Is College Worth the Price???

I was reading the current issue of Money magazine and I came across an article about whether or not college is still worth the price. The article went on to mention how after adjusting for financial aid, families are paying 439% more for colleges and universities than they did in 1982. According to Money, this escalation in tuition has ?rose four times faster than the overall inflation rate and even faster than energy commodities and health care?. The article attributes the escalating cost to the fact that more expensive colleges and universities, specifically Ivy League schools, are perceived to provide a better education and less elite schools raise their costs to follow suit. The article also points out that if college costs continue to follow this accelerated trend of inflation, the investment may no longer be worth the alleged benefit, specifically for undergraduate degrees.

What do you guys/gals think? As a proponent of higher education, I personally believe that college should be both available and affordable for those who wish to pursue it. However, if your income in your chosen field cannot cover the costs of your education, what?s the damn point?

You don't have to have an Ivy League education to get a j-o-b. If you or your family can't afford it, go to a cheaper school. A college education is almost always a good investment, as it makes an excellent backup plan.

Also, the US Navy and Army will pay off up to $65,000 worth of student loan debt, if you enlist for only 4 years...

You have no budjet seats there? I got in University in budjet because of good marks. And for those who are not in budjet, they pay around 2000-3000 bucks a year. Don't you have options like that in US?

Essential Clix said:

You don't have to have an Ivy League education to get a j-o-b. If you or your family can't afford it, go to a cheaper school. A college education is almost always a good investment, as it makes an excellent backup plan.

Also, the US Navy and Army will pay off up to $65,000 worth of student loan debt, if you enlist for only 4 years...

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I totally agree with you. My husband and I both went to community colleges and in-state universities. I don't believe that an Ivy League or private institution can provide any more of a solid education than their less pricey counterparts. My fear is that by the time my nine year old graduates from high school, tuition rates are going to be through the roof. But like you said, I could always tell her to join the Army or Navy. When my husband was in the Navy several years ago, they paid a substantial portion of his college tuition.

It's absolutely worth it.

My brother also got in university in budjet because of good marks...
But I don't think It's like that in USA. I don't actually know but I think they are mostly owned by businessman's now country.

In the US, if you are able to excel academically or athletically, you can often qualify for scholarships. Also, if your income is relatively low or you are a single parent, Americans are able to obtain grants.

To be honest I think bhw>college, so why waste money there if you can get knowledge that will make you rich eventually here for free?

lool its worth it and even if you make money on the internet..still worth it to have a backup and also helps in social life stuff aswell when talking about educational or political stuff nd you just stand ther lookin retarded lol

Of course it's worth if it's for free, but if you have to spend a fortune on it...dunno. Why just don't download Cambridge University Press torrent and learn everything you find there? You could as well read 10 Wiki articles each day and become erudite, watch news channels not MTV...you still wouldn't get the social aspect, but anyway, we have plenty of rich people in my country with no higher education. The money is in the schemes.

In NYC there are like some communities college, Cuny. It is pretty cheap due to I dont dorm and bring my own food that I cooked from home.Hence, it cuts down the cost of the whole college expense. I will be able to get a return check from the school for $5000.

banarm said:

I'd say having an education is a good back up plan, depending on what major you choose. Unfortunately, if I actually performed in the position I was trained for, I wouldn't make a liveable wage. Instead, i'm in management, but certainly not the role for which I was trained. Still, the discipline and base of knowledge I took from grad school put me in a place where I can think outside the box and think ahead of competitors. Having a masters degree also gives me peace of mind that I most likely won't have as much difficulty finding a job as those who don't have a degree.
Go for it? I'd say definitely. Rely on it? I'd say no. Worth it? Depends what you do with what you learn. Make it worth it. Oh, and don't forget; Bill Gates dropped out of college. He did okay, eh?

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I agree with banarm, I am a finance major and I am planning to use what i learn from school in the internet business.

i have a very bad opinion about colleges... kind of why i dropped out.

However, i would not recommend not going to college if you don't already have a successful money stream.

if you guys think going to college is all about the money, you need to do some thinking. if you make shitloads of money from bhw thats great, but what is there after that? what will you tell your kids? what will your wife be able to say about you to her friends/family? don't you want to say you accomplished something in life? sure, college isn't 100% necessary for these things, but unless you're in the top .1% of people by IQ and motivation, you'll probably need it.

that boring stuff aside, college kicks ass. it's the easiest you'll ever have it with regards to girls/sex, drugs, etc. you can do whatever the fuck you want when you want, and there are hot drunk sluts everywhere. and you can reminisce about these stories your whole life. oh plus you might learn a few things

I recently read that Yale and MIT plan to lower tuitions and increase endowments to fund students without the means to pay the higher costs. I think that might begin a good trend because I believe the current costs are prohibitively high for most families. My sister paid in excess of 45K last year for just one of her kid's college tuition & bills.

