Do you feel that most college graduates are "educated" or just have degrees?

Answer 1

Most college graduates just have degrees, because most college students just want a degree. My school is somewhat unusual in that for a number of reasons, most of the students here really are here to get an education. But the majority of people I've encountered elsewhere view their college education as simply a means to an end (specifically, a better job). And most schools treat it that way. Two years ago, when I was looking at schools to apply to, what so many schools told the rooms full of prospective students boiled down to admissions requirements, graduation requirements, and graduate employment. "Here's what you need to do to get in, here's what you need to do to get out, and here's what you can do when you're done." Nothing about what happens in between. It's all about degree requirements, and what a degree from that school will get you, with no mention of what you'll learn. One of the things that attracted me to my current school was that it was ALL about what you'll learn while you're here. But that was unusual.

So many students are focused on getting an A that they forget that what they're supposed to be taking away from a class is new knowledge and understanding, not just a letter on their transcript. I hear from students at other schools that some of their classmates won't share lecture notes with a friend who missed class because they know the exam will be graded on a curve, and it's a zero sum game. I see so many people wanting to know "how can I get out of here faster?" "How can I finish in three years instead of four?" "How many AP classes, how many summer classes do I need to take?" So many people want to just race ahead to the degree, and put in the least possible effort for the least possible amount of time.

I'm in a position that I'd have enough credits that I could probably graduate in three years if I wanted (even without taking any summer classes). And I don't even have to think about it to know I don't want to do that. Because I know that my school has enough to offer that it's worth spending another year here studying. I'm not sure how I can cram everything into four years, let alone three. Just because I could get out faster doesn't mean I can't still learn from being here. Actually, I don't really care much at all about the degree as I'm planning to go on to grad school anyway, and it's ultimately just your highest degree that really matters.

I've met a lot of people who've finish college and yet don't seem intelligent or educated at all. An education isn't just a matter of memorizing facts. It's about understanding the nature of those facts, and why we know them. What we accept as fact now many not be fact in fifty years. Memorizing facts is useless if you don't have the skills to aquire and understand new facts as they come into being, and to easily dimiss old ones that turned out to be false. Anyone who spends three or four years at college and manages to graduate is going to have to memorize some amount of factual information. That doesn't make them educated. So many people finish college without even understanding what "educated" really means (the poster above me is a prime example of that), let alone possessing the wisdom and reasoning skills that a good education should provide.

Answer 2

I've been on both sides of this coin and now as a 43 year old I'm about to graduate from college.

I worked in the professional world without a degree and found I had hit the ceiling and could not get into better paying jobs because I lacked the college degree.

I do feel that it all depends on the type of school you go to and the degree you pursue.

I feel that I am definitely more educated after taking nearly 30 classes to finish my bachelor's degree (I had an associate's 20 years ago).

I've learned issues like
Diversity which is an appreciation for other cultures
Ethics, which taught me to see things from other sides of an issue.
Organizational Behavior, which taught me to understand some of the communication issues necessary to motivate workers
Math, which helped me to problem solve
Economics, which taught me to understand how a lot of financial information works
Marketing, and accounting which taught me some of the key issues encountered in the business world.
And then finally classes in my major, Human resources. I needed to understand issues like Labor and Employment Law, Staffing, Compensation, Training, and other courses so I could better prepare myself to legally hire and terminate employees.

So, to bring this long post to a close, I would say in my case, education is definitely worth the $50,000 it is costing, especially if it provides me with a better paying job.

Answer 3

A degree is a level of education that you have achieved and has nothing to do with the personality of a person. Often some intelligent people know nothing about some things but excel in others. Sort of like a savant. The American worker is a prime example of this. They get up, go to some mindless job, come home, eat, watch t.v., have kids, take care of kids, etc. They do these things as a group but it is simple: work, eat, sleep, repeat. When any level of intelligence is introduced or a person is fired, outsourced, etc. the person goes into a tailspin and cannot cope. These people are just going through the motions and sometimes educated fools are just the same. I will assure you that you can say what you will but you won't want any high school drop outs or college dropouts performing heart surgery or brain surgery on you and they better have that sheepskin hanging on the wall when you go for your visit. Criticize what people do with education or degrees but don't condemn people for wanting to better themselves. That means all the "unejumicated" degreeless losers that answer this. I gots mine. It took alot of work to graduate from high school and college for me and if you don't like it then move to China or India or stock the shelves at Wal-Mart like you are probably doing.

Answer 4

Most just have the degrees. There is more to education than the school and book knowledge... More learn from the 'school of hard knocks'

Answer 5

well... I would have to say degree (cuz they are not necessary educated though)
But, I just wanna add something... I think the purpose of education is to make people smarter. For example, how many times do we have to do calculus in the real world? The purpose of having calculus (or any other subject) is to make us think through the steps to solve problems and to make us think in a logical way. Or else, it would be stupid to have calculus in our education.

Answer 6

I think they are just schooled, not educated.

To be educated, one must have learned respect for people of different cultures and ethnic background.

One must be able to manage their money in a logical way.

One must have learned to respect non-violent people of all faiths.

One must have learned to respect our own people of all social classes.

Most college graduates fail most of these marks of true education.

Answer 7

Most, just did their time (just have degrees). Most college graduates, I've encountered are idiots.

Answer 8

depends if we're talking book smarts or common sense smarts, you must have some job knowledge before you come off looking like a total idiot

Answer 9

Everybody learns something. if they got degrees, it is just a side-effect of it.

Answer 10

Found your question interesting because I just had to write a paper on this article and it hits the topic of what you're talking about.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/7fdc402a-5183-11db-b736-0000779e2340.html