(Don't) Go to the Head of the Class

Why is Rick Santorum, a man with an MBA and a JD, telling others that college isn't important?By Ahmad Rouse.Does college matter? Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum thinks the value of a college education has been exaggerated. In response to President Barack Obama’s comments about the value of higher education, Santorum labeled him a “snob."Here’s the longer version of the statement Santorum made late last month: “There are good decent men and women, who go out every day to put their skills to test that aren’t taught by some liberal college professor trying to indoctrinate them.  I understand why [President Obama] wants you to go to college — he wants to remake you in his image.  I want to create jobs so people can remake their children into their image, not his.”Does he have a point? Some very notable, accomplished and wealthy people didn’t finish college such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Ralph Lauren, and Mark Zuckerberg.But statistics tell a different story. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, young people between the ages of 20 and 25 who have a bachelor’s degree or more, are four times more likely to be employed than with an associate’s degree or lower—30.2 percent compared to 7.8.Needless to say, on a college campus, most students disagree with Santorum. Robert, a political science major, summed up his feelings in one word: “ridiculous!“I would agree if he said colleges and universities are more of a business than education institution, but no!” he continued. “ A college degree is highly important in these modern times. The higher your educational level, the more you learn, and with knowledge is power.”What about Santorum himself? For all his negative comments about college, he received not only his BA, but went on to get both a law degree and MBA. “A man who had to graduate from college in order to get to his current position, rants about Americans not needing college in order to succeed is a huge hypocrite,” says Nicole Coaxom, a 22-year-old senior. “His statement was ridiculous.”