Big College Myths and Half-truths: What did you find out was wrong?

Parent Cafe
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<p>What myths and half-truths did you/your child learn about in College Admissions and Education/Life/Etc? Were they completely wrong, or just exaggerated? Will you debunk the myths for everyone? </p>

<p>I think my personal favorite one is:</p>

<p>Major equals job/career.:</p>

<p>Anthropology majors become Anthropologists. Engineering majors become Engineers. Business Majors become small Business owners, and History majors become Historians. Biology majors become biologists or go on to Med school, and English and Women's studies majors...</p>

<p>Well, the former might be an english teacher, and the latter will be unemployed, because it's "useless". </p>

<p>That always happens, Right? </p>

<p>Wrong. </p>

<p>Art History Majors become Medical Doctors. English and Education majors get Masters Degrees in Museum Studies. The computer Engineering Major decides he really doesn't want to be an engineer halfway through junior year, and becomes an International business major, and then an MBA- after having gone through the military. The Architect returns to school and becomes a Zoology major, only to teach High School Biology. The history major doesn't become a historian at all, but becomes a minister, instead. The ITT Tech student graduates, moves away from technical repairs, and does currency trading, as well as being an all around businessman, and for a while, an employee of a major Non-Profit charity. As for the Women's Studies major? Well, they go on to publish a few best selling novels. </p>

<p>Aside from the last example, I know all those people personally, and all but three or so are family. That's not to say I don't also know the Engineering/Math double major who teaches Math at the Community college, and the RN who got her Masters in Public health, or even the East Asian Studies major who now lives and works in Japan, translating. </p>

<p>And yet we tell people so often that they need to worry about what they're going to major in, even at age 18! It's not bad to know, but it's not the end of the world if you don't, either. And it's not any worse if you end up in a completely unrelated field.</p>

<p>Any other good myths?</p>

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<p>That the median salary of students graduating from Princeton will, in their first year, be higher than those of Loma Linda University.</p>

<p>Wrong!</p>

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<p>Wow, howdy mini - I was just hoping you would weigh in on the “not a party school” thread. Hope all is well with you and yours!</p>

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<p>Mini- I’m pretty sure your wrong…</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>Literally?</p>

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<p>Harvard is heavily focused on it graduate programs and gives little attention to its undergrads. And its students are very unhappy.</p>

<p>Both wrong! Harvard loves its undergrads, provides them with a great education, and its undergrads love it back.</p>

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<p>“Literally?”</p>

<p>Both literally, and quite specifically.</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>It was in an article on the front page of Yahoo news earlier today</p>

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<p>^ Ahh… Hmm… I’m not sure if this should be comforting or worrying.</p>

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<p>"Graduates of Loma Linda University have the highest median starting salary among United States colleges ranked by PayScale.com. The rankings were released Monday and reported on by The New York Times. The starting median salary (includes up to five years after graduation) for LLU bachelor’s degree graduates is $71,400.</p>

<p>The New York Times article attributes the No. 1 ranking to LLU’s “strong programs” in allied health, nursing, and dental careers.</p>

<p>PayScale’s rankings are based on self-reporting from 1.2 million individuals who disclosed their degrees and earnings. The figures are based only on graduates with a bachelor’s degree who did not go on to earn any higher degree. Thus, professionals such as medical doctors or dentists are excluded from the survey.</p>

<p>Loma Linda University offers approximately 20 bachelor’s degrees in fields ranging from geology to dental hygiene to clinical laboratory science.</p>

<p>LLU was followed in the rankings by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at No. 2 and Harvey Mudd College, in Claremont, at No. 3.</p>

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<p>The elite college reward is disproved by the actual life experience of the students they grad. It is neither better nor worse, as regards post grad experience, for those possessing an equal ability and drive, but who chose to attend elsewhere.</p>

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<p>That 'Data" is as useful as a used tissue. It has not verifiable information. I filled out a phony report for some school I never even visited. Accepted. Maybe some Loma kids got bust one night. Actually that data is exactly as good as the JHU Iraqi death counts. Welcome back.</p>

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<p>Talk about Myths and Half-truths. I would really like to know which job in geology, dental hygiene, or clinical laboratory science offers a starting salary of $71k for someone with a freshly minted BA.</p>

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<p>Going to a state U or lesser ranked college means you won’t be as successful as if you go to an ivy.</p>

<p>Stephen King - University of Maine (Orono)
Michael Connelly - University of Florida
Cormac McCarthy (Pullizer) - U Tennessee
Junot Diaz (Pullitzer 2008) Kean College in Union, NM for one year before transferring and ultimately completing his BA at Rutgers College
Barrack Obama - Occidental 2 years, transferred to Columbia BA
Carol W. Greider (Nobel Prize Medicine 2009)- UC Santa Barbara
Steven Spielberg - Cal State Long Beach
Steve Jobs - Reed College (dropped out after one semester)</p>

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<p>^I wouldn’t club Reed with a state university. I may be biased, but it’s really a top notch college, so Steve Jobs only gained from it-whatever little association he had with it.</p>

<p>Other ones to consider would be:
Oprah Winfrey:Tennessee State University
Michael Dell:University of Texas-Austin.
Francis Ford Coppola: Hofstra University.</p>

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<p>Another myth-</p>

<p>Liberal Arts Colleges are second tier or inferior to large universities (even evidenced by the poster above). For the person that loves the idea of a Liberal Arts College, there is nothing like it and as far as I see, it in no way limits your possibilities or makes you inferior than a Harvard/MIT etc. graduate.</p>

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<p>Nursing majors from Penn have 100% job placement</p>

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<p><<talk about=“” myths=“” and=“” half-truths.=“” i=“” would=“” really=“” like=“” to=“” know=“” which=“” job=“” in=“” geology,=“” dental=“” hygiene,=“” or=“” clinical=“” laboratory=“” science=“” offers=“” a=“” starting=“” salary=“” of=“” $71k=“” for=“” someone=“” with=“” freshly=“” minted=“” ba.=“”>></talk></p>

<p>Can’t speak for dental hygiene…but for geologists going into the petroleum jobs, the average starting salary for a new hire with a bachelors degree is about $73,000.</p>

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<p>“Poor kids are so lucky, they can go to school anywhere and not pay anything / have little debt.”</p>

<ol>
<li><p>The very few, extremely motivated and gifted low-income students CAN go to HYPS+ for free. There are about 25 schools in the country where those low-income students could graduate with no or very little (<$10,000) debt.</p></li>
<li><p>Low-income students who take the CC–>university route still end up with a lot of debt. ($5000 + $5000 + $20,000 + $20,000 ( - $20,000 Pell) = $30,000 in debt).</p></li>
<li><p>Low-income students who win great scholarships still end up with a lot of debt. (Full tuition at the University of Pittsburgh leaves over $10,000 a year for four years, mines $5000 Pell, equals at least $20,000 debt - not bad, but doesn’t include room and board or fee increases).</p></li>
</ol>

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<p>I guess I would classify these as half-truths:
Small classes are always better than large classes.
Being taught by professors is always better than being taught by a TA.</p>