I recently received this email from Pakistani homeschooler Fasih Zulfiqar. I advised him to seek out econ professors at the nearest universities, but he’d likely appreciate further advice. Reprinted with his permission.
Hello Prof Bryan, Fasih here. Perhaps Prof Cowen informed you about me, but in case he did not, let me introduce myself.
I’m a student from Pakistan who has self-studied through secondary education. I decided to quit schooling when I was in grade 6, much to the consternation of my relatives. They dinned into me that schooling is the only avenue for success, and that I would certainly fail if I go solo.
There were days when I would come back to home from school – completly exhausted – and ask myself if I truly learned anything. Sure I had friends and all, but school was not serving the purpose it was meant to. Moreover, it wasn’t cheap. My father could hardly afford sending me and my sister to school, let alone pay the prohibitive rent. More and more often, I found myself considering whether it was all even worth it. So in the summer of 2012, I decided it was enough and quit school.
My argument for taking this radical decision was the fact that our schooling system does not teach children anything of actual import. Education, here, is a misnomer. What the schools teach here is rote memorization. Basically, the students are encouraged to memorize the notes of former students (or those written by the teachers themselves), and paste those memorized points verbatim on tests. For instance, a student may know that a rise in interest rate leads to an appreciation of the currency, but (s)he would be absolutely clueless as to how this happens.
What could possibly be the value of such education, if it can even be called that. The schools here are merely concerned with grades and credentials. This perspective is so pervasive that it has also infected our youth and even their parents. And why wouldn’t it, considering that employees are evaluated here solely on their credentials.
It turns out, rote memorization does ensure that you end up acing your exams; thus, this practice has become so entrenched that people don’t even question it anymore. They do not believe there is anything wrong with it. I remember my teacher was once making us memorize the date Bangladesh seceded from Pakistan, and I asked here if she could explain what gave rise to Bangladesh’s independence. The “why” behind it. Initially, she ignored me. I asked again; she replied it is relevant. I persisted. She blew her gasket and expelled me.
We Pakistanis, along with much of South Asia, hold an extremely myopic view of education. It is all about attaining this or that degree. This is not what education is meant to be. We are wasting our youth, which, I firmly believe, has great potential. This needs to change – urgently. I aspire to make that change, but I do not know how. Someday, perhaps, I will, but, as of now, I’m lost myself.
Homeschooling has been an extremely successful endeavor for me. I have achieved an A* in Economics and an A* in Mathematics as well; I recently got an A in Further Mathematics. These are A-level exams (UK system), more or less equivalent to AP in the US. I also ended up being awarded the highest marks in Economics in Pakistan by the British Council, much to the astonishment of my family.
Having achieved all this, I intend to enroll in a decent University in the US. I had love to major in Economics or a combination of Mathematics and Econ. I absolutely do not wish to pursue my undergraduate studies in Pakistan for the very same reasons I quit schooling. The issue is, I will need a substantial amount of aid. My father makes an income of about only $15k; this certainly qualifies me for aid, but I know that funds are scarce, making my chances of getting aid slim to none.
I recently learned that universities may look down on homeschooled applicants. This makes no sense to me. Considering how much discipline and persistence is required to teach your own self, universities should instead value homeschooling more – much more. Perhaps I’m biased, or perhaps this is not even the case, which is why I’m writing to you.
The crux of the problem is the requirement of letters of recommendation. All the need-blind universities in the US require at least 2. Since I have self-taught myself, I have none. Only my parents know the persistence with which I have worked throughout the last 6 years. Obviously they can not write a letter of recommendation for me: that would be rather biased. What do you think I should do?
I met Prof Cowen yesterday while he was in Karachi. Upon listening to my questions, he mentioned that I should talk to you. He told me you have homeschooled your own children, which came as a shock to me because we Pakistanis consider US schools the epitome of education. Having listened to many podcasts you have been on, and having read many of your posts on Econlib, I do realize that education in the US is not perfect either. Nonetheless, it is far better than in Pakistan. And if I intend to improve my own nation someday, I believe I will ultimately need a decent education.
