The Problem With College
In 2012, Marina Keegan died when her boyfriend fell asleep and flipped his car on the way to Cape Cod, days after her graduation from Yale, and days after the publication of her final essay, “The Opposite of Loneliness.” The piece was full of hope, humor and youth. The sad juxtaposition of vibrant life with sudden death pushed her writing into the public consciousness. “The Opposite of Loneliness” went viral and catalyzed the publication of an eponymously titled collection of her work that has since become a New York Times bestseller and an airport-book-store standard.
I give all that backstory to provide a context for both her work and her popularity. Besides our collective obsession with unfulfilled promise (the most exciting part of any home run is the ball’s first rise off the bat), she wrote with the urgency of youth. There was writing in that book she probably would have found cringeworthy if she lived to look back on it, but from a reader’s perspective (and in the context of her death) it feels refreshingly earnest. All of it certainly rang true to me, save one article, titled “Even Artichokes Have Doubts,” written for the Yale newspaper in 2011. I’ll crudely sum it up like this: Marina wonders why nearly a quarter of her graduating class will end up in consulting or finance, and she worries that these choices are forced by a fear of not making money. “Is working for a bank inherently evil? Probably not,” Keegan writes. “But the fact that such a high percentage of students at top-tier schools enter an industry that isn’t contributing, creating or improving much of anything saddens me.”
While I sympathize with the disappointment she’s experiencing there, I think it’s easy to poke a gaping hole through this essay’s bleeding heart: The total cost of attendance for one year at Yale is $63,250. Read that sentence again. You cannot spend over $250,000 on four years of college and criticize the decision of others to go chase money. This is like protesting deforestation while warming yourself by the world’s biggest bonfire. I wouldn’t agree with this argument from a state school student, let alone ivy-league, but I think it raises an interesting question. What is the point of college anyway?
Marina Keegan’s article struck me because she didn’t even mention the cost of attending Yale, as if that detail wasn’t pertinent, as if it wasn’t the boat upon which the entire enterprise floated. I don’t blame her; this is the temperature of the country. It’s now normal in most strata of society to just accept college as an inevitability, our American birthright. It’s as if college still conjures images of a young farm boy packing his bags to go be a doctor, his parents misty-eyed with pride. But you’re deadbeat, stoner buddy? He’s going to college, now, too. You are no longer in college to be special; you’re in college to be normal. We all know the stats: You make a lot more money with a degree than without it. But attendance outpaces job growth, costs increase, and the likelihood of getting a good job out of school continues to decline. The bubble is real, and it’s obvious. I’m not arguing that you shouldn’t go to college; the alternative is still far worse. I’m arguing that you should know why you’re in college. If your honest answer is either “to have a good time” or “women’s studies,” then, woo buddy, you might be fucked.
You are not owed your dreams. You can’t do anything you set your mind to. You are not a snowflake. So it may be time to start considering college with the same risk-reward analysis as we view a small business. Should you spend 120K on a film major? Maybe. You may make connections I can’t even conceive of. Maybe you’ll find like-minded talent and forge a path you never could otherwise. On the other hand, I’d argue that if you can’t commit yourself to an endeavor outside of the rigidity of a curriculum, then why do it at all?
There’s a great story I was told about Jerry Seinfeld. He frequently gets asked for advice by young comics and his answer is always the same: “Stop doing it.” His logic is that if the person then stops comedy, they never had the courage to be successful anyway. He did them the favor of ending their careers before they invested more. If, on the other hand, they continue with renewed fervor — ignoring the advice of perhaps the most famous comic of all time — then they just may have the goods. Perhaps this is my version of that very advice. Passions are important and we are not just our careers or our money. But we’re also not all Marina Keegan. Talent is not an inevitability and the world needs accountants as much as it needs poets. I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t explore what you love in college, so long as you understand the gamble you’re taking. It’s just that it’s obscene to me to think that getting a job that pays well is some kind of failure. I guess that’s the luxury of youth. Take heart that the luxury of getting older is knowing it’s not..
