I have blogged in the past about the problem of rising cost of a college education. In a nut shell the cost of college education has climbed twice as fast as inflation for decades. It has gotten to the point that a college education is not an economic benefit for many.
John Stossel makes this point in The College Scam as he attacks the claim that:
"Your life will be much better if you go to college. On average during your lifetime you will earn a million dollars more if you get a bachelor's degree."
He writes that many of those who will do well in life would still do well, even without an education. More and more students are sorry they paid so much money to go to college. I was surprised to read:
A recent survey asked thousands of students: Would you go to your college again? About 40 percent said no.
Just to make sure my position is clear, I do think a college education is worth while, for many, but that parents and children need to think carefully before spending tens of thousands of dollars.
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4 comments:
He mentions the statistics are skewed by millionaires, but I think it's also skewed by the number of drop-outs, who would have been failures whether they got a degree or not. It isn't the degree that gets you the big bucks, it's your own drive and stick-to-it-ness.
Being a college graduate myself, I can see John Stossel's point. I watched many, many people go to college for a 4 year program and only last a year or two. I enjoyed college and look forward to the day when I can work on my Master's degree. I like attending classes, but that's me. It's not for everyone and it is no guarantee that success will come to those who go to college.
Just my 2 cents.
There are many ways to attend college that are not quite so expensive: community college for the basics, work-study programs, an internship year, and picking a major that actually will lead to secure employment.
It takes parents with some brains and guts to say, "No, we will not pay or let you take out $40,000 in loans for a degree in sociology or Spanish."
I think that people also need to consider the cost to value ratio of some of the higher (priced) tier schools.
It is not only possible to get a good education at a less prestigious school, it is possible to get a better education (if you measure education as teaching you to think and to perform, not to parrot back pre-digested bits of theory). I remember reading one analysis of colleges that noted that when you looked at PhD recipients and compared what undergraduate college they'd attended, you ended up with a list of smaller schools that were far less well known by the general public.
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