To recap, I have two questions. First, is there a bias against homeschooled students, and if so, then how much? Second, what should I do about the letters of recommendation?
Thank you for taking the time to read through all this Sir. I look forward to hearing from you.
READER COMMENTS
Rebecca J
Oct 3 2019 at 11:13am
I homeschooled all three of my children all the way through (here in the United States Midwest), and all three have gone to college/university. We did not experience any anti-homeschooling bias. In fact, even though my homemade transcripts must have seemed very unusual to their admissions departments, all the schools they applied to accepted them. All three of my children performed very well in college, so they proved themselves quite capable to handle the work.
Here is my advice: It is good that you have these test scores that you can include with your applications. Were the tests administered by an independent service? That way the schools will know that your good results were valid. Any independent measures like that will help you. As for your letters of recommendation, we always had our children have some learning experiences with other people, so that these other people could attest to the fact that they were good students/learners. If you could find a professional in one of your areas of interest that you could work with, or at least have some deep conversations with, perhaps they would be willing to write a letter for you. Even somebody in another field, but someone in a position of authority who knows you well, could write a letter about what a good serious person you are.
Also, just taking (and doing well in) a few classes in a nearby university would help you create relationships with professors who would possibly be willing to write your letters. The transcript from those classes would add to the helpful documentation you would then include in your applications.
I hope you keep us all informed about how you are doing. I wish you well.
FasihZ
Oct 4 2019 at 6:20pm
It’s quite comforting to know that homeschoolers are not an anomaly and aren’t disdained in the application process. I have all the official transcripts of my results, and they are all issued by Cambridge and Pearson directly from the UK. I do know some professors who can write me a letter of recommendation, but most of them I know through the internet rather than personally.
Nonetheless, I can certainly enroll in classes and work with an Economics professor in my local university. However, the problem is that I don’t have much time on my hands. I’m currently 20, which is already somewhat late to apply for college. I’m trying my best to apply before I turn 21 because I suspect older applicants might be overlooked. I have asked many people about this and have received mixed answers. I’d love to know your thoughts.
Thank you so much for your reply Ms. Rebecca.
Rebecca J
Oct 5 2019 at 3:50pm
I can see your wanting to get on with your college education, but I don’t believe that there will be an age bias from the universities point of view. But perhaps one of these other folks with acquaintances in admissions can speak to that.
I do think that even letters written by people that you’ve only known online can still be worthwhile, especially if there has been a lot of individual attention anyway. A few extra letters would probably not hurt either, given your unusual background.
FasihZ
Oct 6 2019 at 8:44am
Indeed there is nothing to lose by including letters of recommendation from extracurricular acrivities.
Thank you for your help Ms Rebecca.
Alex Beard
Oct 3 2019 at 11:58am
I have only a small number of heavily interdependent data points, but I don’t think I or any of my siblings were discriminated against in college applications, and we were homeschooled in the US.
Here are some things that I believed helped:
We were homeschooled in the US. Attitudes towards international students might be different.
High SAT and ACT scores.
Dual Enrollment courses. Sometimes colleges allow high school students to enroll in college courses, (sometimes at outrageous discounts). These courses count for high school credit, and might even count for college credit. This is the most relevant to Fasih’s problem, as professors tend to notice high school students in their class, making it easy to ask for letters of recommendation. I took two dual enrollment economics courses with the same professor, who later wrote one of my letters of recommendation.
Fasih Z
Oct 4 2019 at 7:17pm
I’m currently studying for the SAT, and I’m confident that I will score good. It is a shame, though, that universities put so much value on standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT: they can hardly gauge the knowledge level of an individual.
Your plan sounds absolutely feasible, and it is exactly what I intend to do. I will attend some classes at my local university, preferably the Economics department, and see how it goes. It is safe to say the econ department is not the best the university has to offer, but it ensures relevancy.
