Real Recovery: Is college worth the high cost?

wow somebody slap me did he actually ask that question?

There are many factors not mentioned in this article that should be evaluated when considering if college is worth the money/time. For instance forgone wages while your attending school and forgone experience in a trad that could have been acquired.

fantastic post!

“If you want to get laid, go to college. If you want an education, go to the library.”
-Frank Zappa

I have racked up more debt than the average of any state, but I still believe college is worth it. I haven’t graduated yet, but I have already worked better jobs for higher pay than any of my friends who did not go to college. If you want to make your college education worthwhile on a financial level, you need to pick a major that is both difficult and functional in the real world. A lot of people who complain that college wasn’t worth it need to blame themselves. They should have considered the employment prospects of being a philosophy major when they chose what they were going to study.

Education is priceless. There is more to this world than money. I would rather be poor and be able to think critically than be rich and uneducated.

With that said, I would appreciate some sort of student loan amnesty program.

many careers require more than just a bachelors degree. if you choose that career (or it chose you), then you don't really get a choice in paying the high costs of higher education. i'm looking at this from an economists perspective. if you want a job as an economist, you need at minimum a masters. otherwise, that bachelors in econ will place you somewhere like marketing. my only recommendation would be to don't jack around in your undergraduate years if you're looking for a masters or phd. only the candidates with a solid history will get grants and scholarships that make continuing to the next level a cheap route. a lot of phd's are fully funded by the school. you just have to get in. is college worth it? unless you have a mentor (whether it's some form of art, or trade mentor) that can take you on his/her back (show you the way) to accomplish your career goals, you've really got no other choice. in the case that you have no career goals, then sure, why throw yourself into debt..

this all goes back to the question: does being stupid make you happier?
-- my answer would be that if you stupidly take out loans for a degree that doesn't help you in your career, then no, you're not going to be very happy... somebody already hit on the high price of paying for a philosophy degree.. for what might i ask do those people do? moving on to obtaining a phd in philosophy for teaching is the only thing i can think of...

I live in Utah and will graduate with no debt as will a majority of the people I know because it really is pretty cheap here. Even if I was graduating with 50,000 dollars in debt college would have still been worth it. An amazing experience and a higher paying job at the end of this year.... not much more you can ask for

Good Will Hunting, Matt Damon lays on the best message I ever heard.
You spent a hundred grand on an education you could have had for a couple of bucks and a library card. Reading is more than fundamental, its the way to learn everything you ever wanted to know. The internet is everything you ever wanted to know and a whole lot you wish you never knew.

tommic

As a person who has a masters degree, I can tell you that the value of a college education has changed. Our world is so technical now that just having some broad based liberal arts degree really doesn't mean anything other than the fact: you were able to afford the tuition, and jerk off five years of your early adulthood doing who knows what. I definitely wouldn't bet the farm on something that isn't very special anymore. It might be sad, but just about anyone can get a college degree now days. One should really look for value from a bachelors degree. Go to the school that will give you the best bang for your buck.

Are you better for graduating from college? Of course! The old saying is true that much of what you learn in college isn't in a book. However, that doesn't separate you from the crowd like you think it does. Currently, not only do you have to be educated but you also have to be specialized. You need to train for a job that one cannot do, unless they trained for that field in college. An accountant, nurse, doctor and engineer are just a small example of such careers. That is also why they are almost always guaranteed a job, and paid the big bucks when they get out.

As far as graduate school goes? I feel I am an extremely better person for finishing my thesis. However, I always tell people "Don't do it unless you have a specific goal in mind or your career requires it. Otherwise, your just wasting your time and money, instead of advancing within the career portion of your life."

At some point, you got to join the real world.

That depends on why you are going to college.
I need a degree for what I want to do, so it isn't really a financial issue.

People who look at it as a financial investment may be disappointed. Especially if you're paying $80k+ for an BA, which is completely outrageous.

