[spamizbad]

I believe there's some research that suggests your college GPA is not correlated strongly with job performance[1]. I suspect if SAT/ACT scores are strongly correlated with GPA, there's reason to suggest it may also not be strongly correlated with job performance (but I can't find anywhere that tests that).

I suppose this shouldn't be surprising. School does not train you to be a good office worker.

[1] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/does-college-gpa-predict-job-...

[boringg]

The goal of school IS NOT to make you a good office worker. The goal of school is to create the ability to think creatively, rationally and critically and make you a better citizen of society through those processes.

Job performance is subjectively measured by your bosses which has political implications. It is inherently a terrible metric.

[brigadier132]

> The goal of school IS NOT to make you a good office worker

Who defines this "goal"? Each student has their own individual goals. I bet you if you surveyed students

"The goal of school is to create the ability to think creatively, rationally and critically and make you a better citizen of society through those processes."

Would rank all the way to the bottom and they all are terrible reasons to get into $200k of debt.

Many go to college without a second thought just because they think it's what they are supposed to do. Many go because they don't want to be a manual laborer and they want to be able to make more money. Many go to get drunk and party.

[etrautmann]

This is such a cynical and tired take. I would imagine that most people attending college at least intend to learn something and level up some ability. Many of them will also enjoy partying in their early 20s. Both can be true, and there’s not a singular purpose of attending school.

[brigadier132]

> This is such a cynical and tired take

Good job, starting off strong with a real substantive criticism.

> I would imagine that most people attending college at least intend to learn something and level up some ability.

Your imagination is lacking and you have not spoken with many 18 year olds, the vast majority are not highly motivated learners. A large number of degrees teach skills that are not even valuable enough to pay back the amount of money that is put in. So they are leveling up in worthless shit. All these indebted graduates are clamoring to have the government pay for their bad decisions. None of them blame the institutions that charge these exorbitant amounts to supposedly become "cultured" and "creative".

[JumpCrisscross]

> the vast majority are not highly motivated learners

The honest truth is they shouldn't be going to college. Because they went to school and didn't come out cultured or creative.

(I went to a state school. It was easy to structure your schedule with zero liberal arts. I almost did. To the extent I have regrets about my time in college, it's in not taking more liberal arts classes.)

[brigadier132]

> To the extent I have regrets about my time in college, it's in not taking more liberal arts classes.

I also went to a state school, I took the liberal arts classes, they have added nothing of value to my life. If you want to get cultured, read.

[cooper_ganglia]

My girlfriend in high school had no idea what she wanted to major in, no idea what career she wanted, no idea what her future looked like at all. Anytime I'd ask her, she'd get upset, because she didn't want to stress about it before she had to.

We eventually broke up, and she went to college, changed her major 3 times, spent the whole time drunk at parties, and graduated with a degree with a relatively limited scope of jobs. She graduated 4 years ago, during which she's worked as a receptionist, a dog groomer, and a call center rep.

We shortly got back together as she was graduating college, and I encouraged her to apply for jobs for which her degree would come in handy. Every single time, she refused, because she "wasn't qualified enough" even though she had her Bachelors in what they were asking for.

I say all this to say that I think many kids are corralled into college without an actual end goal in mind. They go because it's what they're supposed to do. In my anecdotal experience, there isn't much thought about intending to learn or leveling up some ability.