Scott
Oct 3 2019 at 12:00pm
Fasih’s description of education in Pakistan reminded me a lot of Richard Feynman recounting his time teaching at a university in Brazil.
That’s an excerpt from Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!, which I recommend in it’s entirety.
Fasih Z
Oct 4 2019 at 6:24pm
What a profound experience Richard Freynman had! This resonates with me so much, especially the part where no one asks any questions, and how pluralistic ignorance comes into play too.
There is another phenomenon that I’ve come to notice. Students here essentially interrogate teachers about what topics are more ”important” i.e., what topics are more likely to appear in tests. They cram everything pertaining to those specific topics and overlook everything else as if it’s worthless.
This just comes to show how they perceive education. Education for the sake of passing exams is, indeed, useless. A perfect demonstration of Goodhart’s law in education.
I’m an avid reader myself, and I will certainly check out Mr Feynman’s book once I’m done with the book I’m currently reading: Sapiens.
Perry
Oct 3 2019 at 12:20pm
One thought that occurs to me: perhaps this person could try to speak a bit to some admissions officers from a few educational institutions in order to find out what to expect? I don’t know how easy or hard that would be to arrange, though.
FasihZ
Oct 4 2019 at 6:32pm
Yep, that is what I intend to do.
JK Brown
Oct 3 2019 at 12:23pm
Hillsdale apparently has a lot of homeschooled students so their admissions counselors may be able to give good advice.
One presumes the recommendation/transcript requirement are just the easy way to filter prospective students, but it has the impact of cementing credentialism and shutting out someone who developed initiative in their own education.
FasihZ
Oct 4 2019 at 6:47pm
Hillsdale’s application page has seperate instructions laid out for homeschooled students, something that I haven’t seen with other universities. However, they don’t seem too involved with international applicants. I will contact them nevertheless; the more I can know the better.
Gosh that quote is so meaningfull. Self-teaching takes immense self-discipline; I hope admission officers share the same view. I might use that quote in case I end up writing about my self-study journey in my college essay; though, I’m not sure if an essay centered around this topic would be good.
Muhammad Rashid
Oct 3 2019 at 2:31pm
This is a great post, and I am glad that Prof. Kaplan posted this. Having grown up in Pakistan myself, I can completely relate to the student here. The public education system in Pakistan is, as the student relates a system of rote memorization. The private education system, and especially ones that host the International Cambridge examination are expensive and very selective. I know this as I grew up in a Jesuit High School ( St Patrick’s High School ) one of the foremost high schools in the country and gave my cambridge examination. My contemporaries from the high school have landed in ivy league universities, such as Yale, my self at UC Davis and Universities such as Simon Fraser in Canada.
Even though our high schools were a great help, migrating to the US was not easy. The current exchange rate is very punishing and all of our families sacrificed much in terms of monies for us to study and live over here.
I would be glad to provide as much help as possible to the student in question, although I am at a complete loss as to the issue of recommendations.
One path that comes in mind is perhaps if the student has had some work experience during their time of self-study they can reach out to the employers for letters of recommendation. Or if the student took private tutoring ( a common and expensive practice in Pakistan ), the student could get a recommendation from the tutor.
Furthermore, please do-not dismiss the institutes of Higher Learning that do exist in Pakistan.
Institute of Business Administration, Lahore University of Management Sciences and Quaid-e-Azam University are all great institutions. I know friends who have received Full-bright Scholarship to study in the US from these institutions.
Please feel free to to reach our to me and email.
FasihZ
Oct 4 2019 at 7:42pm
What a coincedence: my mother studied from St Patrick’s High School as well! Considering the average fees of schools that host CIE exams nowadays, St Patrick’s is actually relatively cheap. Education costs here are skyrocketing, and this is despite the fact that most students are simultaneously learning from a tutor as well.
I might be able to get a letter from an employer, but I’m not sure if that would be of much relevance. I’ve also been a part of a local soccer club for the past 4 years, maybe a letter from my coach could be useful? I unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, did not have any private tutors.
