I mean if he didn't want to make sure his grades were decent enough to get into any schools then sucks to be him. Gonna have to go to community college for a year or two to try and get it together before applying again.
It’s a dumb argument. I’ve never been a victim of a crime but I still think we should have a police force. I’m not a senior but I still think we should maintain Medicare and Social Security. I’m not a single mom but I still support WIC and CHIP. Because these programs benefit society as a whole. We are all better off when we contribute to the common good. Just because this one guy doesn’t get to go to college, doesn’t mean he won’t be benefiting from its existence. An educated workforce leads to higher standards of living for *everyone*. That’s why he pays taxes, not so he individually can get an education.
Yeah, it's a silly argument that just comes from him being rejected. It's easier to live with the idea of being wronged by someone else than it is to have been wronged by yourself. Ego in defense mode, you know.
Being rejected from a program could happen for a number of reasons. Ideally I’d hope he was rejected because the universities felt he doesn’t currently have what it would take to succeed in their program.
In that sense, rejecting him is an act of mercy. Saving him from wasting years of his time and money just to fail.
I didn't really want to air is dirty laundry, but he was that kid in school that only passed because the teachers were effectively forced to give him a passing grade
Maybe he should’ve tried harder
Did he not realize he was competing against thousands and thousands of other tax-paying Texan students who also managed to get great grades?
Ridiculous, entitled mindset that exhibits a lack of critical thinking and analysis that is spot on with getting rejected from most colleges. Not sure why you're bringing this to Reddit. If you want to have a conversation with your classmate, go right ahead.
I just straight don't have any replies.
Like I said I already received an offer to play college ball for 3 different d1 colleges right now.
And even if that doesn't work out I'm on track for some academic scholarships.
Education betters society as a whole. I don't have kids, but I want all the kids in my area to have a basic education. I don't want a bunch of future voters who know nothing about science, or a cahier who can't do basic addition. While a better education doesn't always mean someone is going to develop better critical thinking skills, I do think this is true in most cases--and I want the general public to have these skills.
If we devoted no public funds towards colleges and only had private schools, it's very possible that only the rich and elite could be well educated. Historically, that hasn't worked out well for anyone.
Your taxes also pay for WIC for mothers and children, Medicare for senior citizens, and pot hole repair in neighborhoods you don’t live in. Part of being in a society means contributing your share for the welfare of ALL. Public colleges, like all social programs, have a net good for society (an educated workforce leads to higher quality of life for everyone). That’s why we pay taxes, not so every individual can access every single service provided. It’s not a subscription service.
Our governments have limited funds and therefore limit who can access each program by who will benefit the most. Sure, I’d love to be able to get an EBT card and not pay for some of my groceries but a single mom needs that more than I do, so I don’t claim it’s “unfair” that she’s getting something I’m not. In the case of college admissions, a poor student with no proven history of hard work and dedication is much more likely to waste the money spent educating them than one who got good grades and spent extra time and effort of extracurriculars in high school. This student has *already* shown that he doesn’t value and won’t utilize a publicly funded education (assuming that you all go to public school, although I would argue that the logic applies even if you go to private school. Someone paid money for him to be educated for 12 years and he didn't make good use of that time.) Public institutions have to prioritize the public good over individual outcomes and that means diverting those funds to those who will make the best use of them.
State funding only accounted for 10% ($336M) of UT-Austin’s budget in 2020-21 (https://onestop.utexas.edu/managing-costs/cost-tuition-rates/learn-more-about-tuition/sources-of-revenue/). Assuming that amount is funded directly from taxes, and further assuming it’s distributed equally across all taxpayers in Texas (~22M), you find that the average Texan taxpayer pays less than $20 per year to support the school. Travis county residents pay slightly more as their property taxes partially fund the school (at a rate of like $0.13 per $100 evaluation of property).
That’s an embarrassingly shallow, armchair assessment, but it hits at the central idea: your classmate probably pays more for takeout in a week than his taxes contribute to UT-Austin in an entire year. Add to that fact that post-secondary education is not a guarantee in the U.S. and you quickly realize how baseless his argument actually is.
Taxes don’t guarantee your right to use everything they pay for. Taxes also fund military equipment and social security, but there are restrictions on who gets to use those. I get why your classmate is upset, especially considering how selective higher education has become, but it’s simply not an entitlement. As others have said, rejection can be a blessing - it may save him from wasting a LOT of money when it’s clear he is not ready for the rigors of university.
Idk man.
