The UnCollege Movement

Is College Necessary for Success?

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#1weavile

I'm still alive =)
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“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” —Mark Twain

UnCollege is a social movement changing the notion that going to college is the only path to success.

http://www.uncollege.org/

Do you agree with the UnCollege movement? College is great and all and you do get that pretty piece of paper at the end, but it is really necessary for success?
 
I don't think it's necessary for success, but IIRC there have been studies that show it increases your success. I could just be pulling this out of my ass, though. Most high-paying jobs require college degrees, but there have been many successful people who never got college degrees. The high cost of tuition doesn't help the pro-college side, very much, though.
TLDR: college isn't necessary, but it's useful.
 
Not 100% needed, but there is a very high chance that you'll be successful if you go to collage, and not as successful if you don't go. Then again, successful means different things to different people.
 
Of course its not necessary but it really helps you become successful. If you want to be successful then you have to know what you need to be. If you're dream requires a degree then go for it.
 
This has the right intentions, but will result in the wrong outcome. I fully agree that you can be extremely successful in life without college, but going to college is an investment that will pay off 95% of the time. The last thing we want is kids dropping out of school to pursue risky careers, as the vast majority will end up in very difficult positions.
 
legendhunter32 said:
Of course its not necessary but it really helps you become successful. If you want to be successful then you have to know what you need to be. If you're dream requires a degree then go for it.
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I have to agree with this. If you ABSOLUTELY know what you are going to be and whatever that is does not require a degree, then go for it. Doctors and engineers on the other hand NEED to go to college.
 
There are certainly days when I wish I had taken a 40k a year job I was once offered (no degree required) instead of entering a six-year college program, but in the end I'll be happier for it. While you guys are right in that college isn't necessarily required for success, it certainly helps with job placement -- something which I feel is pretty important in today's economy. In the end, I'll be making 90-100k/year after graduation, so college (at least in my case) was the better option. That's not to say I look down on those who decide against college; what it really boils down to is what kind of job you're interested in pursuing.
 
If you want to get somewhere in life, you're gonna want to go to college. Yeah, some sucsessful people hadn't went to college. That's called luck. If you want to have a good life, then it's best not to take chances.
 
Juliacoolo said:
This has the right intentions, but will result in the wrong outcome. I fully agree that you can be extremely successful in life without college, but going to college is an investment that will pay off 95% of the time. The last thing we want is kids dropping out of school to pursue risky careers, as the vast majority will end up in very difficult positions.
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Yes, it is very risky to not go to collage.

123wert50 said:
Yeah, you don't need it, but if you want a great job, odds are you are going to need college experience.
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I agree.

For example: My Uncle went to Collage to become a scientist, and is now a millionaire living on a CA beach (I love his house). My other Uncle didn't go to collage. He works at a factory, and his wife a hair salon person. Though My other Uncle and Aunt both have jobs that provide a bit of support and food for the family, the 10 years of collage my Uncle (the first I mentioned) had a better out come.
 
I got my college degree and I'm doing a job that a HS graduate could do. However, my pay scale is higher due to experience/skill level because I have my degree. I work somewhere I can keep "going up" so I do think a college degree is somewhat of a necessity.
 
College is pushed so hard in schools these days. Unless you're not prepared for it, College is a good idea for any student, mostly depending on what type of career you're wanting to pursue. An Anti-College organization really isn't the way to go.
 
Here is a link to their website if any of you want to learn more: http://www.uncollege.org/

EDIT: Video from their facebook page. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M4tdMsg3ts

It shows a school valedictorian speaking out against the US education system.
 
DarthPika said:
The uncollege movement? Oh boy... so much for the future of our country. :/
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Sorry, but you haven't added any value to the thread. :/

This is not an anti-college club. It's a club that spreads the idea that college is not the sole path to success. I agree with them saying it is not the ONLY path, because many successful people have either dropped out of college or have never gone.
 
I agree that college isn't necessary to become successful in life, but coming from a less-than-privileged upbringing myself, any formal post-secondary education has nothing but positive effects on one's livelihood. Frankly, my biggest regret in life was having to dropout because I couldn't afford to keep going. Even if it doesn't guarantee success, just having that experience spurred (and still spurs) me to at least keep trying to get involved with things beyond just what I needed to in order to get by in life.
 
DarthPika said:
The uncollege movement? Oh boy... so much for the future of our country. :/
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Umm no, that's not it at all, you missed the point. The UnCollege Movement is about trying to tell people that college isn't the only path to success. While I do plan on going to college, they do raise a point that it isn't the only path to success in life.
 
College is not necessary in life, why most jobs in the world don't require it. I'd say maybe Engineers, Doctors, scientists/researchers, teachers, lawyers (because the law is so vapid there's no other way to understand half of it), and a few other jobs require it, for obvious reasons. However the bulk of jobs and those, but more of grunt work and only really need some good orientation. Sure I plan on going to college, but then again I plan on designing rockets to send you to the Moon, Mars, Titan, etc.

On the other hand there are jobs that college isn't necessary about, in fact maybe even counterproductive. People like internet reviewers don't require that kind of education. My mom for instance makes beads, and where she took a few classes on it, she didn't get a degree on 'glass chemistry' or something.

Unfortunately, where I don't want to admit it unlike the reviewers, and jewelry designers, etc. most jobs are starting to require more degrees (or at least have higher priority) which is a garbage outlook when they may not have even learned anything in college that can be applied to their new job. It also doesn't help that schools are ramming into students heads that you need a college education to succeed in life, when really the most successful people in life only really get there by chance. The idea of the UnCollege movement is one that I can get behind for this particular reason.
 
Even though it will be a few years before I get into college, I do believe that college is practically the only way to succeed in life, since the technology we use rapidly gets more intricate, a college degree is indeed required so that you'll be able to understand more of it.
And in case you're wondering what my future plans are, it's either going to be a politician,
Wall Street banker, scientist, engineer, or a neurosurgeon, or if I get extremely lucky, a CEO or the "dictator" of the world.
 
I believe that college is not exactly the only way to be successful. However, you have a better chance of becoming so if you have a degree.
 
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