What motivated you to go to university?

It's hard to say in my case... I honestly don't think I put much if any thought into it. It wasn't really a "decision" that I recall consciously making. College was sort of the family expectation. Once one leaves high school, and one immediately goes to college. And my course through high school reflected this reality. Believe me, I did not take Algebra 3/Trigonometry because I had a burning desire to learn about what X was up to. :lol:

Both my parents had college degrees, and so did my paternal grandparents and all my father's siblings. Both my parents worked in education. It was particularly a huge deal for my mother--she put a lot of value on education in general.

I think back then I was cognizant of the value of a college degree for getting better paying jobs. But I also think that a part of me was perhaps interested in the experience. Last year of high school, I sat one evening in a lit class that my mother took, and it left a huge impact on me. The experience was so far removed from what I had experienced in high school it wasn't even funny.

However...no matter what motivations, I did end up going to college, but only lasted a year. It's hard to exactly dissect why I left, but a huge factor was a family situation (and some seemingly ugly financial realities that went along with it). I intended to return--indeed, I left by a one year Leave of Absence. However, things didn't work out as planned, and so the Leave ended up being not one year, but forever.

---------- Post added 18th Aug 2015 at 03:56 PM ----------

I have to agree. Perhaps I'm cynical, but it seems like the education system as a whole has become about preparing the little worker ants. To be sure, there is some value in job preparation; however, there is--or should be--more to people than their mere ability to keep the economy moving.

 

I think it's the combination of the three for me, I think.

I want to do something working for the government most likely, and I feel like getting a Bachelor's and possibly going to grad school would make that feasible, fun, and lucrative. I could always try to run for public office as well.

Social reasons also compelled me as well. I grew up in a farmhouse in a very rural area of Missouri, and the amount of poverty in that area is very high. Also, my hometown is very much "Leave It to Beaver"-like and conservative socially, and I wanted to go somewhere to broaden my horizons. I knew that if I wanted to live a life that I would fully enjoy, that would most likely entail going to University and moving somewhere that is diverse culturally.

I also enjoy education (especially in social sciences), and I also want to become a lifelong learner. Going to college is the first step in process to that.

 

Living like a student is fun while you're a student but one day it would be nice to afford proper food and more than just a bedsit to live in and not have to sneak alcohol into pubs no?

I went to uni because I wouldn't be able to do what I do now without having gone, something which means I'll probably always be able to live pretty comfortably.. but it was never really a conscious choice I just always assumed it's what I would do and it was assumed of me by my parents I guess

 

For me it was the Scottish independence referendum, that pretty much sealed my desire to have a political career as I knew the fight to stay in the union Is something I would be doing for the rest of my life.

 

I went to university partly because it was expected after doing fairly well in high school, but also because I wanted to (finally) learn about things I enjoy doing, instead of learning things I have to. This is also why I dropped out of my first university course - it wasn't interesting at all and to this day I'm still not sure why I decided to go and study there.

But last year I graduated in urbanism, a field I enjoy working in. Downside: there aren't many jobs for that now, at least 80% of my year is doing something completely unrelated. I do too. No regrets though, I had an amazing time in uni.

 

No matter what country, it appears some college/university problems are universal. :lol: In the US, there are lots of stories about students getting by on ramen (not sure if this is universal, but small packages of fast cooking noodles with some sort of flavoring packet enclosed.)

Although I've never heard of sneaking alcohol into pubs. Then, again, we have a drinking age of 21, so the bigger issue is finding ways of procuring booze or finding bars that don't check ID.

Seriously, though, this is a concern--at least the food part. How can students perform their best, and get the most out of college, if they have a substandard diet?

 

Sure, but I'd settle for a job that pays around £21,000 a year - I can easily afford to live on that here. I've seen many good 1-bed flats for around £450 a month. I've done the calculations - I'd just need to forfeit owning a car, not that I ever intended on driving anyway. I think this depends on where you live as it's not as expensive here as down south, so you can live more comfortably on a lower wage. I wouldn't object to earning more, but I don't care if I do or don't.

A high wage simply isn't a priority for me.

 

Continuing the discussion of how colleges in the US have become more about job training than anything...

I read an interesting article in Harper's (Sept. 2015). "The Neoliberal Arts" by William Deresiewicz. It's on line. Apparently "subscriber only"; however, I have no trouble viewing it. It seems to be a freebie with the hopes that people will cough up money for a subscription.

[Essay] | The Neoliberal Arts, by William Deresiewicz | Harper's Magazine

 

My reasons for going to college are pretty much the same. My family i highly educated* because my family valued education in general, so it was kind of assumed by default that each of us kids would go to college. I also like learning, but because I'm lazy I mostly worked just hard enough to get by alright.

The fact that I could get a much better job with at least a bachelor's degree also was a significant motivating factor.

*Out of 5 people in my family, 1 has has associates and was a R.N., 1 has a bachelor's degree, and 3 people now have a master's degree.

---------- Post added 19th Aug 2015 at 02:37 PM ----------

Logic is taught in many mathematics and engineering courses. In fact, I believe almost all of the breakthroughs in logic recently have come from mathematicians and mathematics departments. Most students in STEM fields will usually take at least a few math classes, some of which cover logic, as part of their major.

As for philosophy, my experience minoring in philosophy is that there's little that philosophy courses can contribute to STEM fields outside of what you can already get in courses within those fields. However, my experience might have been skewed by studying philosophy at a University that is like a Catholic version of Bob Jones University.

 

I can't comment one way or the other. I never took philosophy, and if I had, it would have been in a different era and different context. I was not on the STEM track then or ever.