I absolutely adore the private institutions of higher learning in Pakistan, particularly LUMS and IBA, and they’re my insurance if I’m not able to get any aid from US universities. However, I do not wish to conform to the status quo and simply pursue my undergraduate studies for the sake of a decent job. A degree from either of these universities would certainly be valued highly in the labor market, but I suspect it wouldn’t teach me much. Since this is based on my experience with primary education in Pakistan, I could be wrong. But then life is short, and I have only one chance at this; I can not quite perform a trial and error.
Faizan Diwan
Oct 3 2019 at 4:59pm
Based on his maturity and his story, I actually think Fasih has a great chance of getting into top US programs that do not have a scarcity of funding (at places like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, he would automatically get 100% aid based on his families income).
Fasih, if you have not looked at those programs, you absolutely should. They certainly don’t make it easy for homeschoolers to meet the recommendation requirement, but I think the advice others have provided above – to try and take a course at a nearby university and get a recommendation from the professor – is probably the best thing you can do.
For example, Yale’s admission requirement page states the following:
“We require letters of recommendation for home-schooled applicants, including two from academic teachers and one from the ‘school counselor.’ Please do not present letters written only by your parents. We need additional objective evaluations from educators who have interacted with you – perhaps a teacher from a course you took at a local college, someone who has mentored you in a tutorial, the local librarian with whom you’ve discussed books over the years, someone in whose lab you have done research, etc. Letters from an online instructor are acceptable but can be difficult to evaluate, as the teacher often has not had direct contact with the student.”
Also, navigating the US college application process as a foreign student isn’t easy and, since I am guessing you don’t have access to an admissions counselor, if you want, I would be happy to help you through the process as much as I can. I am also from Pakistan (a fellow Karachiite). I wasn’t home-schooled but I can relate to the extent that my family’s income bracket was the same as yours and I also needed substantial aid to study in the US. I managed to get in to a top school here with a full scholarship and happy to guide you to get your applications in the best shape possible based on my experience.
FasihZ
Oct 4 2019 at 8:05pm
Thank you so much for the compliment Mr Faizan. I have heard of the programs you mentioned; my first priority is to apply for the need-blind universities, especially the likes of Yale, Amherst and UChicago. I would certainly enroll in a few classes at my local university and see if I can get a letter of recommendation. However, how do I differ between a letter from two teachers and from a school counselor? Would getting a letter from a professor be considered as a letter from a school counselor? Also, could a letter from an employer help?
It is honestly so comforting to meet a fellow Pakistani who has gone through the whole admission and aid process. So far, I’m finding filling out my application on the Common App rather simple and straightforward. It is only the essay part I’m somewhat struggling with.
Faizan D
Oct 6 2019 at 12:41pm
Hi Fasih,
Great that you’ve been finding the common app process relatively straightforward. The essays can be quite an important part of the application and I’m happy to review them/give you feedback. I’ll have the Econ Lib webmaster forward you my email address so you can get in touch directly.
As for what might count as a letter from a ‘school counselor’, I am not sure. The wording in the Yale instructions is a bit ambiguous on that matter, though I think it might be the case that they except three total recommendations and the third one could from anyone who knows you similar to how a school counselor might (so, a letter from an employer might suffice). You could reach to the Yale admissions team to get clarification on this directly as well.
Robert Hatem
Oct 3 2019 at 5:43pm
For letters of recommendation, one idea is to attend the high school for a year, show humility and respect for your teachers, then ask them for recommendations. This delays college by a year, but it might be worth it.
This solves a second hurdle for you – you need to signal conformity. Your story clearly shows work ethic and intelligence, but admissions counselors will sense that you are rebellious. That you have a problem with authority. Showing that you can submit and go along with things for a whole year in school, even after succeeding out of school, just to get the silly recommendations, signals that you can conform. This will make admissions counselors more comfortable (not to mention future employers).
