Colleges Are a Scam — Eliminate the Current System

Burdened With Massive Debt

We’ve all been told college is the pathway to a brighter future. But that’s not true, at least not for everyone. Many people are graduating from college only to find out there aren’t jobs waiting for them. Or the jobs they can get don’t pay that much. What’s worse, they are burdened with a massive amount of debt that could stay with them for most of the life.

The average amount of student debt from a four-year college program is nearly $30,000. But if you get a Masters or Doctorate, the amount increases substantially. The average medical school debt is $248,000. A research doctorate program is $108,000. A master of the arts is $70,000. A MBA is $68,000.

Does this strike anyone else as being absolutely insane? Is this debt really worth it?

The Debt Never Goes Away

I personally earned a Masters in Psychology. I ended up with over $50,000 in debt. I am now almost 40 years old and I’m still paying for it! It turns out that Psychology is one of the worst paying fields you can go into. Third worst to be exact. Right behind an art-history degree or a liberal arts degree.

It was only after I graduated that I realized all I had to look forward to was a 5 year long, low-paying internship followed by years of trying to establish a private practice. Throw in periodic licensing tests and continuing education courses and I made the decision to stop and instead start my own business. Water for Life USA if you’re curious.

I discovered that, as so many others have before me, student debt never goes away. Even if you file for bankruptcy, you still have to pay it back. And if you furlough, or postpone payments because you are poor, the interest keep on increasing meaning you keep owing more and more!

College is a Scam

College is education that we pay for to be certified to work in the field that we choose. At some point our government decided that the only way to be properly educated is to go into a classroom and listen to someone lecture. Then you write papers on it. Perhaps read a couple books. And of course you take tests. The test make sure that you have learned.

Here are the issues that I have with a system. For one, if you want to earn a bachelors level college degree, you are forced to take a bunch of classes that are not related to your major. In fact, over half of your classes have nothing to do with your major. You are forced to pay colleges for two-and-a-half years of education that you don’t even want. So as a consumer, you don’t even have a choice as to what classes you would like to purchase from your college.

Secondly, in this day and age where information flows freely to smartphones and tablets and computers, it seems absolutely asinine that people are required to physically go to a classroom. This alone cost students an absurd amount of time and money. We are capable of reading books on our own. We could also download lectures from the internet. Or take online courses. It really doesn’t matter how we obtain the information. The only thing that should matter is THAT we obtain the information and can pass the test.

Spending hours inside a lecture hall does not make you smarter. It makes you poorer!

The College Barrier

There’s also the issue of the massive barrier college creates. The outrageous cost of time and money keeps many capable people from obtaining college degrees. This is especially true for minorities and people living in poor communities. It doesn’t matter how talented they are. It doesn’t matter if they are the best musician or have a natural gift in medicine. This college system creates a massive barrier that many simply can’t overcome.

That makes talent one of the most under-utilized resources in our country. And it’s all because of this college system preventing people from doing what they’re meant to do!

Here’s how you fix the problem.

How to Fix the System

First, people should be allowed to obtain the information required for their field any way they can. They should not be required to attend lectures. Of course, they should still be held to the same performance standards. Meaning, they have to write dissertations, pass tests, etc.

Basically, I’m proposing an online, low-cost or free alternative to the current college system. It should be available to anyone. I also think it should be free. Why wouldn’t our government invest in developing the talent of its citizens?

Secondly, I agree that people need experience in their field before earning a degree. So, besides passing the tests and writing the papers, they should be required to complete internships in their field and obtain recommendations from their peers.

Once a person has obtained the knowledge and the experience, they should get the degree. It doesn’t matter if it takes them a year to do this or four years or eight years. It’s their business.

This new system would eliminate the debt that so many are burdened with. It would also break down the barrier that stops so many from getting a college degree.