The difference is in the dream.

I find it fitting that the title of this post coincides with MLK Jr’s day. A very fitting day, for a very fitting man. A man with a vision, a man with a dream. Take a brief moment and try to comprehend the tenacity of man, just in general. Take another moment and try to comprehend the tenacity of man, except this time with a dream. My money is on the man with the dream, every time. There isn’t a mountain too tall, or an ocean too wide that a man with a dream can’t overcome, come hell or high water.

Please keep this in mind as I continue on…

This has been a topic I’ve been wanting to voice my opinion on for quite some time and I think now is a good of a time as any.

My Education.

I graduated WestWood College in October of 2005, with my bachelors in Game Software Development, I worked 50 hours a week so I could afford to eat and live, and to be honest, I’ve accumulated quite a substantial amount of student debt. In fact, 3 times more than the national average of debt had I gone to a conventional not for profit college. I felt very uneasy in many regards. One of which was the pass/fail rate in which anybody with a pulse would pass. I always felt that if students were given(and by given earned) non passing grades, that they were always passed because that meant the college would earn another paycheck the next semester the failing student enrolled in. The job fairs were a joke in that FedEx, UPS, 7-Eleven were the only attendants. I was lied to when my recruiter came to my home town, stating that my credits would transfer to a public school, only to find out that a few semesters in that it wasn’t the case. 100% career placement was more like 2%, and the other 98% they considered working at FedEx part of career placement.

Even after all that, the grand daddy for me personally of complaints.  When people ask me where I went to school, I feel embarrassed to say WestWood. The typical response is, “Oh, what is that?”, and then a five minute conversation ensues usually pertaining to it’s location, that yes it is a bachelors and it was in Software Development, and that contrary to what you might think.

It’s not all that horrible. Part of that was a rant and now that I’m off my soapbox let me say that WestWood wasn’t all that terrible. I know, even after all that right?

I’ve learned quite a bit with my short time here on this earth, and one thing I’ve learned is when your stuck in a deep, crappy hole, the story for a blog post is always more interesting when you have to scratch and claw your way out, then if somebody drops you a rope and pulls you out. And what do I mean by that?

During college I had to work. Alot. 50+ hours at a craptastic job no less at DishNetwork. Ask me while I was working there if I would appreciate it years down the road and I probably would have laughed in your face. Not only did it make me appreciate such jobs I’ve had and have, it raises an eye brow or two when I go in for my interviews say I worked there for 2 years and survived so long. I graduated a year or so earlier than other friends of mine who went in for similar degrees at conventional colleges, and furthermore, my first day of class I was programming. Conventional college it took 2 years in order to even start any programming, but at the end of the day, when the tallies are counted. for every 1 pro I can think of going for WestWood, I could count 100 cons.

That’s not to say that what I’ve seen(and keep in mind I have 0 experience) with public not for profit colleges have their faults too, and quite a bit of faults too. The vast majority of people I’ve been in my life who have had a sense of entitlement had public educations. Also, 9 out of the top 10 party schools are public schools. In most cases, the first year or two youre required to live on campus, youre in a classroom with 500 other people with a professor couldn’t tell you your name. Your learning about 18th century poets when your degree is computer science to satisfy some accrediation requirements. I’ve known more than my fair share of people who only passed their courses because of the year end test they passed, even though they showed up for 0 classes.

I’m not attacking conventional colleges at all. In fact, if anybody were to ask for my honest opinion, I’d recommend going to a conventional public not for profit college 100% over say the route I ended up taking. However, I want to be clear, it doesn’t mean I regret my decesion, not in the least, it just means if I could advise somebody to do it differently, I would.

Why you ask? It’s simple.

I firmly believe that you could lock certain people in a dark room for 4 years, and when they leave that room, they are 100 times better off than than those who spent the same 4 years in college. It doesn’t matter what college and it doesnt matter how much 1 on 1 interaction they’ve had with instructors. One of the smartest guys I’ve ever known doesn’t have a college education, and to be frank, he doesn’t need one either. It doesn’t matter what college you go to, because it’s what you put into it. You’re a fool to think you will try harder at a college that forces you to, as apposed to a college that doesn’t. Those who will be forced to try harder, will figure out the easiest way to get by, and that’s true whever these people are going to school.

I know many succesfull people who went to both conventional colleges and I know many succesfull people who went to Westwood. I know many people who have failed and failed miserably at both WestWood and at conventional colleges, and you know what the difference is? The difference isn’t because WestWood is crappy, or because conventional colleges are so great. It’s all relative. The difference?

The difference is in the dream.

The tenacity of man is incredible, but the tenacity of man with a dream. Now that’s powerful.