That said...I saw a former high school teacher a few years ago. His daughter had graduated from a private college that has a Lutheran connection. (This part makes me feel old...she was only a small girl when I was in high school!) She was heavily into science, but did a lot of study of philosophy as well. She actually found the philosophy classes more rewarding, although a good part of that was the nature of professors/departments at that college. My old teacher went there as well, and his summary was that the philosophy department was "the old university" that he remembered.

Mileage, as always, varies, I suppose.

 

In what way(s) did she find them more rewarding? Did she find that the philosophy classes added to her understanding of science in a way not possible from taking classes from a STEM field, did she enjoy them more, or something else?

The person I was responding to said "our technology, mathematics and science education could be thoroughly enhanced by learning things that are no longer taught, like logic and philosophy." This was what I was primarily responding to.

 

Reasons why I went to college:

1. My mother was a teacher, and she had a master's degree. It was always expected of me to go to college. My dad doesn't have a degree, but he took technical classes in college for strengthening his IT skills.

2. I had no friends when I left high school. Literally zero. My friend with benefits had all but cut me out of his life. I was teased pretty much up to my graduation. The last thing I wanted was to be left with a bad taste for my educational experience.

3. I had oodles of scholarships due to my dad just retiring from the phone company and us being low income.

4. I put up a great GPA in high school and earned salutatorian. I really wanted to be in a more challenged environment. I found the last semester of high school to be incredibly boring.

5. Learning for learning's sake was important. My political interests were strong and so I knew that I would do well in history as a history minor.

6. I really wanted to meet a girl(I was in denial still at this point).

 

I can't say for sure. I never talked with the young woman, and the talk with her father didn't go into enough detail. That said, it's my thought that it was that she liked the philosophy program better, and it was less about it helping her understand science better.

However, she was heavily into science (I gather it was her planned path going into college), and so she might have found value for her science studies in philosophy. Also it may be worth noting that that college had--at one time, at least--philosophy classes that touched on science/technology issues. One professor was hugely interested in health care ethics.

One could also argue that the classes might not have a direct connection to a given STEM major; however, there can be value in having people well rounded with understanding that goes past a chosen major.

Once again, as I said before, mileage does vary...

 

I think, to the exception of a few months before finishing 12th grade, I always wanted to go to University. I had heard wonders about the University life and I wanted the "respect" that came with being graduated. I initially wanted to study Law, but eventually got into Foreign Languages and became a translator not at all dissatisfied with my option for the moment! I am also finishing a Masters degree in Translation (only one year left to go! ) and am already considering going back to get a degree in Law.

 

Uni was a mistake for me. I went to a local uni, so I didn't even have the experience of leaving home and fending for myself. I wasn't even thinking about a career at the time, I just saw it as a course that needed to be finished by the summer. And the degree that I ended up with didn't get me any decent work, it might as well be a criminal record for all the good it's done. I wish I did not go to uni when I did, and instead took a year or so working a regular job and earning my own money, then I might have felt more motivated to pursue a career in something and study hard for it.
Having a student loan when I had never worked during my teen years was a bad idea.

 

bc this wont happen w/o college

 

One of the things I am very glad I did was to postpone going to university.

I felt that I wasn't sure of what I wanted to do, but I did have architect in mind, so I took a private course in technical drawing to see if I liked that. Yes, I am a fully trained draftsman (but not in the new-fangled auto-CAD technology). I worked for a couple of years in the petroleum and pulp and paper industries and for certain months-long intervals used the money to travel throughout Europe. I have made life-long friendships as a result, and haven't regretted it one bit.

I finally enrolled in a biochemistry program when I was 25, older than everyone else, but definitely more motivated to learn.

 

Of course, this particular move can be a sword that cuts in two directions... One can also postpone...and then wake up one morning and realize he's postponed going and he's now 50, with a kid about ready to go to college.

In my case, I went for one year, and then took a Leave of Absence. The decision seemed reasonable at the time, particularly due to family circumstances. It was intended to be one year only, but seems to have turned out to be forever. At least as far as completing a degree is concerned (I did have some "classes" at a later date, although one of those was a pragmatic software skills class, not real college track).

My gloom and doom or cautionary tale aside, there could be advantages of postponing going to college. A few years older, and one might know oneself better. Have a better vision of himself or herself and of the world. Looking back, I realize when I was 18/19 how little I really knew about myself or the world. And my proposed track in college probably was horribly wrong. I seriously gave thought to an English major, and I don't think that would have been the best match back then.

And it can be argued that the travel in Europe was hugely educational: seeing other cultures up close. This is something that would not appeal to "education to prepare for a good paying job" crowd, of course, but for real education it probably cannot be beaten. Indeed, my old college in recent years has taken great pride in the fact that they have developed strong study abroad programs. It's no longer for those who are majoring in an unmarketable foreign language. :lol:

25 is not hugely older by years. There might well have been a huge gap caused by life experience.

I remember in the late 1990s occasionally swimming laps at my old college's pool. That brought me into contact with the-then "today's students" and I did feel old. I was only a few years older. But there had been experiences I'd had in my years between 19 (when I left) and 28--some that would have been unimaginable when I was 19. For example, I'd never have imagined what it would be like dealing with my mother as her health sharply declined, due to cancer.

 

I picked study but id be lying if I had no thought of a job at the end of it. Unfortunately our world doesn't let us do only what we want. It would be illogical to ignore all regard to where it might take you in my opinion. Social aspect never came into mind for me. Many of my friends ended up at the uni I am going to but I purposely never asked them what they intended on going since I didn't want that to influence my decision.