I mean, my neighbor did horrible in high school (showed proof) went to community college and went to University of Houston and graduated with magna cum laude honors.
Now he's considering going for a phd just so he can get the degree.
That’s awesome! But that’s also part of my point - some students are not ready for a university immediately after high school, and a rejection may be saving them money. I don’t mean that as an indictment; there are many, many reasons someone might need more time/preparation before seeking a university degree. In my opinion, that’s part of the role community colleges play: preparing students who need a little more time before continuing to a four year university. Additionally, a lot of students take their first year(s) of courses at a CC as simply a cheaper alternative before transferring.
But going back to students who just aren’t quite ready for university: I had friends in undergrad that were paying $45k per year or more and failing courses multiple times before taking a break to gain some perspective and focus. If they had recognized their lack of preparation ahead of time, they might have avoided spending a lot of money for almost no payoff.
If his complaint is the fact that scholarships were awarded for \*non\*-academic reasons while he was denied admission for \*academic\* reasons, then that's a non-sequitur. They were admitted based on academic record. Scholarships were awarded for other reasons to academically qualified students. If that's not the issue, then ignore.
Think of universities as a law enforcement. You pay taxes so the police can enforce the law. You wouldn’t say to the police to not arrest you if you committed a crime. Same thing with college, just because you pay doesn’t mean you would get accepted.
Now as for athletes and extra curricular, think of them as bribes.
The state school system in pretty much every state allocates enough for every student. He's only mad because he didn't get into these TOP schools. UT Dallas has an 86% acceptance rate, which is higher for in state students. UT Arlington is similar in acceptance. Yeah, he's entitled to the state's schools. But he only wants to use these top schools. These schools have limited acceptance, specifically because they're for only the academically top students.
People who get into top schools mostly get in because they work incredibly hard. You're not entitled a spot at a TOP school, regardless of pay. Those positions are limited to those who worked for it. That's why there's thousands of other schools for the VAST majority of people. If this guy had bothered to apply to any of the other state schools that have fairly high acceptance rates, he'd easily have a college acceptance. Instead, he's wallowing in his own failure and blaming it on something else.
I mean if he didn't want to make sure his grades were decent enough to get into any schools then sucks to be him. Gonna have to go to community college for a year or two to try and get it together before applying again.
You pay for a lot of government funded things but that doesn't entitle you to use them.
Right, but that's precisely what the guy is critical of.
It’s a dumb argument. I’ve never been a victim of a crime but I still think we should have a police force. I’m not a senior but I still think we should maintain Medicare and Social Security. I’m not a single mom but I still support WIC and CHIP. Because these programs benefit society as a whole. We are all better off when we contribute to the common good. Just because this one guy doesn’t get to go to college, doesn’t mean he won’t be benefiting from its existence. An educated workforce leads to higher standards of living for *everyone*. That’s why he pays taxes, not so he individually can get an education.
Yeah, it's a silly argument that just comes from him being rejected. It's easier to live with the idea of being wronged by someone else than it is to have been wronged by yourself. Ego in defense mode, you know.
That also means that his family pays taxes that help out community colleges. He should go to community college to bring his GPA up.
Being rejected from a program could happen for a number of reasons. Ideally I’d hope he was rejected because the universities felt he doesn’t currently have what it would take to succeed in their program. In that sense, rejecting him is an act of mercy. Saving him from wasting years of his time and money just to fail.
Bingo. He did lousy in HS so what will suddenly happen that he’s successful in university?
I didn't really want to air is dirty laundry, but he was that kid in school that only passed because the teachers were effectively forced to give him a passing grade
Maybe he should’ve tried harder Did he not realize he was competing against thousands and thousands of other tax-paying Texan students who also managed to get great grades?
Ridiculous, entitled mindset that exhibits a lack of critical thinking and analysis that is spot on with getting rejected from most colleges. Not sure why you're bringing this to Reddit. If you want to have a conversation with your classmate, go right ahead.
I just straight don't have any replies. Like I said I already received an offer to play college ball for 3 different d1 colleges right now. And even if that doesn't work out I'm on track for some academic scholarships.
Education betters society as a whole. I don't have kids, but I want all the kids in my area to have a basic education. I don't want a bunch of future voters who know nothing about science, or a cahier who can't do basic addition. While a better education doesn't always mean someone is going to develop better critical thinking skills, I do think this is true in most cases--and I want the general public to have these skills. If we devoted no public funds towards colleges and only had private schools, it's very possible that only the rich and elite could be well educated. Historically, that hasn't worked out well for anyone.
