As someone born and raised in Vietnam, my parents have always pushed me to attend university. Having attended university is considered a necessary prestige according to eastern societies.

The common misconception is that an education in a university grants a person a higher educational value. While this idea may be true to some extent when it comes to certain specific disciplines like medicine, law, chemistry and others which require extended amount of knowledge and skills to be built over a large period of time. However, nowadays, university offers so many degree and fields that don’t actually merit a 4 years education. The main reason for pursuing higher education for most people is to get a job. However, an university main duty is the development of academia, meaning that university students are taught theories to help them conduct researches. Its original goal isn’t to help place students in jobs but rather to expand knowledge through studies and research. University plays an important role in our society because that is where most scientific advancements are created, through extensive studies and research. Nevertheless, the reality is that at its core, university is specifically designed to foster researchers by focusing on the teaching of theories and large concepts. It is completely unsuitable for those who seek specific skills and education that can prepare them for a particular job. In a sense, there shouldn’t even be a comparison between colleges and universities in the first place because an university is built for research and a college is for job placement (excluding research jobs). However, universities are now marketed as a place to help students secure employments because that is what the general populace looks for and where there is more money to make. I have studied for 4 years in university and is currently attending college, and I can clearly see the difference in the education that I have received. College offers industry specific knowledges and skills that are directly applicable to the job, while in university, most of the courses that are taught are hardly used in the job.

As such, I can confidently recommend that if you are look to be proficient in a specific job, then college is a much better choice than university, both in term of tuition level and quality of education.