I have taught at community colleges (Mount San Antonio, Pasadena City College, and College of the Canyons), and I have taught at Azusa Pacific “University.” And if you read my book, Asian American Apostate, you’ll know I was hired to teach at USC, but I opted to remain at APU. To this day, I am still haunted by that decision.
APU is a shit school. There’s no way around it. In every measurable way, it is inferior to every state school in the country. There are fewer course options in every department, the science profs don’t believe in evolution, the history classes promote White Nationalism, film classes don’t allow R-rated movies to be viewed, and the English department does not offer many, if any, BIPOC literature courses…but this is not about APU. Surprising, I know.
As bad a place like APU is, I know of students who attended there who went on to graduate school. Sure, they’re horribly handicapped academically, but some get there. You can listen to Ella Baker’s episode of Chapel Probation for more on this. Some students get into medical school and law school.
The point?
Right now, it almost does not matter where one goes to college. There may have been a time when having an Ivy League or prominent state school on one’s resume mattered greatly, but these days, what seems to matter most is the degree. Sure there are perks to going to an illustrious, storied school with ivy-covered buildings, nobel laureates at the lectern, and maybe a great football program, and if you are able to attend one of these schools, great. It’s going to cost you dearly. But as for being necessary for success in life…not so much. Not at all.
The Cost
Private schools today cost $50k-$80k per year. So, for 4 years of tuition, fees, and books, it’ll cost $200k-$300k. And that’s not including housing and food. A state school in California will cost $30k-$40k per year. So 4 years will cost around $120k-$160k, again, before food and housing. There are grants available, but most students will not get them or will get an amount that still leaves most of the cost to be paid. This means families have to take out loans if they don’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars of disposable income for each child who goes to college. Apparently, those loans have to be paid back. With interest. Somehow.
It’s worth pointing out that a bachelor’s degree is technically worth the same for each school. So what is all the fuss about?
According to the parents at my kids’ high school, it’s not uncommon for high school students to apply to 20-30 schools, if they can afford the ~$50 application fee for each school or school system. A family could easily spend over $1000 on applications. And then some families crisscross the country visiting some or all of these schools, trying to decide which one is “perfect” for their children. They are, of course, free to do what they think is necessary, but not many families can afford such travel or even the applications. It’s when those families act like it’s their responsibility as good parents to go to such lengths that I get irritated. To me, it’s a waste of time and money, and worse, it’s unfettered privilege that they mistake for ethical and moral parenting. It doesn’t have to be this way.
Most college graduates head out into the world saddled with enormous debt, even before graduate school options. But they are told and even promised that an education is the right thing to do, and I’m not saying it isn’t. I’m saying the cost should be a consideration before one takes on such debt to be a teacher, nurse, engineer, or any career choice requiring a degree. I was not great at math, but making an average middle class salary while paying off $100-300k is not a viable option. Unless home ownership is not something one desires. Savor that avocado toast, kids.
NOTE: I’m not talking about the arts where a particular program is a good match for the skills or someone on faculty is someone a student aspires to work with.
Maybe Stop with the Dream School
I will pause here for a Generation X rant. 20 or 30 schools? In what universe does that make any sense? I applied to 4 schools. 2 I knew I could get into, 1 I hoped I would get into, and 1 long shot. I got into the school I hoped for, UC San Diego. Cool. I would have been completely happy going to UC Irvine or UC Riverside. UCLA can kiss my ass. I visited them all. They each had nice campuses. They had dorms, such as they were. They had cafeterias. They had clubs and student orgs. And they offered degrees. Going to college was partly a life adventure, but it was also a means to an end. For our generation, there was an assumption that a degree would lead to career prospects, AND the experiences in college would prepare us for and enrich our adult lives. For me and my friends, we didn’t give a shit what color the walls were in the dorms or which company had the contract for the cafeterias. I learned to eat salads because a lot of the food sucked. And it did not detract from my college experience in any way.
