College for Grown-UpsBy MITCHELL L. STEVENS
New York Times
December 11, 2014
If we were starting from zero, we probably wouldn’t design colleges as age-segregated playgrounds in which teenagers and very young adults are given free rein to spend their time more or less as they choose. Yet this is the reality.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Rethinking the expectation that applicants to selective colleges be fresh out of high school would go far in reducing risk for young people while better protecting everyone’s college investment. Some of this rethinking is already underway. Temporarily delaying college for a year or two after high school is now becoming respectable among the admissions gatekeepers at top schools. Massive online open courses (MOOCs) and other forms of online learning make it possible to experience fragments of an elite education at little or no cost.
If gifted high school graduates could get stimulating jobs without a college degree, delaying college for a few years or even skipping it entirely could make sense. I don't think most white collar employers are considering high school graduates for such positions, and even internships go to college students.
