Colleges really worth what we pay for them?

Education systems in colleges vary greatly and are generally pretty good but is it worth what we pay?
Average American pays $28,000 for private colleges and $8,000-11,000 for non-private.


State your opinion and facts that you know or look up.

On a personal note, I go to Brigham Young University in Utah..(I am not mormon though) I spend about 17,000 every year or so. I have one loan of $25,000 and the rest I pay in cash. Anyway, education in BYU is pretty good but I don't think it is worth the price.

It depends on what you mean "worth for it."

It has been proven that college graduates earn more than non-college graduates. Sure, there are anecdotal stories of people who just finished high school that made it big, but they're ANECDOTAL.

http://www.lorainccc.edu/Future+Students/College+Graduates+Earn+More.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/05/college-graduates-earn-84_n_919579.html
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/moneymatters/a/edandearnings.htm

the actual government study:

http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p23-210.pdf

So, you spend $$$ to go through college, but make a lifetime earning of around $2M-4M, while a high school graduate earns $1M.

Besides the money, there's the matter of education. Being educated and not being ignorant is always a plus. I'd recommend going to college for this reason alone.

Is _that_ worth it?

It's not if the professors are just fuck-ups trying to make sure you don't succeed in life and get a minimum wage job, sadly some of them are.

The question shouldn't be so much "is it worth it" as it is far too broad of a question. We should be asking "is college/university X worth the tuition cost for the education I'll receive?"

I think a lot of the universities and college simply don't provide an education that can justify their tuition cost. For example, Life University has a tuition cost of $30,000 a quarter. For those not familiar with the system. A school year is broken into 2 semester. Each semester is further broken into quarters. So in order to attend Life University for 1 year. It would cost you $120,000. Considering the average degree is 4 years. By the time you graduate with the lowest degree life university offers, you'll have paid $480,000. I dunno about you but, if I paid a school nearly half a million dollars, I better be walking away with at least a PHD, hopefully 2.

The education system in this country has developed a nice little bubble thanks to all the easy credit and government money that students had access too which allowed universities to continually raise the cost of their tuition simply because there wasn't a reason not to.

According to collegedata.com the sticker price to study at a private college for one year averages about $42,224.

This is in comparison to public universities that average out to about $3,000 a year but, that's still an increase of 8.7% from the previous year (according to collegedata)

Here is a nifty chart (and links) from the Washingtion post



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Personally, my college is worth the cost. I have 0 debt, and in fact, I've made money every semester due to the leftover money I have from my grants every semester. However, I have a friend who went to a prestigious school (Georgia Tech) and she's swimming in debt and the only job open to her is being a tutor at a learning center like Sylvans. She's unable to afford her student loan payments, while I'm earning around 1k every check with 0 debt.

Is the education worth it? I would say that if you have learned something that interests, motivates or stimulates you, then the answer is probably: Yes. It is a difficult thing to place value on, since different people value things in different ways.

The old adage: "Knowledge is Power," is still relevant. But not all knowledge will put money in your pocket. Student loans are one of the most onerous types of loans, since they can't be escaped by declaring bankruptcy. If you are in school to learn something in a high paying field, then it might be worth it.

I received my Bachelors degree from a state university, and payed significantly less, but have found my English degree less than satisfying, monetarily. I am only now beginning to use my degree, while writing my first book. My parents helped pay for my tuition, but I basically supported myself during my schooling, and also held a full time job. When I graduated, I owed no one but my parents, and since I already owe them the world what's a few thousand dollars compared to that?

The real answer, I'm afraid, must come from you. Are you happy with your education? If you are, then don't let money dampen your enthusiasm. Money will come, and go, but happiness is a gift without price.

After doing one year in college most minimum wage jobs won't employ you saying your over qualified.

I remember watching jay leno's jay walking segment on the tonite show. when it first started, he went to collages and talked to students. i was baffled by how they were even accepted to a collage or university. most*, it seemed, should never have been allowed to graduate high school.

it seems a lot of schools care more about making money than education.

another factor to consider is what courses are chosen, and how useful they'll be in the real world.