Millenials hate me for stating this fact: Tuition at UC San Diego in 1988 was $350 per quarter. There were 3 quarters, not including summer, so a year’s tuition was $1050. Tuition would triple before I graduated, but my college expenses were exponentially lower than what they are today. We’ve long since crossed into a time where we should be asking if the cost of college is worth the benefits.
And yet, we also live in a time where many wealthy and middle class people assume the world is customizable to their exact tastes. Despite living within driving distance of many fine schools, I’ve heard parents talk about how their children visited or planned to visit dozens of schools all over the country, at great cost. After such exhorbitant travels, the students returned with preferences for the style of one dorm over another, the architecture of the buildings of one school over another, and the classrooms of one school over the others. Add geographic preferences like proximity to beaches or mountains, deserts or cities, and it appears the world is every privileged 18 year-old’s proverbial oyster. That one, perfect, dream school that ticks all of the student’s boxes is out there, just waiting to be found. And still, all of this can be upended when a student decides on a college simply because of a romantic partner attending a particular school. Kids.
But what happens when that dream school does not accept a precious child? Devastation. Weeping. Gnashing of teeth. Depression. And for what? All you are really left with at the end of the 4 or 5 years is a piece of paper with the letters, “B.A.” or “B.S.” And it’s the same piece of paper for every accredited school. Even APU.
A friend recently told me his nephew was in a severe depression because he didn’t get into his dream school. He still got into several incredibly good schools that are likely the dream school of tens of thousands of other kids, but the boy is apparently in a complete funk. He now has to “settle” on one of several top-notch UC schools. Poor kid.
It’s What You Make of It
Wherever a student ends up going, whether the community college to state school route, all the way to the direct to Ivy League dream, the experience and the education will be what the student makes of it. It’s absolute privilege to even have a “dream” school when so many kids can’t even to go college. Too many kids and families feel entitled to having a dream school and then expect to attend that school. Dreams are fine. Dream schools are…sigh…fine. But when there are perfectly wonderful options available to those willing to take on debt and do the work, I really have zero sympathy for kids who are devastated by not getting into their dream school. You’ll be fine. If you allow yourself to be fine.
In the end, how you do is far more important than where you do it. I tell the story often about my brother who went to public high school, UC Irvine, and then got into an excellent law school, UC Hastings. His first-year roommate was angered by my brother’s path, because he, the roommate, had assumed his path filled with dream schools, including prestigious private high school and dream Ivy League college was the only way to get to an excellent law school. Oops.
If nothing else, remember that students who graduate from APU…APU! Sunday school with degrees! Even they get into solid grad schools, law schools, and med schools.
But we’re not just talking about success. For me, it’s listening to suburban parents list off the wish list their kids have for college as needs. And the image of a high school kid depressed because he/she/they didn’t get into the dream school just does not sit well with me, an aging Gen Xer. Perhaps it doesn’t bother you. For me, with people being brutally murdered in Palestine, people here not knowing if they will be able to pay their rent or mortgage, and a whole world of tragedy and hardship, I can’t find much sympathy for relatively wealthy kids who can still go to fine schools, weeping and gnashing their teeth over not getting into Harvard or USC.
The Twist…
In the real end to this rant, I say this: College could just be a monumental waste of time and money. At best, it could be the next step towards becoming a doctor or engineer. Or it could be four years of fun and growth living away from home for those who can afford it or those who choose to take on hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. Or it could be, like it is for many of my friends, four years of schooling and life with absolutely nothing to do with how they make a living today.
It’s gotta be amazing going to an Ivy League school. The history (of racism and sexism), the prestige, the illustrious faculty, what an experience. But only a select few can go to those schools. Hell, only a select few can go to USC, a school only a couple decades ago was simply a party school with sports and a “University of Spoiled Children” label. But hopefully there are many decades of life after college, if one even goes, and I’m saying that where one goes likely has little or nothing to do with a satisfactory life after. It certainly does not guarantee a satisfactory life after.
These days the rich are getting richer, the poor poorer, and the middle class is disappearing. However you find your way, and I hope you do, I hope your hopes and dreams come true. As long as they don’t involve the layout or architecture of a campus. Or an evangelical school.