Substitute BA for MFA in my example then. My point was that a LOT of people go to school and rack up ridiculous debts getting degrees in fields that don’t historically employ a lot of people, and then end up doing something not in their field and with a huge debt to service as well.
Not smart decisions, and ones that are probably based more on what school and majors they think is cool when they’re 18, instead of being a little more pragmatic about it. You’d think their parents would try and steer them clear of this stupidity, but it doesn’t seem to be the case.
Honestly, a lot of parents don’t know any better either. In my town, most parents didn’t go to college and have no idea about academia at all. I can’t blame them for wanting their child to go to an Ivy League school, especially considering how they are portrayed in the media.
High school counsellors also contribute to the problem by acting like you’re not ‘living up to your potential’ if you go to a state school or, God forbid, community college.
I think a lot of the mistakes in this thread would be prevented with more education. It is sad.
I’ll throw one in though. People who never consider buying used clothes, especially if they aren’t well off. Seriously, you can get perfectly fine clothes at a thrift store. There’s no reason to spend a huge chunk of your income on clothes from the mall.
That’s a good one - take them home, put them through the wash, and they’re good to go. I’ll add to this, people who pay full retail price for clothing in boutique stores. Clothing has, what, an 80% markup? If it’s not on deep discount, I’m not interested.
And especially - people who buy baby clothes new! You can buy a whole outfit at a nearly-new sale for 50p. Sometimes they still have the tags on and are completely unworn - designer label things that cost £10 or £15 new, and are going to last two or three months tops.
Same with toys - I’ll never understand people who won’t give second-hand toys to their precious children. Yes, having kids costs money, but it doesn’t have to be the major expense that some make it out to be, at least certainly not until they’re at the age where they want to do things that cost money.
It’s not always intuitive to “game” a promising major. Mid-career film majors, for example, turn out to make more than mid-career biology majors. Art History and Economics are highly represented in the top 1% earners. Furthermore, majors have been known to drop from a “sure thing” to “basically useless” in the course of four years, as anyone who has weathered a tech boom and bust can attest to.
Student would be wise to look at the economics when choosing their major, but to understand that a no major is going to be an instant ticket to prosperity, and the best major is one that they can do well, do with passion, and get a career started with as an undergrad.
The reality is that for high-achieving, low-income students, going to a lower tier university is exactly what they won’t want to do. Numerous studies have shown that low-income students who choose a less-prestigious university than they could get in to tend to achieve less and drop out more- and as we all know, half a college degree is worse than none.
This can be for a number of reasons- a student staying at home in community college will be around a lot of non-academic influences-- family responsibilities that don’t give them time to study, low-achieving high school boyfriends/girlfriends pressuring them into early marriage and child bearing, friends in the workforce who seem to have a lot more freedom and money than a college student, etc. Furthermore, it’s easy to get frustrated when you are a high-achieving student and you are surrounded by less bright, less ambitious students who have different priorities.
I wouldn’t recommend community college for most high-achieving, low-income students unless they come from a very supportive family and peer group. The best option for these students would be a top-tier public university.
Interesting point, I wasn’t aware of that tendency.
This is why it’s necessary to not judge others’ actions as ‘stupid mistakes’ before knowing all of the details, I suppose.
I definitely agree on majors though. I’m a biochemistry major, and I see a lot of people who do not know or care about biology in my classes. They go from class to class, memorizing things and never understanding the deeper mechanisms at work. I have no idea how they’re going to function in the workforce like this, but I’m sure they would have been much better served picking a major they were actually interested in.
Pre-med major? Or any sort of pre-health sciences track (pharmacy, medicine, dentistry, veterinary).
Also, yea, I read an article recently that mentioned what even sven mentioned. A high-achieving student from a low-income place will benefit the most from getting out of there into a top public university. Not necessarily a private university, but the best university he/she can afford.
Or any sort of pre-health sciences track (pharmacy, medicine, dentistry, veterinary).