Joe Doakes from Como Park writes:
“College Enrollment Falls As Economy Recovers.”
Sounds as if young people are opting to skip college to go straight into the workforce, snapping up all those outstanding jobs at great pay and benefits.
Except the article doesn’t say that. The article talks about sky-high tuition and student loans, it talks about demographics, it talks about colleges that overbuilt, but the notion people are working instead of studying is handled with this line:
“But the number of Americans turning 18 hit its recent peak in 2009, and will continue to decline through 2016. High school graduation rates appear to have leveled off, and job prospects have improved, making school a less attractive option.”
Really? Where are all these great jobs? Why isn’t Obama getting more credit for creating them?
Joe Doakes
I think it qualifies as a “Dead Skunk Bounce”.
My sons, ages 22 and 25, joined the military. Their friends are mired in student loan debt, with dead end jobs.
Wendy, congratulations, Blue Star Mom (I have one blue star on my flag). Let’s both pray they never turn gold.
Amen. And Thank You!
The economy is recovering??!!
It is always sunny in Washington, DC.
Higher education is so messed up. http://www.aei.org/files/2013/05/28/img-infographicbennettiscollegeworthit_223244852413.jpg
This is a good thing, as it may mean that young people are realizing that they don’t have a realistic chance of graduating. In my former job, I knew a Gustavus grad working for $12/hour. OK, so he was literate, so he qualified for electronics assembly, but I’m pretty sure a BA in history ought to have prepared him for something else. It was also striking how he hadn’t absorbed the reality that you dress for the job you want–who knows how far in debt he was (is), and his wardrobe was jeans and “Snorg” T shirts.
I also just sent word to my nephew to avoid less selective colleges. Suffice it to say that when 50% of the freshman class is not going to graduate, things get dicey about whether professors actually expect kids to learn. I don’t think I’d send my kids to a college with less than a 70% graduation rate and a well above average rate of paying off student loans.