Is there such a thing as a "bad" college?

Parents Corner
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<p>If you’ll notice, in my posting I said in my second sentence, “What is ‘bad’ is subjective.” For me, the lack of advising was a problem. For my oldest D being at a party school = poor quality. </p>

<p>This is why there’s discussion of “fit” on some of these postings.</p>

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<p>Goldey Beacom College. It is as expensive as any private but functions as a community college in a shopping center.</p>

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<p>lafalum’s post said it best: there is a college for everyone; but not every college is a “good” fit for every person…</p>

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<p>Learning, in and of itself, can never be bad, IMO. Whether such learning occurs at a highly rigorous level or at a basic level is another story.</p>

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<p>There are a lot of students who go to college just to get the degree. Not to get an education. You need a Bachelors Degree for just about any white collar job at this point and satisfying the 120 credit and core requirements with the least effort for a lot of people is just fine. </p>

<p>The same goes for MBA & MLS degree seekers: you need that piece of paper to advance in a career. I’m not saying that people in the Masters Level programs don’t work hard, but it isn’t uncommon for people to enter those programs with the attitude “I can’t move to the next level at work until I have that degree, so I guess I’ll start.” </p>

<p>So I guess the “bad” judgment for me is partially based on fit, and cost/value (I’m talking about low ranked schools that are very expensive.) For most of us on CC, our kids are fairly good students & education is important to us; our checklist for what is a “good school” may look very different from what the majority of the U.S. considers important for post secondary education.</p>

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<p>A few thoughts…1

  1. I like state schools that take just about anybody. There are a lot of kids who screw up in various ways in high school but really bloom eventually. I’ve known a few.
  2. I would like to see something - maybe just a shift to two year degrees - for those who really have NO interest in a liberal arts education but want to acquire technical skills for a job. I’d rather let them skip the usual sort of core requirements than just clog up the works and spent a lot of money (particularly these days) for a product they don’t want.
  3. Bad …hmmm…schools that in some way deceive their students - and that definitely includes those that let foolish kids graduate with $100,000 in debt and a degree that won’t lead anywhere and those that bring in unprepared athletes then dump then as soon as they aren’t stars on the field.</p>