I wrote most of this essay more than 10 years ago, after reading William Deresiewicz’s book, Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life. At the time I hadn’t been freelancing regularly in a number of years and had no idea how to break back into the business. As a result, the essay has been sitting on my hard drive ever since. Then, last week, I read a terrific piece by
Apr 15·edited Apr 15Liked by Debby Waldman-What To Believe
I FINALLY had a moment to properly read this AMAAAAAZING article Debby! Wow. It really just encapsulates everything I vomited-out a couple weeks ago about the agony of "defeat". Thank you for dusting it off and bringing it to light. Beautifully written and SO helpful. btw...Colton chose Northeastern..what used to be considered a "commuter school." Hahaha! xx
Seems as relevant today as ever. And I adore Julie Schumacher's novels. Gut-busting funny. As a recovering academic (left my tenured position in journalism in 2002), I think higher education in the US has failed many.
Thank goodness we live in Canada! Watching an acquaintance and her daughter who live in the U.S. go through the process of visiting colleges and awaiting acceptance letters and scholarships attached gives me a stomachache.
I agree the Canadian way is better. I looked up the % of the Canadian population with a college (University) degree and it's 57%. That compares to the high 30s in America.
Our three kids applied to college in 2005, 2007, and 2011. There was an emphasis on getting good grades and trying to do well on the standardized tests to try to give many options as to where to go to college. We as parents and out kids bought in to that. But the extracurriculars were more experiential than anything else.
I sense that 12-18 years later in 2024, things have gotten much more competitive.
It is so interesting to read this chapter and the comments. My education was for 3 years at an old fashioned nursing school in Ottawa. We paid for our education by giving service. We had three weeks off a year so time wise that compares longer than a 4 year undergraduate degree. Lots of crazy rules in residence and lots of fun. We continue to have class reunions every 5 years. My 60th is coming up next year!
Oh I forgot to mention nurses are in high demand right now, they were in my day as well.
I FINALLY had a moment to properly read this AMAAAAAZING article Debby! Wow. It really just encapsulates everything I vomited-out a couple weeks ago about the agony of "defeat". Thank you for dusting it off and bringing it to light. Beautifully written and SO helpful. btw...Colton chose Northeastern..what used to be considered a "commuter school." Hahaha! xx
Seems as relevant today as ever. And I adore Julie Schumacher's novels. Gut-busting funny. As a recovering academic (left my tenured position in journalism in 2002), I think higher education in the US has failed many.
Thank goodness we live in Canada! Watching an acquaintance and her daughter who live in the U.S. go through the process of visiting colleges and awaiting acceptance letters and scholarships attached gives me a stomachache.
Hi Debby,
I agree the Canadian way is better. I looked up the % of the Canadian population with a college (University) degree and it's 57%. That compares to the high 30s in America.
Our three kids applied to college in 2005, 2007, and 2011. There was an emphasis on getting good grades and trying to do well on the standardized tests to try to give many options as to where to go to college. We as parents and out kids bought in to that. But the extracurriculars were more experiential than anything else.
I sense that 12-18 years later in 2024, things have gotten much more competitive.
It is so interesting to read this chapter and the comments. My education was for 3 years at an old fashioned nursing school in Ottawa. We paid for our education by giving service. We had three weeks off a year so time wise that compares longer than a 4 year undergraduate degree. Lots of crazy rules in residence and lots of fun. We continue to have class reunions every 5 years. My 60th is coming up next year!
Oh I forgot to mention nurses are in high demand right now, they were in my day as well.