Final detail. Recommendations from the traditional teachers will work better than recommendations from tutors, or professionals in a relevant field, or economics processors because it signals more conformity. Getting a recommendation from a non-traditional source looks like you’re trying to weasel your way out of the normal process. On the other hand, getting good recommendations from normal teachers shows you can conform. This would feel hard and unfair, but it might be a small price to pay for getting where you want to go.
FasihZ
Oct 4 2019 at 10:18pm
I don’t believe that may be neccessary because, while I have been completely independent in my studies, I have been a part of many institutions and social settings. I have been a part of a soccer club for more than 4 years, and my coaches had absolutely no issues with me; I’ve also been going to a local gym for the past year; I have volunteered under different organizations; most importantly, I have earned two German language certificates A1 and A2 through Goethe Institut. The fact that I have attended formal classes should indicate that I have no problem with authority, right?
I will try to vary my letter of recommendation sources and obtain one from a school teacher if possible. I do understand your point about conformity; though, I believe my extensive involvement in the local community should be able to suffice.
Thank you for the insight Robert; I had not considered this aspect of my application before.
Robert Hatem
Oct 6 2019 at 11:01am
After hearing that new information, I agree! Your community involvement shows that concerns about rebelliousness are non-issues. Your application sounds even stronger!
Lanna
Oct 3 2019 at 6:54pm
I do not agree with the idea of conforming or submitting to regular teachers for the recommendations at all! This student already comes across as thoughtful and educated. This letter itself could replace at least one recommendation letter!
aretae
Oct 3 2019 at 8:28pm
I’m the father of 5 homeschooled kids, and have relatives in college admissions. At this point, most colleges have a bias IN FAVOR of homeschoolers. They’re better prepared for the self-study, self-managed lifestyle of college, and everyone in admissions knows that.
FasihZ
Oct 4 2019 at 10:24pm
It is quite relieving to know that admission officers recognize the great self-discipline homeschooling requires. I’m surprised to see how big homeschooling actually is in the US; it is an aberration here.
Barry Cotter
Oct 3 2019 at 10:52pm
Home schooling isn’t really a big disadvantage, if it’s even a net disadvantage at all. Your grades speak for themselves, as does the award from the British Council. More trusted and institutionally legible qualifications would help in admissions but you’re already doing ok.
Don’t follow Robert Hatem’s advice. Life is short and wasting a year of it is always a bad idea.
Consider doing MIT’s MicroMaster’s in Data, Economics and Development Policy. They have needs based tuition so it should be affordable for you.
Reach out to people. Send emails to Pakistani professors of economics in the US explaining your situation and asking for advice. Maybe ask some of them if they’d be willing to do what amounts to an oral exam covering first year economics in an hour long Skype call and write a recommendation based on that. There are a lot of really lovely people in academia. I’m sure if you wanted you could get ten letters from academics saying you obviously know your stuff when it comes to Economics in under a month.
If you’re not absolutely wedded to the idea of studying in the US European universities do not care about recommendations, just grades and maybe interviews. I would hope Oxford or Cambridge would be able to offer you a scholarship but it’s a fallen world so perhaps not. If you’re willing to learn German studying in Germany is cheap, under €1,000 a year, and you can work part time legally.
FasihZ
Oct 4 2019 at 10:40pm
I also have some certificates from Goethe Institut, which is certainly a renowned institute of German language; those should help as well. MIT is indeed one of my top choices right now because of their brilliant Econ faculty and need-blind admission policy.
I have some professors I can contact at my local university; I doubt any Econ professor in the US would be willing to write a letter based solely on an hour’s test of my econ knowledge, but it is worth considering.
Alas, UK universities are rather parsimonious, and it would be a surprise if they would offer me even 50% aid. Fortunately I can already speak some basic German, so German universities are certainly an option, especially Jacob Uni. I have been to Germany, and I liked it a lot, especially the sweet potatoes and pineapples they have there haha.
