Only 150 of 3500 U.S. Colleges Are Worth the Investment: Former Secretary of Education
- Thread starter Creighton Duke
- Start date
OH HSKR FAN
Special Teams Player
Anybody can get into those top 10 schools. :hmmph
tschu
Banned
It really is true that most people are better off getting a sh**ty job at age 18 and putting as much as they can in an index fund or ETF or a retirement target fund. The lack of student loans and the extra ~5 years to accumulate interest ends up offsetting the potential income that they're squandering by not having a degree. Besides, a 23-yr-old with 5 years of work experience and a good work ethic can easily be earning more than a recent college grad with no experience. (field-dependent, of course).
They say you can earn $1million more in your life on average if you graduate college, but if you have $25,000 put away by the time you're 25, you're MILES ahead of a college graduate in terms of building wealth.
They say you can earn $1million more in your life on average if you graduate college, but if you have $25,000 put away by the time you're 25, you're MILES ahead of a college graduate in terms of building wealth.
NUance
Assistant Coach
The thing is, I doubt that William Bennett normalized his analysis for intelligence, ambition, or family wealth. The kids who get degrees from those schools tend to be smarter and more driven than kids with degrees from lessor colleges. So they will make more money than the rest of us no matter where they go to school. Also, to pick up a degree from any of those schools, the kid is likely to come from a family with money. So they're starting out life in a first and goal situation. Instead of fielding a punt back at their own 20 yard line like the rest of us.
And speaking of colleges, do you know why William Bennett almost certainly did not take theses factors into consideration? Because he's a fricking UT Whorn, that's why.
And speaking of colleges, do you know why William Bennett almost certainly did not take theses factors into consideration? Because he's a fricking UT Whorn, that's why.
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KJ.
Special Teams Player
killer cacti
All-Conference
Clemson is in top 150!
BigRedBuster
International Man of Mystery
I've seen studies like this before. I'll take the chance and send my kids to college.
The fact is though, most 18 year old kids that go get a job right out of HS aren't going to start saving right away anyway. Most are going to go through the typical screw off stage in life before they ever get serious about anything. As long as they are serious about school, they might as well be doing that screwing off while getting a degree.
It also highly depends on what field you go into. Obviously there are high paying fields that require a college degree.
The fact is though, most 18 year old kids that go get a job right out of HS aren't going to start saving right away anyway. Most are going to go through the typical screw off stage in life before they ever get serious about anything. As long as they are serious about school, they might as well be doing that screwing off while getting a degree.
It also highly depends on what field you go into. Obviously there are high paying fields that require a college degree.
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beanman
Banned
I see we're 484th. Based on my experience, I'm not surprised. I didn't feel we were pushed hard at all in my degree, especially after talking about college year with all the Big 10 alum that I currently work with. But, I don't think that's impacted me much as I get higher appraisals every year than the vast majority of them and I find that good old-fashioned mid-western work ethic has been more important that the 99% of stuff I learned in college that I'll never use in industry.
carlfense
Heisman Trophy Winner
You get out of college what you put into it. There are hundreds of thousands of Americans that went to colleges not in the top 150 and made very nice lives for themselves with the second rate education they got, me included Yeah, a Harvard education is worth way more than mine from Northwest Missouri State, but I guess My wife and I do all right and probably better than some people with a Harvard education.
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carlfense
Heisman Trophy Winner
This is absolutely correct but a lot of schools don't ask much of students. Only a handful of classes at UNL asked much of me (in 8 years) and I think that you'd have to actively try to fail out. That's not unique to UNL but in my experience (and in the few behind the scenes glances that I've gotten into the administration) there is plenty of room for improvement.
Creighton Duke
Banned
Many more factors than just intelligence going on here. Macro and micro economic pressures, bad "fit", etc.
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sd'sker
Banned
this has always seemed more like a correlation rather than a causation. if you have the ambition and social mobility to go to college and graduate, you are probably going to earn more than those who did not. basically, people who graduate from college are destined to earn more than those who do not; not because of what they gained from graduating college, but because of what they had that allowed them to graduate college.
it is too bad so many jobs require a college degree rather than letting someone get their foot in the door and work their way up. in that regard, trade schools are the way to go.
however, i believe i learned a lot from my college experience. not necessarily because of what i learned in the classroom, but because of everything i learned outside of the classroom.