M2jiang, the CUNY system is excellent. A friend of mine got her masters there and now teaches at Princeton.

yea its worth the price.... if i were you id go for comp sci though. thats 100k out the gate after 3 years. nothing else has that kind of promise

Essential Clix said:

You don't have to have an Ivy League education to get a j-o-b. If you or your family can't afford it, go to a cheaper school. A college education is almost always a good investment, as it makes an excellent backup plan.

Also, the US Navy and Army will pay off up to $65,000 worth of student loan debt, if you enlist for only 4 years...

Click to expand...

definitely go to college!

the advice about joining the army/navy would have been cool 10 years back but now it actually means you have to go into a theater of war, which is no so cool. i would choose navy over army!

Its hard to say. Its great going to college but when you graduate and step into the real world its a rude awakening. College has set me back 70K. The degree I received would on work in big cities. I live in Atlantic City and I refuse to work in Casinos since my entire family has been there since Resorts opened first Casino.

So I like many others are doing something completely different that what my degree was for.

I think if you invest 10' of 1,000's in college to graduate knowing how much you will make, you can invest that into your own business or online ventures and maked the money you want depending upon your effort. I wish i was introduced to BHW and the internet before making my college decision.

The cost of college can vary quite a bit, but college is not just about what you learn while you're in class. When you're out meeting people you learn things that are priceless.

Here's the thing. I completely agree with Nick on this and will add to it.

If you are going to college to "get a job" when you graduate, then you shouldn't go to begin with. You will effectively spend $30-100K on not an education, but a diploma to hang above your middle management desk, and you will have the same conversations at the water cooler with the same "mindless" people who went to college to get a job.

If you are going to college because you don't have nothing else to do, then it's up to you to make something of it. Meaning, if you are majoring in University Studies (code for not having a major), then you really need to figure out who the fuck you are, and go apply yourself.

If you know how to think (and I mean it very literally) then you should assess whether college will give you what you desire. For instance, if you are on this forum, them I'm going to assume you have a desire to make money in some form of marketing, and you want it now (as opposed to aslow WhiteHat income). Will college help you? Maybe, maybe not. If you want to make your money with programming then maybe a CS degree will help you, but more likely than not it won't. A lot of the 1337 programmers in here learned alot of their knowledge from reading. They had a desire to know more.

I have a BFA in Graphic Design, and a M.Arch in Architecture. Does it help me? Sure. But I made the most of my degrees. In graphic design I was taught html, but more importantly, I learned how to communicate visually; a skill most webmasters still lack. I've always been naturally detail orientated, so architecture was a natural progressions for me. However I spend most of my time designing media (mediascapes for anyone interested). I graduated from the number one architecture school in the us and won every competition I entered.

I was $110K in debt (2 years at MIT before transferring) and working 80hrs a week for a crappy $32k wasn't going to cut it for me. So I took my skill set and applied it to blackhat techniques. I payed off my student loans this year (1.5 years since graduating).

So the moral to the story is: college is not the answer unless you make it the answer. If you have a desire to practice law or medicine (legally) then perhaps college is worth it. If you are naturally bright, but need more time, then college is worth it (all ivy leagues will pay for you to go). If you want a job, then go get a job.

Think before you act...

Xim

Nick Flame said:

i have a very bad opinion about colleges... kind of why i dropped out.

However, i would not recommend not going to college if you don't already have a successful money stream.

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wise said:

if you guys think going to college is all about the money, you need to do some thinking. if you make shitloads of money from bhw thats great, but what is there after that? what will you tell your kids? what will your wife be able to say about you to her friends/family? don't you want to say you accomplished something in life?

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LOL! When I will be rich I will have things less to worry about. When you have good income, you can do whatever you like. You can even finish 5 universities if you want to. Maybe I will tell my kids "I achieved what 99% of other people couldn't". Becoming rich through alternative ways is a feat itself. Build a great house, travel the world, start hobbies - you are free if you have the money. Who cares about some stupid paper