So, for what it’s worth, I don’t think your criticism of Marina’s commentary of Yale specifically is valid, and I think she’d actually agree with what you’re writing, given context. I go to Yale, and the best kept secret is that it actually is affordable for most people who attend. About half of people receive financial aid and it’s usually a pretty large amount. If your family makes less than 200,000 you’re getting some help on that 63k a year (often even those over that threshold), and I believe if your family makes less than 80k you can attend pretty much scott free (you have to work a student job, but still). The other half of yale students (i.e. those coming from almost exclusively millionaire families) aren’t paying their way either, because their parents are footing the bill. Yale is filled with privilege, and I think her story was about a lot of what you were actually advocating for just thinking about what you actually want, not what brings the most prestige or cash. I think the thesis would be more accurately described as this: those who are given a head start in life should give others a helping hand if they can. Her essay doesn’t really apply to other schools, students, or situations outside of her context. That being said, I’m incredibly happy to see this kind of quality article appearing on TFM, even if they are few and far between.
10 years ago at 4:21 pmYou had me until “You cannot spend over $250,000 on four years of college and criticize the decision of others to go chase money.” Between that sentence and the very theme of the article, you clearly missed the core of her argument. She is saying it shouldn’t even be about YOU and how much money YOU make. She isn’t faulting anyone for making the decision to chase a buck, but she IS implying that as the supposed creme dela creme of future difference makers, we (those who attend elite universities) could do just that – make a difference. Instead, filled with insecurity, misdirection, and often times a lifetime of learning to be greedy and self-interested, most graduates seek the sure thing of a high-paying job, which happens to be jobs that make rich people richer (it’s easier to make money when you have money, after all).
As to your critique of her not even mentioning the cost of college – have you ever met anyone from Yale or other elite universities? Much much more often than not, if you are paying 50 – 60k+ to go to school, your family has the money to burn. Either that, or you are probably quite brilliant and have a dank scholarship, further illustrating her point that your youthful talents would be of great benefit to society so it would be a shame to squander that god-given gift and make the greedy decision. Anyway, the point is most kids that go to ivy league, patriot league, NESCAC, etc. schools are *usually* pretty fucking comfortable when it comes to family finances. I think what she was trying to say is best summed up with the cliché expression, “with great power comes great responsibility.” So many people in this country (not to mention this Earth) are fucked from the get-go, how can you not feel at least a tiny bit of responsibility to society when you have struck to karmic jackpot that is having graduated from a top university.
And for the record, I COMPLETELY agree that college should be a cost-benefit analysis, especially if you aren’t going to an especially reputable school. But, when you hypothetically have the world by the balls as a Yale (or whatever) graduate and could score just about any job you want (again, hypothetically), isn’t there a bit of societal responsibility that comes with that? I’m not saying join the Peace Corp and tell Goldman to go fuck themselves, but my bet is that very few accountants can look back on their lives and say, “Wow, I really made this Earth a better place”, although I do recognize the potential of people making bank in order to donate (but let’s be real here). Again, not that their evil, but they are undeniably a little bit selfish purely by definition.
Given this site’s assumed demographics, I understand I am likely trying to sell honey to bees right now, but just do me and Marina a favor and take a minute to realize how unbelievably lucky most of us are to live the lives that we do; and recognize that we are part of the small percentage of people that have an opportunity to make a positive difference in the world.
10 years ago at 7:42 pmThat being said I was impressed with the rest of the sentiments you put out there. Especially the Seinfeld paragraph. Not hating, just trying to clarify a little.
10 years ago at 7:50 pmI’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I find it incredibly liberating to believe that I am not a snowflake. This means that I can make my own choices, live my own life, and find happiness wherever I want to.
10 years ago at 9:24 pmJ Train let us know when you go off into a solo career and leave that shit hole at TFM. We all know they’re aren’t paying you anywhere near what you should be making. With that being said, well done on the article and good read.
10 years ago at 1:00 amJTrain, even though this is a satire website I always enjoy your more serious posts. Keep up the good work, bud.
10 years ago at 12:03 pmWhy can’t we all just be happy with what we have. Stop putting mirrors in rooms to make them look bigger, and stop worrying about having money.
10 years ago at 12:54 amBoring as fuck
10 years ago at 4:18 pm