shiner Posted March 8, 2001 Report Share Posted March 8, 2001 A while ago I found a book written in the U.S. in the 70's that profiled different ethnic groups that contributed to the melting pot we call America. It dealt with each group from their beginnings to the present. I looked up Armenians and I was amazed to read that we had the largest percentage of people with college degrees than any other group. I don't know how accurate this, and how they studied each group, but it's still something. Armenians in other countries including the former USSR had the same reputation based on what I hear. But this was a VERY VERY LONG TIME AGO. I wonder how much that trend has changed today. Based on what I see in the U.S. it has a great deal. I don't see a great percentage of young Armenians headed for great intellectual prosperity, even when compared to other groups (Indians and Jews for example). Of course there are quite a few, but I'm talking percentagewise (unless attending Glendale Community College counts for those in the US ). What do you all think about the intellectual future of Armenians? Most of us have a limited point of view because we can only speak about the countries we live in (the US in my case). Base your answers on what you see in today's young generation, not that of 50 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azat Posted March 9, 2001 Report Share Posted March 9, 2001 I tried to find some stats on the current percentage of Armenians that get a higher education, but had a hard time. So I cannot give you a factual answer if the numbers have increased or decreased. However, my guess would be that we are higher than most other nationalities. I look around me and see all my immediate cousins with a University degrees and some of us have even pursuit Masters degrees and 2 PhD. This however does not mean that every one is getting a higher education. In searching for the stats I did find alot of information on the literacy levels in Armenia and percentage of people that get a higher education. Russia in general is considered to have a high percentage of people that get higher education, but Armenia had the highest % of both literacy and higher education in all the former Soviet Republics. I would guess that just because people that come to USA does not mean that they change their opinion of education. SO I would guess that we are higher than many other nationalities. If someone has access to this type of data, I would love to see the facts. Also one other thing to mention. In researching this topic, I found many articles that talked about the brain drain from Armenia. The estimates are of 1000 people the leave 345 are professionals with higher education. What is this going to do for the country in the long run? This should possibly be a separate topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nané Posted March 9, 2001 Report Share Posted March 9, 2001 quote:Originally posted by BTac: I don't see a great percentage of young Armenians headed for great intellectual prosperity, even when compared to other groups (Indians and Jews for example). Of course there are quite a few, but I'm talking percentagewise (unless attending Glendale Community College counts for those in the US ).I can't speak of percentages since I have never had any access to any statistics. But I can tell you that the number of Armenian students at UCLA has doubled (from 300 to about 600) in the past 5 years. Keep in mind UCLA (along with other college I am sure) has become much more competitive. My HS GPA would not be nearly enough for nowdays I think there is a large number of Armenian college students. I would say 8 out of 10 HS graduates at least start college. Maybe 5 or 6 of them actually continue. quote:Originally posted by BTac: What do you all think about the intellectual future of Armenians? Most of us have a limited point of view because we can only speak about the countries we live in (the US in my case). Base your answers on what you see in today's young generation, not that of 50 years ago. I can't not be optimistic I do see a lot of potential in the new generation (which includes me) Not all of us will go into academics after we get our degrees but I myself know several who plan to. There are also people pursuing education in Near Eastern Studies or Armenian Studies (at UCLA). This makes me so proud ... knowing that there is a class of educators being created for our future generation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiner Posted March 10, 2001 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2001 quote:Originally posted by Azat:Also one other thing to mention. In researching this topic, I found many articles that talked about the brain drain from Armenia. The estimates are of 1000 people the leave 345 are professionals with higher education. What is this going to do for the country in the long run? This should possibly be a separate topic.Azat,You are right about the brain drain in Armenia. I myself mentioned this before on this forum. It's obviously something that is not good regardless of how you analyze it. The fact that it will hurt Armenia's future is obvious, the only question is to what extent. It is just another major obstacle that Armenia has to overcome (as if there aren't enough already). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpha Posted March 10, 2001 Report Share Posted March 10, 2001 I had to dig one of my old college books to provide you this information. According to Vincent N. Parrillo's "Strangers to These Shores" book, which is about different ethnic groups that make the melting pot of the United States "Armenians place a high value on education. A 1991 survey found that 45% of Armenian Americans had earned at least one college degree and that 57% were in professional management jobs." pg 211 Armenian Americans have the highest percentage of college degrees among all groups. That makes me extremely proud to have an Armenian heritage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.