A university is a place where you can get true learning such as academic success, broad relationships, responsibility and a variety of experiences. However, the purposes of university have become tarnished, and the universities of today are little better than job-training schools. The cases where people go to university for a job are frequent because South Koreans think that the value of the university name is very important. Many people think that higher education is necessary for success, but it is frequent that many college dropouts succeed such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg. Accordingly, many people steadily cast questions about the necessity of universities.
  Now, structural adjustment for the decreasing number of school children is an inevitable situation, so the Education Ministry is going to make structural adjustments through university evaluations. The universities will expand departments which have high employment rates and will reduce departments which have low employment rates such as humanities departments and basic studies.
  The American university entrance rate recently has increased, but Americans have liberal minds about university entrance and don’t demand a great educational background. If an American student has a technical job, the American student studies technical knowledge, but if it isn’t such a case, the academic clique isn’t important. China is the same as South Korea. China has a university entrance exam called Gaokao. Chinese people say that the Gaokao decides their life. The Gaokao decides the university, and the university decides jobs and classes.

By Woo Hyeon-gi
hg36@cbnu.ac.kr

Why do you go to university?

Benjamin Williams(U.S.A): In today’s American society, you can’t do much without a degree. The degree is the start of the conversation for a lot of people in the work force.

Jinquan Luo(China): I can learn not only systematic expertise but also meet excellent men. Going to university is a chance where I can develop freely and help society.

---

Do you think that if you don’t go to university, you won’t have things that you want?


Benjamin Williams(U.S.A): Companies like the people that know how to solve complex and interesting problems, the people that are knowledgeable and wiling to learn more. That’s why you do see some people go into fields like this that come from online courses or even self- taught backgrounds.

Jinquan Luo(China): It is possible to do what I want without going to the university, but I like to go to the university. Now, our competition of society is intense, so we need enough knowledge and experience.

---

Do you think that the things that you study at university can be a great influence on your life?

Benjamin Williams(U.S.A): Yes. But I’ll have to point out that what you learn in college extends far beyond the classroom. In fact, I’ll put a number on it. I’d say 40% of everything I’m learning comes from the classroom. The remaining 60% is from experiences, conversations, and situations you can ONLY get on a college campus.

Jinquan Luo(China): I think that what I study at the university influences my life. To study at the university, it is an advantage that helps us adapt to future society. The learning in university is useful because it is realistic and practical.