There is an ongoing discussion currently about whether people should attend college. Perhaps some aspiring authors would like to know whether I would recommend getting a degree in writing specifically. Personally, I did get a degree in Writing and, to me, it was a mixed bag of worth and horrific worthlessness. So the answer, as you can probably imagine, is complicated. It really depends on whether the benefits you will receive is worth the costs in both time and money. This may seem fairly simple, but the difficulty comes in assessing the unexpected factors at play. Today, I'm going to be discussing some of these factors and hopefully giving you insight about whether college is right for you.
University often serves as a stand-in for highschool.
The first thing that should be considered in choosing a college education is whether you need it just for general education. I was mostly self-taught, spending most of my years homeschooling with no teacher or parental aid. In some ways, this was good for my education as I learned to be self-motivated in studying those things which interested me. However, topics such as science did not come naturally to me, so I fell behind. This problem was exacerbated by the religious nature of my given curriculum, which taught that most of the world had come about by magic. Some people may not be able to relate to this, having had wonderful highschool educations. Others may have been part of a struggling school system. In my university, we had an entire department devoted to teaching literacy for students who grew up under struggling public school systems that never even taught them to read. In cases like these, college may be essential for rounding your education and teaching you basic things like grammar, punctuation, science, math, ethics, etc. Required gen-ed courses can be great for finding your personal lacks in knowledge and filling the holes.
Schooling is only useful to some.
A problem in many education systems is its one size fits all mentality. I am lucky because I learn best when sitting in a classroom, doing homework by myself, and getting to interact with a teacher. However, this doesn't work for all or perhaps even most students. If a traditional education style does not appeal to you, you may have serious problems getting any benefit from attending most universities. I am aware of only one university, in the Ozarks, which teaches through practical hands-on methods. If you can find others which work for you, wonderful. Otherwise, I'm sad to say that a university education will likely just make you sad, bored, and frustrated rather than teaching you anything. Even though I benefit from the traditional style, I don't defend it. I sincerely wish that most universities took non-traditional approaches to education.
What you can learn from professors varies greatly.
Despite what it may seem, I was extremely lucky when it came to my professors. While I had my fair share of Christian cultists spending hours to educate me on why God had to flood the Earth in order to wipe out all the human/demon hybrids (Oral Roberts University, ladies, gentlemen, and enbies), I also had some good ones. My writing professors, in particular, were so brilliant in their fields and supportive of my own eccentricities. I had a professor who was so old that he couldn't remember where any of his classrooms were or what day it was, and yet could basically quote complex lessons on literature and writing from memory. Whenever I wanted to do an assignment in a wacky and non-traditional way, they gave me their full encouragement. So, I learned so much from them. On the other hand, I have yet to meet another writing graduate who had even a passable experience in any writing department. All others have told me horror stories about snobby and emotionally crippling professors whose expertise was questionable. So, if you plan to attend a writing program, make sure to find a university with good professors. At most universities, you can schedule an appointment to speak with department heads of a university, and even to sit in on a class or two. Do it. You don't want to attend any university where the professors are not invested in helping you to learn.
YOU ARE READING
Anybody Can Write a Novel
Non-FictionMy journey through writing and the lessons I learned by which anybody who truly wants to can begin learning the craft. Note that this guide has daily exercises. By finishing them all, you will have completed writing an entire novel.
