A Review of "Hacking College"

"Late in the process, when it came down to a couple of final choices-both terrific places-I offered a point about geography. Early-career breaks are largely accidental; you're likelier to be accident-prone if you're where the action is. An otherwise-wonderful school in the middle of nowhere won't have the same sorts of accidental opportunities as one in or near a major city."

"Hacking College is, in its way, an argument for encouraging happy accidents. Laff and Carlson take it as given that the assumed correlation between majors and careers is vastly overstated. (That's somewhat less true at community and technical colleges. Majors like nursing, welding and dental hygiene are tightly coupled to obvious careers. But even here, we produce far more psychology majors than the market for psychologists would suggest.)"

"They note, too, that students' interests-what they call "hidden intellectualism"-don't always align with majors as they exist. Academic advising at many campuses amounts to a sort of compliance exercise, ensuring that students stay on track with course requirements to finish the degree on time. That's important, but it presumes that the degree in which they're enrolled is the right one for them"

Geographic proximity to major cities increases the likelihood of accidental early-career breaks such as internships, networking, and experiential learning that classes cannot replicate. A commuter-distance internship in Washington, D.C., provided perspectives and connections unattainable at a remote campus. The correlation between declared majors and eventual careers is often overstated, though community and technical college majors like nursing, welding, and dental hygiene tightly map to specific jobs. Many students possess interests that do not align with existing majors, termed 'hidden intellectualism.' Academic advising frequently functions as a compliance system focused on on-time degree completion, presuming the enrolled degree matches the student's true interests.

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