American universities may be some of the best in the world, with most of our universities hitting the top world university charts based on data compiled by sources such as U.S. News and Times Higher Education; however, the quality of our education system may actually seem pretty low. Not only does the American college education system appear to not prepare college students for the real world, but the American economy also affects the education system, which in turn affects college students and graduates as marked by the following statistics. Collegiettes interested in education, economics, and the likes, get ready to take notes.
1. College may seem “too easy”: An article in USA Today last year, reported that college students roughly spend 51% of their time socializing/recreating, 24% of their time sleeping, and only 7 % of their time studying. The report was based on more than 3,000 responses from full-time college students in 29 different campuses across the country. Moreover, the research shows that college students now seem to be spending 50 % less time studying than college students from a few decades before. Additionally, the research revealed that about 35 % of college students spend five hours or fewer on studying per week and 32 % reported to never have taken a college course where they read more than 40 pages per week.
2. There may be a decline in productivity of American Education: According to the New America Foundation and based on data compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “17 million Americans with college degrees are doing jobs that require less than the skill levels associated with a bachelor’s degree.” For instance, more than 317,000 waiters and waitresses hold college degrees, while more than 100,000 janitors also have college degrees. In addition, American economist and writer Richard Vedder mentioned in his article “The Great College-Degree Scam,” for chronicle.com that in 2008, about 365,000 cashiers were college graduates. As Vedder noted, it seems that the data point to a “horrible decline in the productivity of American education.” Furthermore, a slideshow news story featured on businessinsider.com states that 57 %of college graduates will hold full-time jobs.
3. Miscellaneous Statistics: The aforesaid slideshow also noted that 70 percent of college students wish they had prepared more for the real world while still in school. Moreover, about one-third of college graduates will still live with their parents. Likewise, according to an article on pimco.com by William H. Gross, co-founder of PIMCO, a global investment firm, “the average college graduate [left] school with $24,000 of debt and total student loans now exceed this nation’s credit card debt.”
This is just a snapshot of all the different studies and research that have been compiled in the last few years. Are you surprised, disappointed or is this something you expected? Let us know your thoughts on this topic in the comments below!