Tom P
Oct 4 2019 at 1:23pm
Hi Fasih, I co-run the Northern California chapter of the Association of Asian-American Yale Alumni. I’m also an economist working in the private sector. If you like, you can email me (address should be provided through this comment) and I’d be happy to chat with you and help as I am able. Best of luck with your application process.
[Note: email addresses are not provided with comments. If you want to email me at webmaster@econlib.org, and give me permission, I can email your email address to the email address Fasih provided. —Econlib Ed.]
Gabriella Deich
Oct 5 2019 at 10:22am
Hi Fasih,
My name is Gabriella and I’m currently a senior with a full merit scholarship at Duke University.
I was you four years ago. Growing up in the southern United States, I attend public school and likewise came home most days knowing I’d learned nothing. I wanted something different out of my future – so at eleven, I decided to drop out of school. (Much to my parents chagrin as well.) I spent the next six years trekking to the mildewed local library to get books to study. I took dozens of AP tests for some semblance of credibility, but I had no teachers and no letters of recommendation. My parents weren’t involved in my education, so even they couldn’t write a real letter!
I’ve never met anyone with a background so similar to my own. I’d be happy to speak with you about how I approached applications and whatever else. I’m lucky to have had things turn out the way they did.
[Note: Comment edited. We do not publish commenter email addresses in the comment section. If you want to email me at webmaster@econlib.org, and give me permission, I can email your email address to the email address Fasih provided. —Econlib Ed.]
FasihZ
Oct 6 2019 at 8:59am
Unbelievable. You’re like my American counterpart haha.
With no one to guide you, how did you learn about the application process, and how did you circumvent the letter of recommendation issue?
I’m considering applying to Duke University as well, but I’m not sure if it is the best match for me considering I’d like to pursue a degree in Econ.
Thanks for reaching out to me Gabriella.
Dr. R.
Oct 5 2019 at 5:37pm
Everyone on this forum has excellent points to make.
So, I will only add this thought. You show up at almost any university in the U.S., with money in hand, and a good resume, and you’ll most likely get in. Money talks. You won’t need all that other baggage.
Of course, there could be exceptions. But, you don’t want to go to those schools anyway.
Remember this: You do not need a diploma to become successful in life. When was the last time a customer refused to buy a product from a business unless those employees had college degrees? The answer is never. Some of the wealthiest people in the world do not have college diplomas.
I’m talking about the private industry, not government jobs. Stay away from government jobs once you obtain a diploma, unless you desire to become a mediocre person for the rest of your life.
In other words, I assume you have ambition. In that case, strive to become part of the top 20% performers in whatever profession you choose. And, do that in the U.S., not in your country. A diploma will not give you that. That takes many years of practice. The bottom 80% are those people who want a job but have no particular ambition to succeed. By the way, that is a Pareto distribution. Look that up if you don’t know what that is.
I mentor and teach new engineers just entering the workforce out of college here in the U.S. I work for a well-known multi-national global corporation. I will not tell you which one that is since I am not a designated company spokesperson. (There are legal issues involved.)
I have four college degrees (all of them in engineering), including a Ph.D. I have taught undergraduate engineering at a couple of universities, part-time while maintaining a full-time job in private industry. I have multiple patents and trade secrets, with more to come. I am an innovator and a creative, with over 30+ years experience “practicing” the craft. I have worked with other nationalities, as well — Germans, Indians, Chinese, Brazilians, and so forth.
The only reason I mention those facts is that I want you to understand that I know that of which I speak. So, you should “listen up,” as I tell some students.
Here is the dirty little secret. None of those degrees contributed to my success! Would you like me to say that again? Do we understand each other?
My entire educational profile is about self-learning, not classroom learning (which is an oxymoron, in my opinion). No college lecture ever taught me anything. I learned it for myself, even in classroom situations, by studying those topics myself, assuming I cared anything about them anyway.
The only exception might be that I had the opportunity to practice research (contributing to the field of knowledge) when getting a Ph.D. That is a skill that has come in useful in my innovative line of work. But, it was the DOING, not the DIPLOMA, that made the difference.
