Was College Worth It? | Personal Finance & Lifestyle | Yakezie Forums

Thank you all so much for sharing your advice, opinions, and experiences. I finally got around to writing the blog post that inspired the question. The post is simply titled, Is College Worth It? Please check it out and comment.

I was actually surprised to discover how many people are still proponents of a college education. You wouldn't be able tell if you only paid attention to the news headlines.

Post edited 1:17 pm – March 26, 2012 by Jacob W

addiea123 said:

PS… Does anyone else find it crazy that you make such life altering decision as a senior in high school!?

This has always puzzled me. I learned about Running Start my senior year (RS starts junior Year), and then was supposed to start applying to colleges in January of my senior year. I had NO CLUE what I wanted to do at that point, so I just didn't.

Ended up at community college on and off for 2 years, then got a degree from an art school.

BUT, as much as I want to knock my audio degree, it has assisted me in getting my current position ($55k salary), and helped me with my troubleshooting and problem solving skills ("why is that microphone squealing at 115dB?!. OMG FIX THAT RIGHT NOW!!!!").

Edit: BTW, my degree was $33k, but is now (thankfully!) paid off. I would say college is worth it IF you can do it without going into debt, and if you know what your are getting in to.

Now, my wife has a bachelor's degree from a private, out-of-state college and is now a stay-at-home mommy. But that's a whole other can of worms…

theycallmecheap said:

I'm working on a blog post that details how to get a good return on your college investment. (I'm still working on a snappy title.) 

I am NOT a fan of student loan debt. And I think the United States' focus on sending everyone to a 4-year university is misguided. However, a bachelors or advanced degree does pay off handsomely for some people. It did for me. 

So, I was wondering if any of you guys could tell me what you did to make your college degree a worthwhile investment. If you went to a community college even better. And if you think going to college was one of the worst decisions you ever made, I'd like to hear that too.

Thanks in advance for your help! 

How is the article coming along? Hopefully it's finished by now  

What would be a good idea would be to write a blog post which covers all of the subjects in university, along with the yearly cost. Then compare them to the earnings over a 5 year period. Or a scale of how long it would take to cover the cost of university. 

Unless that is what you have done of course

This question crosses my mind these days, especially now that I began being self-employed.  I attended the best university in my country, the University of the Philippines and graduated with a bachelors degree in civil engineering.  For the past ten years or so, I was working regular office jobs and those jobs did not bring me anywhere.  I think those jobs for the most part, sucked out my youth and did not help me attain a financial situation that I wanted to achieve.  College would be worth it if the college kids are made aware that after college, there are other ways of making a living other than entering the corporate world.  I credit my college education with training me to think well, without it I believe I would have a harder time succeeding as a businessman — that is why I wouldn't say that college is a total waste of money and time.

I think college helps create a certain mindset, however, if that mindset was always there it would be a waste. There are some professions where it's essential, but most people shouldn't bother :-)

College is the minimal education needed to participate in the world.

It is what a high school education was 40 years ago.

Because it is an "entry level" ticket, get a college education as cheaply as possible.  Got to a state school (subsidized tuition) and then go to a GREAT graduate school.  Invest your money in a top-10 grad school.

No one cares where you went to college.

p.s. I am 56, have hired hundreds of people (and did not care where they went to school, only that they had the determination to finish). I went to a state school and then Harvard Business School.  NO ONE cares where I went to college when they see a Harvard MBA.

bobrichards said:

College is the minimal education needed to participate in the world.

It is what a high school education was 40 years ago.

Because it is an "entry level" ticket, get a college education as cheaply as possible.  Got to a state school (subsidized tuition) and then go to a GREAT graduate school.  Invest your money in a top-10 grad school.

No one cares where you went to college.

p.s. I am 56, have hired hundreds of people (and did not care where they went to school, only that they had the determination to finish). I went to a state school and then Harvard Business School.  NO ONE cares where I went to college when they see a Harvard MBA.

Wise words here, you've said it well! My MBA wasn't from Harvard though :) Oh well. However, I agree that college is what a high school education was years ago.  The key is going to graduate school and choosing one that yields differentiated ROI. 

In terms of undergrad education, I think the idea of whether or not college is worth it is more like: you must go to college, but you really should choose your undergrad school with great care.  Some can really wreck a person's future, if way too expensive.  So choose wisely, but don't choose not to go to college.