Dumb People In College

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I became jaded in high school being around immature f--ks who couldn't tell their a$$holes from a bar of soap.
Once I started tertiary study I was still burned from high school, so I was wary of who I befriended.
Most of the people I ever try to get to know more always end up blowing me off.

Absolutely. I work as a teaching assistant, in the Social Sciences primarily. So many of my students are in the class to meet a requirement or fill credits, and don't give a crap about the content of the class besides the final grade. They have no interest in learning, only on regurgitating information to get a grade. And then I get students who, despite not actually understanding any of the material, still get an A in the class, and plead with me to give them an A+ so they can get into Law/Med/Grad school (I don't give A+'s, nor do most professors).

On the other hand, I have a number of students every class that are interested in the material, or even have personal experience with the material (e.g. poor kids in a class on social stratification or ones who have been through the court system in a deviance class), but they don't necessarily do all the work or study for the exams. I know they understand the materials better than anyone else, so I usually bump their grade

I think one of the problems facing academia is that its seen as a career investment, rather than as a means for personal and social development. The students only want to get a degree to get a better job (although, there's no jobs in my area for ANYONE), and it just trickles up from there. Grad students are just ladder climbers that don't internalize their own research (Marxists in the classroom and conservatives at home), and the faculty are even worse, amoral ladder climbers. There's even an institutionalized system that rewards faculty for inflating grades, giving athletes grades they don't deserve, and general mediocrity. A number of Ph.D. candidates in my department in recent years have made up data for their dissertations to get results; some were given awards or got tenure-track jobs right away. Just like in a pool, the turds float the highest, and those most interested in intelligence, self-discovery, and public application of research usually drown at the bottom. I'm dropping out of grad school after next year if I'm not forced out, I've had enough.

Just remember, without dumb people you can't be considered smart, haha. Just worry about yourself and your friends.

Im sorry but after reading things from other forums and seeing American television programmes, I have got to ask, is College a really big deal in the U.S like University is over in the UK? When I went to College for me it really wasn't an enourmous deal, just a case of I went in and got my Early years qualification then left College for a different College to study further in Early years.

College used to be a huge deal in this country, and I suppose it still is for certain groups of people. Today, everyone and his brother has a bachelor's degree. The only way a person's earning potential truly rises is through an advanced degree after college, but even that isn't as certain as it used to be. For instance, a law degree once guranteed a six-figure salary. Today, with so many law students and a finite number of jobs, most lawyers can't even repay their student loans, let alone live a lavish lifestyle.

Everybody and his brother does NOT have a bachelor's degree. Something like 25-35% of the American population ever attains a 4-year degree.

Edit:

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html

According to the census, 24.4% of all adults age 25 and older have 4-year degrees.

I have some sympathy with the I'm-just-here-to-get-a-job types. I went into my PhD very motivated and keen on the research, by the end I felt I was just jumping through hoops, and just wanted to get my piece of paper as soon as possible. There are worse things than working for my PhD tutor, such as gouging your own eyes out (think Professor Smith from PhD comics).
There are scientists I like, but frankly I despise the academic environment. Too many self-important timeservers, and too feudal for my taste. Too many professors whose only merit is being born at a time when there were actually jobs in academia. However if you're close to finishing my 2 cents is that you might as well finish.

Yeah, but most people of my generation (the millennials) do go to college straight after high school, altering the job landscape. Already, bachelor-degree job seekers overrun cities like Boston, Washington, Seattle, and others. I'm just saying a bachelor's degree isn't as special as it used to be.

No, it certainly isn't, especially since a larger proportion receive degrees now than did in the past. You should remember two things, however. First, only about 40% of all people who attend college end up completing a 4-year degree. The rest either dropout at some point, or earn an associate's degree. Second, many degrees are coming from 'diploma mills', such as the University of Phoenix. The quality of these degrees tend to be much lower than those at 'brick and mortar' universities, and employers are often aware of this. That means that if you have a degree from one of the more traditional schools, you will have an advantage over some of your competitors.

if they didn't let in legions of idiots they couldn't pay the rent and keep the power on. University is mostly a big scam now.

Yeah, there are idiots everywhere aren't they? I have no idea how many times I was woken up by the fire alarm at night due to some idiot burning ramen in the microwave or screwing up the dryer.

Then again, it's the idiots that makes it easier for profs to love students like me. I do my work, I rarely skip class (it's usually either because I'm sick or I'm REALLY behind in work), and I'm respectful to my peers. ^_^ Wow, that sounded like a HUGE ego stroke, didn't it?

I hated highschool so much, and I've found that the people in college are so much easier to deal with. In my classes they mind their own business and never "talk back" to a teacher.

I was in one English class last semester, though, and I dropped out after four weeks because I couldn't stand the people or the teacher, and also I didn't want to write the 10 page research paper. XD Plus, there were so many group discussions that I was forced to participate in... but at the same time I couldn't bring myself to say anything.... even though I was cringing at all the things everyone else were saying because they were so stupid... I feel bad for saying mean things like that, but I was so annoyed and stressed in that class.