[atomflunder]

Is it really true that, in the US, many college students don't want to be there but go nonetheless, despite having to pay absurd amounts of money? Where I study, uni is basically free, and I've met very few people in my degree who don't want to be there. This seems absurd to me.

[itsoktocry]

>Is it really true that, in the US, many college students don't want to be there but go nonetheless, despite having to pay absurd amounts of money?

Judging by the number of people who don't show up to class or otherwise just "get by", it's absolutely true. People "go to college" because they're told it's their meal ticket into the middle class. This is the point of the article.

Ask the average person if they'd rather pay to have the paper degree and not have to attend any classes, or get the education for free but not receive any paper credentials. You'll have your answer.

[atomflunder]

>Ask the average person if they'd rather pay to have the paper degree and not have to attend any classes, or get the education for free but not receive any paper credentials. You'll have your answer.

This is an interesting thought, however I don't think it is a good test for whether someone wants to be in college/uni or not. It is reasonable to enjoy the education and be realistic about the value of the paper certificate at the same time.

The overall point about social pressures etc. is well taken though.

[ReallyAnonymous]

Senior citizens are allowed to take classes for free in North Carolina. My mother uses this to take foreign language classes. She said the older folks taking the classes take it way more seriously than the 'students' ("Who goes to class in their pajamas?")

[astura]

>Judging by the number of people who don't show up to class or otherwise just "get by",

I mean, I've heard of this happening a lot in community college, but in my private university I didn't regularly see this behavior, and certainly not in the upper level classes.

[throwanem]

My relevant experience is twenty years stale, but I'd say yes, absolutely, there are a lot of people who go to college in the US despite not actually wanting to. I saw it in many of my high-school cohort, even as they expressed their grave concern to me about my evident disinterest in doing likewise. (It was an interesting kind of place, the high school where I graduated. Early in my time there, the first person who took me aside to ask why, despite evident intelligence, I seemed not to apply myself in class, was the head of the cheerleading squad.)

If anything, I'd say the rate of people attending college despite not wanting to can only have increased since then. The assumption that college is an absolute necessity for a comfortable middle-class life has only in the last few years come into serious question, and still has yet to face anything like the inquisition it deserves.

[violetgarden]

Maybe it’s half true. I wanted to be in college, and everyone I met was happy to be there. However, there is some anger at the feeling that you HAVE to be there. There is a lot of cultural pressure to get a higher education. I also remember feeling like I had to decide the rest of my life by choosing a degree, and that really stressed me out. However, I still really wanted to go to college.

Yes, we tend to pay a lot to go to college, and yes, a lot of us feel like we must do it. A lot of choices factor into how much you pay - community college can reduce this, going to a lesser known school, etc. However, it’s an investment in yourself. For some of us, that investment works out really well. Others may struggle to get that awesome job after college.

[Donthatme]

From my experience, it is a pretty simplistic take.

A lot of people enjoy the social aspect of college (from parties to having a cohort that is interested in the same things they are).

The money issue roughly fell into three buckets: 1) students not worrying about money because they have rich parents, 2) students not worrying about money because they have student loans, and 3) students worrying a lot about money because they have student loans.

From my experience going to undergrad at a state university in the midwest, a lot of students would prefer to have a well paying job immediately after high school and not go to college. However, a lot of those same students would rather go to college than stay in their small hometown where job prospects are bleak.