher for KGW-TV (NBC) in Portland, Oregon. He is a graduate of Princeton University, with a B.A. in psychology. When not exploring free markets, he is an avid beach volleyball player.
Second, if Princeton — a top university — was “super boring” and steeped in “tedious lectures,” one can only assume all universities are like this. John makes this point with the quoted “teaches,” which is an eye roll against higher education. But if Princeton was so bad for John, why did his children/relatives go to college? Why did his son Max Stossel — an award-winning poet and filmmaker — attend Haverford College? Why did his niece — cartoonist and illustrator Sage Stossel — attend Harvard?
You see, herein lies the problem. It’s that the people who label your college decision as a ripoff are, more often than not, the most highly educated people in America. You see it with John Stossel; you see it with Bryan Caplan, the Princeton-educated author of The Case Against Education. Behind their rants, they have their precious degrees. They have their proof of prestige. They have their “I went to Princeton” brag. But for you … and for everyone else … this accomplishment shouldn’t be yours; it’s just a ripoff.
YOU … Choose a Trade! (Advice from the College Educated)
Ripoff or not, people like John want you to know that you don’t have to go to college to get a “good job.” Regardless of your individual passions, likes, or dreams, there’s a trade job (apparently, you have no choice in the matter) waiting for you after high school:
Good jobs in the trades, like welding and plumbing, don’t require a college degree. Trade-school programs often take less than two years and cost much less than college. To have a good life or get a good job, you don’t need fancy dining halls, video-game auditoriums or a college degree.
John’s job offer doesn’t ask what you want to do with your life. It doesn’t ask if the trades, like welding and plumbing, are a good fit … for you. It doesn’t allow that you might lead a good (or great) life because of the “fancy dining halls, video-game auditoriums [and] a college degree.”
In fact, one has to wonder what John actually knows about the trades. How long has he worked as a plumber or welder? Can he personally speak to the highs and lows of these careers? And if the trades are such a great choice, why didn’t he choose it for his lifetime employment? Why didn’t his children choose it? Which leads me to this:
If John Stossel didn’t choose a trade, why is he The New York Posts’ mouthpiece for trade work?
The reason: because the Post doesn’t want articles written by plumbers or welders. The Post wants articles written by college-educated journalists.
