There are some busybodies who always bring up how much harder it was to get into college over twenty years ago to prove that people from that time were more talented, even comparing vocational schools from forty or fifty years ago to today's vocational schools, using the difficulty of admission as a measure of a person's worth.

I believe this is an illusion, similar to how some uneducated migrant workers think that college students have easier jobs and higher salaries because they paid tuition, while they did not; this level of understanding is equivalent.

The key to judging this issue does not depend on the scale of enrollment, but rather on whether the quality of university education today has decreased compared to over twenty years ago. It depends on whether today's college students truly study hard and acquire real skills after being admitted compared to twenty years ago.

First, let's address whether the quality of today's university education has decreased compared to over twenty years ago. Over twenty years ago, many universities had limited educational resources, and the corresponding talent pool was also insufficient, overall constrained by economic development.

Therefore, fundamentally speaking, the number and scale of universities over twenty years ago were not optimistic, which led to a very limited capacity for the number of students they could accommodate compared to now, which is an objective reason for the small enrollment scale.

At the same time, it was also limited by the educational policies and guidelines of the time, such as the phased diversion of vocational education and general higher education, and restrictions on upgrading vocational education to universities, etc.

These two major reasons determined that to ensure educational quality, it was impossible for the enrollment scale to exceed the university's carrying capacity.

So, in this sense, the quality of education today should be on par with that of over twenty years ago. If we consider the updates in equipment, the convenience of technological development, and other factors, the quality of education today is higher than that of over twenty years ago.

The expansion of universities today is also dependent on these two major reasons. One reason is the expansion of universities; many universities have added branches or campuses, and some new types of universities and private universities have emerged, all of which have objectively increased the pool of students.

At the same time, educational policies have undergone tremendous changes compared to over twenty years ago. National strategies require improving the quality of the entire population and strengthening university education, which is naturally a key part. Additionally, breaking the bias against vocational education and upgrading vocational education to undergraduate levels have objectively promoted the quantity and quality of college students.

The scale of college student enrollment and graduation in society today is incomparable to that of over twenty years ago. We cannot say that the value of college students has decreased; rather, it should be said that the number of options available to enterprises or organizations has expanded, and the quality of options has also increased. From a market perspective, this is a demand-side market, not a supply-side market.

At this time, the market is dominated by demand, which naturally creates a sense of competition. Some people believe that reducing output is the only way to solve this problem, which is not objective and impossible, as it goes against the development of the times and national policies.

Next, let's address whether today's college students study diligently and acquire real skills compared to twenty years ago.

Over twenty years ago, those who had the opportunity to enroll cherished that opportunity very much. Many had strong subjective initiative, and even in a harsh teaching environment, most could still engage in active learning.

At the same time, they would feel a sense of pride in being able to enter a university campus, which was one of the reasons for their efforts. This sense of pride was not swayed by external temptations, and objectively speaking, external temptations were relatively few at that time.

Today, twenty years later, the pathways and scale for gaining admission have undergone tremendous changes. There are many training institutions aimed at helping students succeed in admissions, which focus on exam preparation and do not care about other aspects of the students. This leads to students possibly gaining admission through opportunistic means.

Due to the expansion of enrollment, the comprehensive attention to individuals has decreased, and students may find more loopholes during their schooling, providing shortcuts for them to develop other "hobbies."

For example, playing games or binge-watching shows; almost no college students who enter the workforce today do not play games, maintaining habits formed during their university years. Over twenty years ago, if you wanted to play games, you could only go to an internet café or buy a laptop, which was a significant expense for many students. Nowadays, the threshold for playing games on a mobile phone is very low, easily opening the floodgates for this desire.

Therefore, whether today's college students can maintain diligent study and acquire real skills ultimately depends on themselves. Schools provide learning opportunities and resources, and can even enhance the quality of teaching staff, but the key still lies with the students themselves.

In this sense, employers can observe whether candidates have consistently played games over a certain period, as the power of habit is immense, and it is unlikely to change immediately due to work reasons. This phenomenon is not limited to gaming but includes various other forms of entertainment. However, we cannot generalize and assume that all college students are indulging in these activities.

In fact, many students are studying hard and actively participating in social practice, laying a solid foundation for their future. Therefore, companies should comprehensively assess the overall quality of candidates during recruitment, rather than judging based on a single dimension. At the same time, college students should also realize that managing their time wisely and cultivating good habits are key to enhancing personal abilities and adapting to social development. Only in this way can they stand out in fierce competition and realize their own value.

Today's university education places greater emphasis on cultivating students' innovative awareness and practical abilities, which requires students to actively participate and think critically. In an information-based society, while temptations have increased, it also provides richer learning resources and platforms. College students should learn to manage themselves and make full use of these resources to enhance their overall quality. When selecting talent, employers should also pay attention to the comprehensive abilities of candidates rather than focusing on a single indicator, to evaluate each job seeker more fairly. Through such joint efforts, we can cultivate more outstanding talents who adapt to the development of the times and possess practical skills.

In this context, the education and management of college students have higher requirements. Teachers need to guide students to correctly understand the relationship between entertainment and learning, stimulate their intrinsic motivation, and help them establish long-term goals. At the same time, enterprises, as part of society, also have the responsibility to assist students in combining theoretical knowledge with practice through internships and training, so that they can apply what they have learned in real work and achieve a win-win situation for both individuals and society. Only in this way can we continuously optimize the environment for talent growth and promote social progress.

Those college students who can self-discipline and plan their time reasonably clearly have an advantage in job hunting. This phenomenon is particularly evident in the job market, where their self-discipline and planning abilities often become highlights in interviews, making them favored by companies. Therefore, when college students are job hunting, they should not only showcase their professional knowledge and skills but also highlight their good time management and self-discipline abilities, which will help them quickly adapt and stand out in the workplace. At the same time, this also reminds us to pay more attention to cultivating students' self-management abilities and sense of responsibility in the educational process to meet the demands of future society.

In this trend, cooperation between universities and enterprises is particularly important. Through school-enterprise cooperation, students can gain more practical experience and adapt to the workplace environment in advance. Enterprises can also discover and cultivate potential outstanding talents in this process. Such positive interaction helps to create a win-win situation for both parties, further promoting the close integration of education and the job market, injecting new vitality into the social development of our country. At the same time, this will also encourage college students to pay more attention to improving their personal qualities to cope with the increasingly fierce competition in the job market.