::sigh::

I squeezed the deal. Got a little under 20k in loans, a BS in engineering and BA in German, another BS in engineering wraps up this spring, MS in 2011. This gave me one full year in Germany with a 6 month paid internship, 4 years of living on the ocean and college parties. I'm funded now, so money isn't a problem and my thesis is already planned, PhD by 2014. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

The key is enthusiasm! Find something really interesting and devote yourself. If professors and scholarship committees see enthusiasm, they'll want to foster the growth. Take on everything you can and then more... will you regret trying too hard?

uni is free in many eu countries... over there its not a business.
annddd don't even get me started on the differences between studying in the US and overseas, its not even a fair fight.

I am more than let down by the so called investment in my education. After four years of undergrad on a scholarship, I went to medical school at a cost of about $140,000. And this was by working and living on next to nothing. Now I am trying to keep a private practice afloat and pay nearly $1500/month for the next thirty years. Most of the time my receptionist makes more money than I do with the low reimbursements of insurances. Every day I wish I would have simply taken my BS degree, taken a job and stuck with it. I could have been as far in the black as my education has now placed me in the red. So kids - when it comes to professional school - just say NO!

I'm only 1 year into college, and I have already racked up 30,000.. and im not even done the first year

I myself refuse to go to college unless I know for sure what field I want to work in. It doesn't make sense to spend money on something I might even not use. And I'm not going to spend money going to school for 2 years in the hope i might "find out" what I want to do and then declare a major.

I'm 21 and have my own house and car. The job I have now not only pays all the bills, but I am also able to save a good 2-300 a month. My manager, who has a bachelors, makes 5000 more a year than me. More than half of that 5000 goes toward paying off her student loans. Why should I spend 20k+ to get a position in which I would have to work 10 years just to pay off those student loans? And what if I want to change fields? Go back and get another degree specialization?

I understand that needs change, that the amount I'm paid now might not cover expenses in 5-10 years. But I also don't think spending money on a general degree is wise either. Besides, maybe in 5-10 years regulations might have changed and I will be able to afford to go to college and not wind up with a huge amount of debt. Until then, college is a waste of time unless you're sure about the field you're going into.

speaking of expensive shit. do you know what it feels like to lose your job? 80 employees at current do. i feel for them. outsourcing and longer programming is not the answer for current. it is losing what set it apart from other stations.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/11/current-tv-staff-suffer-a-major-bloodbath-a...

Benjamin Franklin said, “Content will make a poor man rich, and discontent will make a rich man poor,” be happy with what you do and you will find contentment
tommic.

Fuck College and Fuck School.
Hooray Education, which is rare in either.

I owe about $90k in loans for my undergraduate degree in English Literature. I had some financial aid, but that didn't cover much so I took the rest due in tuition out in private student loans with interest rates currently around 5%. I did this because student loans usually don't count negatively against your credit, and the rates on student loans are much lower than other loans so I would have the cashflow to use on other things.

In retrospect, it would have been worth it if had more direction in my life when I was 18 and knew what I wanted to get out of a college degree. If I could do it all over again, I would probably spend those 4 years learning how to program and make websites. Instead, I went to college before I knew what I wanted to do because that's what you're supposed to do after high school. I pretty much wasted 4 years of my life. Now that I'm starting my own business, I realize that my undergrad degree really isn't that helpful since it's more about what I produce than what my background is.

So to wrap it all up in Rich Dad Poor Dad words, a college degree IS necessary if you plan to graduate and work for a corporation and be an employee for your entire working life. It IS NOT necessary if you plan to create and own your own company.

Like everything else, government also messed this up. By guaranteeing education through easily available student loans, universities have no problems with raising tuition to ridiculous rates. If the federal government stopped handing out student loans then nobody would be able to afford college. Thus, universities would lose millions of dollars and be forced to drop their tuition to prices that students could afford.

Is war worth the high cost, both in lives and moolah?

Our intelligence is going down and costs are going up. College should be provided by the state (free). Seriously. It's an easy answer. I mean we get screwed on every possible avenue, our tax money ALL goes to war. Make some damn room for education already!

As a college student-- I knew when I selected my school that I was signing up for some over-priced and over-stated education. I can't say if it's worth it quite yet... but I know that my education is not likely to be over with a bachelor's. I can think of very few career choices that would allow that...