I spent six years working with college students and some of them are still some of my closest friends. I know it's not anything new, but lately I've been more and more perturbed with the complaining about my alma mater. Since taking a new job and working with other colleges and universities, I know Methodist is not alone. It is impossible to please everyone, but I'm not sure all of the frustrations are directed in the right place.
When I was a college student, I remember being frustrated with a lot of things. It definitely wasn’t this magical time in my life when everything was perfect... and I even may have rushed through it to avoid some of the drama, but I don’t remember blaming Methodist for it.
The institution is not without its flaws. It’s expensive and some of the professors appear to be too smart to bother teaching anyone not as fortunate. The food isn’t five-star dining and the hot water seems to be missing more lately. They punish you if you get caught drinking on campus and they attempt to enforce visitation rules. The curriculum even requires you to take more than 15 hours a semester if you want to graduate in four years. Sometimes a coach doesn’t play you as much as you want or makes you run more than you want.
The list seems almost unbearable if it’s left by itself to torment the unhappy students. On the other hand, maybe it’s all relative. In the big scheme of things, most of the complaints aren’t Methodist’s fault and many are issues facing nearly every institution of higher education. I started to explain away some of the most popular complaints and realized it was getting long and I was rambling so you can read them below if you get bored.
If you graduate from Methodist you’ll get a piece of paper and hopefully a significant boost to your resume that will give you an opportunity to get a job and maybe even start a career. I know it’s not free, but to bash the institution seems counterproductive. You’re going to use the university as a tool to market yourself and yet you’re going to tell everyone how bad it is? Why should I hire you if you’re telling me your education was worthless or acquired from a lousy institution? I realize I have a 10-year head start on gaining some perspective as compared to recent graduates, but I promise there is nothing gained from tearing down one of the only things listed on a recent graduate’s resume.
If there’s something you would like to change about Methodist, you might have to express your dissatisfaction in another means other than facebook or twitter. You also might have to actually respond to one of those annoying phonathon calls or duplicate mailings and send them some money to fund some of these desired changes. Regardless of how much money you paid for your education, there isn’t a pile of money sitting around waiting to be used on the master plan. I realize donating while still job hunting is a bit much and no one expects you to match last year’s $5 million gift, but don’t forget about Methodist. Some of you met your wife or your best friend at Methodist or maybe you had access to an internship that turned into a dream career. I would hope everyone can come away with something positive you gained from that uber-expensive, torturous time you spent at Methodist. Ideally, you wouldn't give out of obligation, but out of gratitude.
My experience at Methodist gave me a chance to play college soccer and meet some friends I hope will last forever. I went to graduate school and earned jobs based on my education and experience gained at Methodist. I was even fortunate enough to start a career in college athletics when no one else would have been dumb enough to hire me with such little experience. Thankfully, Methodist was willing to vouch for me.
If you’re still a student at Methodist and you’re that miserable, leave. Otherwise your attitude will continue to poison everyone else around you. If you’re on the fence, ask all of your high school friends to give you their top five complaints about their institution and then ask some people who stuck it out at Methodist if they would change their decision. Sometimes you need perspective.
If you graduated from Methodist, your complaining just decreases the value of your degree. Check out the progress the university is making, contribute if you can, (time and/or money) and look to make it better. I promise the time I spent at Methodist was well spent.
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For all those still not convinced and looking for more reading material...
Methodist is too expensive...
The latest data I could find was from October 2012 that quoted the average tuition cost of a private college education at $29,056. The overall average cost of college is listed as $43,289 (to include room and board). U.S. News and World Report lists tuition and total cost for every college and lists Methodist’s 2012-13 tuition at $27,122 and total cost as $37,185. That’s a lot of money for one year of school, but it’s also below the average. The closest private college to me charges $39,944 for tuition ($48,768 total) making Methodist seem like a bargain. I realize if you compare Methodist prices to public schools or just compare it to the average person’s yearly salary, it’s insane. Hopefully you qualify for some academic scholarships or need-based aid that will discount the price. I decided the small, private education I could gain from Methodist was worth the price tag (thank you mom and dad). Too often, families figure out how to work it out for one year, but can’t tackle the cost for four years. Ideally, you get an education that is worth the cost. The problem is that most students don’t have anything else to compare it to in order to know how valuable the experience really is.
The professors suck...
There are a ton of awesome professors at Methodist. There are still some who might leave a bit to be desired. Some should probably stick to research or maybe Jeopardy rather than molding young minds. Believe it or not, not every professor at the cheaper, bigger public university is awesome either. I don’t know that there is a school out there with a faculty that would be at a 100% awesome rate. Sometimes you don’t have a choice about professors, but when you have a choice, choose wisely. When you don’t have a choice, suck it up and be an adult.
The caf sucks...
I think there is always something to eat via the dining options. Even if cereal, salad or pizza doesn’t make your mouth water, you actually have the option of going upstairs or even down the street and using meal money. I love Outback, but I think if I ate lunch and dinner at Outback every day I would get a little tired of it. That doesn’t mean that Outback sucks, it just means we like choices. The good news is you’re getting a new vendor and new options anyway!
I want to take a hot shower...
I can’t justify the lack of hot water or even update you on a plan to keep it from happening again, but I can tell you tweeting about it won’t make it come back. Some of the buildings are older and bound to have maintenance issues. As a home owner, I’m all too familiar with the issues that come with an older building. Believe it or not, it’s not a conspiracy to make you miserable and the cost of your tuition does not directly correlate to the maintenance issues. I paid a lot of money for my house, but things still break.
I want to drink in my dorm and let my friends spend the night...
There are a ton of people that might like to argue the alcohol and visitation policies until they’re blue in the face. I actually liked both policies so I’m not sure I’m the best person to complain to on this one. I was never of age to drink while attending Methodist and I liked having an excuse to kick out unwanted visitors at 1 or 2 a.m. I do think both are policies that have been around forever so it’s not like anyone sprung it on you midway through your college career. If no one told you during the recruiting process, that’s a different story. Essentially, you chose Methodist and the rules come with the territory. Suck it up or move off campus when you can.
My advisor (or anyone but me) kept me from graduating on time...
One of the most popular complaints come from those students who get to their senior year and missed a class or changed their major or catalog or something that ends up with the dreaded message that graduation won’t happen on time. I realize the university assigns you an advisor and many students put their entire career in that advisor’s hands with the hope of graduating on time. Unfortunately some advisors have more than 50 students they’re advising and things are missed. Sometimes a policy changes or an advisor changes and things get missed. I did my own advising. I filled out my schedule and checked classes off my checksheet and made sure I was going to graduate on my timeline. My advisor had to sign off and she double-checked me, but I knew what I had taken and what I had left to take. Don’t wait until the last semester to make sure you’re covered. Audit yourself each semester and make sure you’re on target. Worst case scenario, call me and I’ll check for you.
I should have more playing time aka my coach is an idiot...
There are also a ton of complaints about coaches. I’m not sure anyone has spent four years playing for a coach and not had a complaint. Some coaches are better than others and I had my share of frustrations as a student-athlete. One of my frustrations now is when a student-athlete lets a coach take away their love of the game. There aren’t a lot of people who decide to play a sport at a Division III college who don’t love it. If you really love it, the annoying coach or the petty players won’t matter. If the coach is doing something unethical, of course report it. If you’re not getting playing time, work harder. If you think you can get time somewhere else, have at it. Regardless, play because you love it or don’t play.