Eighty percent of all professors in the U.S. (and I assume worldwide) are not good teachers. They are not trained to teach, especially in research-based universities. Having a Ph.D. does not require expertise in teaching. A professor in a research-based university cannot get tenure by teaching well. He or she can only gain tenure by bringing money into the university — e.g., research grants, and so forth. There is also the issue of “publish or perish,” which is another form of university credentialing.
The diploma mill in the U.S. (and worldwide) is nothing more than a credentialing service for large corporations and the governments to filter the masses of humanity applying for positions. It is also a control mechanism, especially for governments. Licensing, such as PE (professional engineering), medicine, lawyering, or any other professional license, is a government control mechanism.
None of those college diplomas nor government granted licenses ensure the individual is worth their salt (so to speak) in their profession.
What do you call a medical student who graduated at the bottom of his class? He’s called a “Doctor.” What do you call a person who barely graduated with poor grades with a Ph.D.? He’s called a “Doctor.” What is a licensed plumber called, who is a bad plumber? He’s called a “certified plumber.” What is a bad teacher in K-12 called? She is called a “certified teacher.” What is a lawyer who graduated at the bottom of his or her class called? They are called public defenders, and prosecutors (heaven help the accused who do not have money).
Do you understand where I’m going with this line of thought?
If I owned a business (I do have an LLC which is non-functional at the moment), and were hiring engineers, and two of them showed up in my office for an interview — one with a diploma, and one without a degree — I would hire the one most qualified, even if she did not have a degree. That would be the one who is going to make me money. I don’t give a dirty word about the degree.
Every diploma engineering student just out of college I work with knows NOTHING. It does not matter what school he or she graduated from — MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Cal Tech, or some State University. They only have a diploma. Every class they took over a 4 to 6-year time frame, they forgot. They are not yet engineers until they have practiced engineering. This fact is true of all professions.
However, those students did learn how to party, drink beer, shack up with the opposite sex, and waste their parents’ retirement money for a long time, not including the student’s lost earning power.
Our society has been brainwashed by the PTB (Powers That Be). If a does not obtain a college degree, they will forever be consigned to weeping and gnashing their teeth in the gutters of life. Home school parents are no different than anyone else (I do know some exceptions) in this regard. There are powerful interests involved here to keep this game afoot (as Sherlock Holmes used to say).
Probably 80% (Pareto) of college students should not be there. They are not college material. Most drop out anyway after wasting money, time, and lost earning power.
Technology and the Worldwide Web are starting to put a dent into this power structure. It cannot come soon enough. The educational house of cards will topple, eventually. The PTB are losing their power.
So, in conclusion, I would like to express this thought. Success in life is about what you DO, not what you KNOW, or would like others to think you know, even if you have a diploma. What companies are looking for are skill sets. Those skills are not developed by obtaining a degree.
You mentioned you are considering mathematics and economics. My recommendation is to forget about economics. That degree will get you nowhere.
If you are good at mathematics, consider engineering.
Most people cannot do engineering. It’s hard mental labor. It uses a part of the brain that is not well-developed in most people. That’s why they are paid more money than artsy-fartsy liberal arts types.
The only thing you need to know about economics is that supply and demand drive prices. Flood the market with liberal arts types, and it drives their value down. I can hire those people dirt cheap. I can’t find competent engineers on the market; therefore, if I find one, I have to pay good money to get that person. He or she is in high demand in my competition. We compete, you win.
The unspoken primary agenda of the push for STEM (Scientific, Technology, Engineering, and Math) is to flood the market with those people so that prices for hiring them are driven downward. Large corporations in bed with the government (i.e., Fascism) want those prices to fall so that they can obtain cheap labor. They don’t care if a person is not suitable to pursue that line of work. It is an unspoken agenda because of save-the-planet types. They would get their feathers ruffled. Also, you cannot sell an agenda like that to the public. Everything else is an illusion, and non-thinking people are led like sheep to the slaughter.