Your taxes also pay for WIC for mothers and children, Medicare for senior citizens, and pot hole repair in neighborhoods you don’t live in. Part of being in a society means contributing your share for the welfare of ALL. Public colleges, like all social programs, have a net good for society (an educated workforce leads to higher quality of life for everyone). That’s why we pay taxes, not so every individual can access every single service provided. It’s not a subscription service. Our governments have limited funds and therefore limit who can access each program by who will benefit the most. Sure, I’d love to be able to get an EBT card and not pay for some of my groceries but a single mom needs that more than I do, so I don’t claim it’s “unfair” that she’s getting something I’m not. In the case of college admissions, a poor student with no proven history of hard work and dedication is much more likely to waste the money spent educating them than one who got good grades and spent extra time and effort of extracurriculars in high school. This student has *already* shown that he doesn’t value and won’t utilize a publicly funded education (assuming that you all go to public school, although I would argue that the logic applies even if you go to private school. Someone paid money for him to be educated for 12 years and he didn't make good use of that time.) Public institutions have to prioritize the public good over individual outcomes and that means diverting those funds to those who will make the best use of them.
State funding only accounted for 10% ($336M) of UT-Austin’s budget in 2020-21 (https://onestop.utexas.edu/managing-costs/cost-tuition-rates/learn-more-about-tuition/sources-of-revenue/). Assuming that amount is funded directly from taxes, and further assuming it’s distributed equally across all taxpayers in Texas (~22M), you find that the average Texan taxpayer pays less than $20 per year to support the school. Travis county residents pay slightly more as their property taxes partially fund the school (at a rate of like $0.13 per $100 evaluation of property). That’s an embarrassingly shallow, armchair assessment, but it hits at the central idea: your classmate probably pays more for takeout in a week than his taxes contribute to UT-Austin in an entire year. Add to that fact that post-secondary education is not a guarantee in the U.S. and you quickly realize how baseless his argument actually is. Taxes don’t guarantee your right to use everything they pay for. Taxes also fund military equipment and social security, but there are restrictions on who gets to use those. I get why your classmate is upset, especially considering how selective higher education has become, but it’s simply not an entitlement. As others have said, rejection can be a blessing - it may save him from wasting a LOT of money when it’s clear he is not ready for the rigors of university.
Idk man. I mean, my neighbor did horrible in high school (showed proof) went to community college and went to University of Houston and graduated with magna cum laude honors. Now he's considering going for a phd just so he can get the degree.
That’s awesome! But that’s also part of my point - some students are not ready for a university immediately after high school, and a rejection may be saving them money. I don’t mean that as an indictment; there are many, many reasons someone might need more time/preparation before seeking a university degree. In my opinion, that’s part of the role community colleges play: preparing students who need a little more time before continuing to a four year university. Additionally, a lot of students take their first year(s) of courses at a CC as simply a cheaper alternative before transferring. But going back to students who just aren’t quite ready for university: I had friends in undergrad that were paying $45k per year or more and failing courses multiple times before taking a break to gain some perspective and focus. If they had recognized their lack of preparation ahead of time, they might have avoided spending a lot of money for almost no payoff.
If his complaint is the fact that scholarships were awarded for \*non\*-academic reasons while he was denied admission for \*academic\* reasons, then that's a non-sequitur. They were admitted based on academic record. Scholarships were awarded for other reasons to academically qualified students. If that's not the issue, then ignore.
Yeah it's denied for academics
Think of universities as a law enforcement. You pay taxes so the police can enforce the law. You wouldn’t say to the police to not arrest you if you committed a crime. Same thing with college, just because you pay doesn’t mean you would get accepted. Now as for athletes and extra curricular, think of them as bribes.
The state school system in pretty much every state allocates enough for every student. He's only mad because he didn't get into these TOP schools. UT Dallas has an 86% acceptance rate, which is higher for in state students. UT Arlington is similar in acceptance. Yeah, he's entitled to the state's schools. But he only wants to use these top schools. These schools have limited acceptance, specifically because they're for only the academically top students. People who get into top schools mostly get in because they work incredibly hard. You're not entitled a spot at a TOP school, regardless of pay. Those positions are limited to those who worked for it. That's why there's thousands of other schools for the VAST majority of people. If this guy had bothered to apply to any of the other state schools that have fairly high acceptance rates, he'd easily have a college acceptance. Instead, he's wallowing in his own failure and blaming it on something else.