Just thirty years ago, during the time this writer was growing up, college was almost a foregone necessary conclusion. The idea has always been you need to go to college after high school to put yourself into position to attain a high paying job. Back in the early 2000s, and certainly in the decades prior, it was implied if you did not do it, you would not get anywhere in life.
Then the age of the internet came along, people learned about various get rich quick schemes, or became influencers peddling products. They are making millions of dollars, with no degree, while people with degrees struggle to make ends meet. But even beyond influencers. People who went into trades or fields of that nature all seem to have financial security, while people who spent money on a degree face uncertainty. Not all, but most.
So, over the last decade now, a small number of people have started to see college as somewhat of a sham. They believe it is not necessary to be successful. To be fair, that has always been true. A degree does not make you smarter or automatically more successful than anyone else. Plenty of people succeed without degrees. Now, it is a large majority of Americans who feel that way.
A new national poll found 59-percent of adults said college was not worth the cost. Former professor Dr. Carol Swain says the money, combined with indoctrination, have turned people off the idea.
"Ever since college campuses became hotbeds of activism, they have lost support among parents," she says.
In the aforementioned poll, just 24-percent said it was worth the cost. That compared to 2013, when that number was 70-percent. Another 16-percent were not sure.
People are just turned off the idea of being preached too by activist professors and paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to do so. All to get a degree, which will not help them much when they go job hunting.
The activism has not helped, but the schools have also shot themselves in the foot.
"They lowered admission standards for everyone...then we find students are majoring in fields that are totally useless," says Dr. Swain. "It is not a surprise when young people get degrees, in meaningless fields, they fail to get a high paying job they desire."
It has always been humorous that people majoring in Liberal Arts or Gender Studies believe they will make a middle to high class income out of college. People with real life functioning purpose degrees even barely make livable wages.
But as Americans do, people find ways to adapt. That has been by way of vocational schools and trade schools, setting students up for careers right out of the gate.
"They are equipping themselves for the future...they can bypass all the college and activism...a number of people are realizing they have options," Dr. Swain says.
Colleges can fix the whole thing by ridding themselves of DEI, tightening admissions, and helping get their students jobs in the workforce. But alas, nothing will change. If it doesn't, we might see more colleges closing sooner rather than later.
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