<p>I read on here all the time that "so and so is going to a good college" or "my S just got accepted to a great school". </p>
<p>But is there really such a thing as a "bad" school? Have you ever met an adult (30 or 40 years old) who says "I have a degree from xxx school", and you think, "I'm sorry, that was a bad school and going to THAT school was a waste of your time." </p>
<p>I honestly can't think of any school that is so bad I'd write off the degree if an adult had one from that college, except diploma mills. </p>
<p>(For the sake of this thread, let's ignore 2 year degrees and focus on 4 year degree programs.)</p>
<p>It’s relative. No, there aren’t accredited four-year schools where I’d “write off the degree.” But there are some programs I view as bad compared to their peers.</p>
<p>My husband and I wouldn’t let Son apply to our alma mater. </p>
<p>Other than meeting each other there, our educational experiences were “meh.” Ironically, the school has a decent “tier 2/state directional school” reputation.</p>
<p>My S attended a college course after his 10th grade year that he said he’d NEVER go to – he said he learned more in 6th grade math than in that statistics course! He said the teacher & students were not prepared & there was no rigor or thoroughness. He was highly disappointed. I’ve heard that employers don’t regard that school very highly either & think of it more as a diploma mill. :(</p>
<p>My fiance’s school is pretty god awful in nearly every way unless you are planning to become a teacher–which case in the area it is known as a really good school. It’s not like it’s a total sinkhole, you CAN still be successful and go there and any college is better than no college, but I can’t imagine why any non-teaching student would choose to go there if they had other options.</p>
<p>Bad college … hmm, what qualifies as “bad?” Does that fall into the same category as “unfriendly students” or “undistinguished academics?” Who makes the call?</p>
<p>For fiance’s school, it’s seriously watered down academics, dangerous campus, dirty and old facilities, major lack of opportunities outside the classroom, TERRIBLE advising-- as in you can’t even figure out who to talk to and if you do you can’t get them to talk to you, food that makes everyone sick, lackluster financial aid services, unaffordable student health services, and the list goes on and on. </p>
<p>There are a few diamonds in the rough in terms of academic programs, like the teaching program, and there are a couple others that are well known locally for being good programs. But overall, you can get much better for the same or lesser cost elsewhere. I do have hope that they will improve sometime in the next decade, though. They’ve just built a new police station right on campus and they’ve been doing some remodeling, and they have guaranteed a cost freeze for next year.</p>
<p>I can think of a few schools in my native area (NJ) that I might not say are totally bad, but are definitely not worth the incredibly high tuition that they charge. One I transferred out of into a state school & told my parents they had been wasting their money. The other had a reputation for being where people with money sent their less than average students; the few people I worked with who had degrees from there validated that viewpoint.</p>
<p>This is not an “expensive schools are bad” mindset; it’s just that when a school has a pricetag roughly equal to Princeton, you should have greater rigor than the local state university. But that might just be me…</p>
<p>Keep in mind that this is such a personal opinion. I hated my first school as a student that I couldn’t wait to leave it and of course transferred. But my son transferred into it after a few disastrous experiences elsewhere. It turned into a great school for him. Go figure! It’s really what you make of your experience.</p>
<p>I think the City University of New York (CUNY) system ranges from average to good. The main problem I see with CUNY is that they have to accept most of the students the NYC school system spits out. Bright students that choose to attend CUNY and/or can’t afford other universities find themselves among many unprepared, unmotivated students (unless they choose the Honors programs offered throughout CUNY schools).</p>
<p>Personally, I think CUNY professors are knowledgeable and helpful and if one takes a look at the faculty of certain CUNY schools, like CCNY, one will notice many of them come from top US institutions.</p>
<p>My belief is that if a particular school has a reputation for churning out poorly prepared graduates, sooner or later, that institution will shut down. At least, that’s my belief.</p>
<p>As in Dante, there’s at least one layer in between “good” and “bad”, and probably many sub-layers. Your local community college. It may not be “bad” at all, but unless it’s an extraordinary community college no one is going to be describing it as a “good college”. In my area, at least, there are lots of these – nonselective colleges that give students a chance to better themselves, etc., but do not receive lots of respect just for their names, and where the mere fact of registration doesn’t communicate anything more positive about students who attend them beyond that the students aren’t doing nothing.</p>
<p>As a matter of fact, yes, there are bad colleges. What is “bad” is subjective. H and I attended same college. We were first generation college attendees. It isn’t that the education per se was bad, but that in my major there was absolutely no advising (at that time) and the “career center” (to use the term very loosely) only catered to certain majors. So, how does this translate? H was assisted in finding a job, right out of school. People in my major floundered on their own and many ended up in low-paying jobs. Sad but true. If the school had been better at advising, they would have told students in my major that there was no room for career growth with said major UNLESS the student went on to graduate school. In my opinion, the school should have advised students upfront of this fact when they declared their major.</p>
<p>D attended local state university during senior year of high school for a couple of classes and thought it awful. Why? Students came to classes unprepared. Some came regularly hungover. This university has a reputation as a party school. She is intellectually serious and wouldn’t have ever considered applying there. </p>
<p>Hope this gives you insight as to how a school can be “bad.”</p>
<p>^ Are you sure those students who came to class hung over and still made their 3.0 thought the college was “bad?” Bad for the intellectually serious for sure … perhaps not for others in the student body.</p>
<p>a) 4-year institutions are not and should not be in the business of job placement. US society incorrectly perceives a college education as “job training.” The role of university is to assist individuals to grow intellectually, personally, etc. In short, a good university teaches you how to think.</p>
<p>b) University is not fully responsible for the quality of students. Many state universities are required by law to accept most students that apply to them, provided they meet certain academic standards (that are generally low). Private universities do not suffer from this because, obviously, they get to set their standards. Whatever the case, many state universities hire excellent teachers and researchers and many good students take advantage of this.</p>
<p>Personally, I think a “bad” school would be a place where a freshman at any reputable university is able to teach an “advanced” class better than the local professors.</p>
<p>While I agree with this sentiment, the practicalities of today’s world have caused college to evolve into job training. Lamenting this reality is fine for philosophical discussions, but in the end, amounts to little more than tilting at windmills. Sorry.</p>
<p>I have become a lot less judgmental about “good” and “bad” colleges. There is a certain school that is popular among students at our local HS, which I had long considered a “bad” school based on reputation and the negative experiences of some of my friends’ kids. However, I have come to know some students who have thrived there and gotten a good education. There is at least one cc poster with a child there who is doing very well. </p>
<p>I think any school can be a good or bad school for a particular student depending on fit, personal experience, etc.</p>
Sorry.</p>