*[size=10]yes, i am aware that it was edited to select the worst/funniest.[/h]

Well, for my part, i'd say that the simple fact of getting into college, getting past tha whole frakking thing and then getting the degree is only worth the trouble if the degree actually has some value within the domain you are working in.

If that is the case, sure, if not, why the hell did I waste five years or more of my life?

Choosing the right college is always hard, and it also depends on what you want to do.

As an advice, informatics, as in programming/data processing/security/webdesign is the area you're wanting to target right now, because at the pace we are going, we ain't getting out of the need for the IT guys.

Cheerio chaps.

Probably not, since I could easily forge my own diploma for about the price of a pack of printer paper.

To an extent, yes.

Well, here in Australia, experience worth more than education. A guy can be a CEO only 2 years after graduating, because he went to Uni part time and he spent his 8 years working for that specific company.

I don't know about other countries, but to an extent, yes, University is worth it.

A lot of people forget what a diploma truly is.

Employers don't give two shits about what diploma you have, all they're interested in is what skills you have and what abilities you can offer them. A diploma is just a piece of paper that is proof that you posses some of these skills. This is why a lot of employers would rather employ experienced workers who have had no university study compared to a fresh post-grad student. While a diploma dictates you have skills, experience dictates that you have these skills and can apply them.

However in saying that, it depends on what. Some skills like theoretical mathematics can only really been proven and gained through a college degree for example.

Also like FPOD pointed out you can look at it from an expenditure vs worth way, though he just solely uses America as an example. In NZ for example, tuition for an international recognized degree will cost you around 6k (5k USD) per year for fees not including accommodation and materials costs, to which all of it can be put on a interest free loan from the government.

Speaking based from my experience.

Colleges Spends the money of the enrolled students to promote the academy,university. upgrading the programs,labs, machines, trends, etc, etc.
Compared to our country, The Schools based on what amount they want to students should pay.
a sad fact, but they make it Business. and the sad truth is, Education is not a right anymore, it's a privilege.

Fundamentally, I have a problem with associating a cost to education. Education is a right, or so I believe, yet most governments privatize them or run them like businesses. But education ain't a business. Theoretically, the question shouldn't even arise: you should be able to go to school until you've reached your goal, so long as you put in the effort. One cannot simply measure knowledge's worth. Realistically speaking, however, that's a huge sum of money, and one you most likely could use elsewhere. You have no choice but to consider it an investment in this situation, so it is for you to judge. On that note, I'd like to underline the efforts of the Quebec student body who have risen against their government for the betterment of university and college as well as truly free tuition.

Yes, you're paying for credited hours, plus housing, food, social activities, lab fees, library use, building use, teacher overtime, etc.

So if you pick a decent public college, yes, you are getting a pretty good deal. And to be honest, you can't put a price on (effective) education!

We should make a school exclusively for us FAKKU users.

If there is any advice I could impart for (at least) the first 2 years of college it would be;
GO TO COMMUNITY COLLEGE!

Well if you're going to Harvard to become a pharmacist, it's definitely not worth it since the job you get isn't any better than the pharmacy position someone else from another college.

I believe that any education is better than no education. And if you're desperate take out millions worth in loans, and when you finish with all of your doctorates and bachelors move to a country that needs what you provide, and doesn't have a loan treaty with the U.S. (That's pretty much my plan at this point, because the cost of all the schooling I wish to take, compared to the fact that I'll never pay it off, means I'm moving countries. But I'm not a citizen of the U.S.A. I'll miss Canada, but not too deeply, I'm sure. Also, if your grades are particularily high, request assistance from various sources that are international. I'm fairly certain the US still has some royal bursaries lying around. (Contact random organizations that might make use of you, make a good impression, and further impress upon them how useful you would be for them, and with some luck, you may come out with a company funded tuition. Or, if you're desperate, the military should pay all your schooling. I know Canada's military does, but I'm not certain about the US. Anyway, good luck with your tertiary education, cheers)

Education or no education. Well in this world education means a lot. SO theoretically it SHOLD BE WORTH IT. MOney can do a lot of things but it cannot buy you happiness completley. Yes you can please yourself with some stuff you buy form a shop.

But it all depends on what you want from life.

So...

Colleges really worth what we pay for them?

Yes, if you know what you want from life.