College is a Waste of Time, and Money - Essay Example

We have already heard in the news and discussion forums the unresponsiveness of our school system that it does not necessarily prepare an individual in the real world. Even Bill Gates criticized the present school system and its curricula that it is no longer reflective of what is needed in the real world that has real problems The cost of going to college is also not to be taken lightly. It is expensive and typically comprises the majority of the savings of the parents of a typical middle class parent.

The expenses are not only limited to tuition, but also the books, board and lodging and other miscellaneous costs. Considering that an individual will not even be getting a real education that is responsive to the real problems in the real life settings, it is not worth it to spend that much. The money and time that is supposed to be spent in college can be used in other better things. Real education can be had through other means without wasting time and resources. College only prepares an individual to be a conformist and an employee; to get a job and live a life of drudgery of getting up early and working for someone else.

College does not even teach you how to make money in a smart way. According to Robert Kiyosaki in his bestseller book Rich Dad Poor Dad, college does not prepare an individual for financial independence. . Many of the subjects that are offered in the courses in college are also impractical and unnecessary. They have no use except to burden a student with additional workload and tuition expense with only the satisfaction of finishing the course. In short, many of the things that are taught in college are just “nice to know”.

Worst, the things that are learned that are supposed to equip the student when he or she gets into the real world, are forgotten by the time the student graduated because of the long stay in school. The intelligence that is required in life is not also academic intelligence or intelligence quotient (IQ) as what school is telling us but emotional intelligence or real life intelligence that solves real life problems (Wechesler, 1982 qtd. In Mandel & Pherwani, 2003). This kind of intelligence which is required in real life is not even taught in college and in fact even downplayed by the “academics”.

It has always been assumed that a higher IQ that is needed in college would equate to a desirable performance in real life and a determinant of an individual’s success in a chosen career. It has always been stressed that college is an appropriate preparation for an individual to succeed or make it in life. Real life, street or emotional intelligence on the other hand has been traditionally regarded as a weakness and irrelevant. It has been thought that being street smart has no bearing nor use in professional endeavors and as such, irrelevant.

Real life learning has always been relegated as inferior to college. Recent studies however have illustrated that school/college and its IQ is an insufficient predictor of success. As early as 1920, Thorndike has already contended that to make it in life,