I like the fact that I have few competitors. I have no interest in flooding the market with me-types. Therefore, they have to pay really good money. I get warm fuzzies over that fact. I sip martinis while petting my dog and looking out over the lake pondering these situations. Life is good.
On the other hand, if I’m the owner, maybe I would be more forgiving of flooding the market. I prefer the money to be in my pocket, and not yours. Do you see now how free-market economics works?
You don’t need an expensive economics diploma to figure this crap out. Either way, while working for someone else, or building my own business, I can sip martinis while petting my dog and looking out over the lake pondering these situations. Life is good. I’m in the top 20%.
Engineering will put good bread on the table, and then allow you to pursue artsy-fartsy stuff if you are so inclined on the side. I do that myself. Otherwise, that diploma might get you a job asking, “Would you like fries with that,” alongside non-degreed people performing their job duties just as well as you. The owner of that establishment does not care if you have a diploma or not.
There is no better education you can obtain apart from an apprenticeship situation. The trades are like this.
All knowledge work can be shipped overseas.
I’m thinking about helping the Chinese take over all American jobs here in the U.S. I love Chinese people. Those people are smart. The public education trash graduating from American universities can’t cut the mustard. Automation and lazy will eventually take their jobs away from them.
I like Indians too. However, there’s a problem with that culture. It comes out of a traditional caste system’s way of thinking. Unless those people become thoroughly Americanized, their paradigm will never allow them to achieve personal success, at least not here in the U.S. So, I’m not worried about them taking over my job, contrary to other pundits.
Germans are a different story. They’re also smart. They provide the best beer, provided you’re in Germany to get it. But when I tell a joke, I have to tell them when to laugh. I’ve never met a German who knows more than me about engineering. They think they know more. I let them keep thinking that — as long as they buy me a beer.
The U.S. Southerners don’t like Germans, especially those who built that Volvo plant down there. That’s because of Southern culture. Southern people beat around the bush about things. Germans tell you to your face what they genuinely think about you. I like that part about them. You don’t have to guess what they think about you. If a good ole boy down south tells you he is going whip your dirty word; he’s lying. He wants to sound tough. However, if a German tells you he’s going to whip your dirty word, you best start running.
You can’t get plumbing, electrical, automotive, or air-conditioning systems fixed by a Chinaman in China or an Indian in India. By the way, those trades charge top dollar, and the work never stops coming in. You can get rich by owning one of those companies.
So, which would you prefer? Obtain an expensive, worthless diploma and eventually get shipped overseas or automated out of existence? Or would you like to go where there is a lot of money lying on the ground? All you have to do is pick it up? It’s your choice, and it’s your life — not mine.
Would you like to make money while apprenticing in a trade while your buddies are losing money or destroying their foolish parents’ retirement funds while going to college? It’s up to you. By the time they get out of school and can’t find a job, you might even own the company by then and be able to obtain some college-cheap labor. How does that sound to you?
By the way, I’m an expert in automation, as in automated vehicles, robots, and all that sort of stuff. I can mathematically describe and simulate all those systems on a computer. I can even make them do what I want them to do. That’s called control system theory. I also know how to control them using satellite signals.
Thus, I know that of which I speak. Follow the PTB, or listen to me. That last sentence had sort of rhyme to it — didn’t it? I am also a musician. That’s why I can pick up on those sorts of things. I can’t make money with music. I can make money with that other stuff.
Go and do likewise.
Andrew Warren
Oct 28 2019 at 5:46pm
Hi Fasih,
You’ve received a lot of good advice already. But I just thought I’d chime in and say that you should take a look at Reed College (where I went). They are not “need blind”, but they do have some funds available for international students, and quite a few of my classmates were homeschooled or had some other non-conventional academic background. (There were even a number of refugees, and a couple of students from Tibetan villages, when I was there.) As for the quality of the economics program, it is obviously not in the same league as say MIT, but people routinely go to strong economics PhD programs afterwards. The economics faculty there are quite friendly; consider sending one of them an email.
Comments are closed.