<p>EDIT: Hit return and posted early - will add my thoughts later. The linked article is a somewhat lengthy take on this common CC discussion topic.</p>
<p>At this point I am simply saddened by the fact that college has become so prohibitively expensive as to make this a question people ask on a regular basis.</p>
<p>I wish I understood more fully why it has become so unaffordable to so many.</p>
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The BLS has projected that ~20% of job openings in the 2010-20 timeframe will require a bachelors degree, with another 10.5% requiring some education beyond a high school diploma ([Source](<a href=“http://bls.gov/emp/ep_table_education_summary.htm]Source[/url]”>http://bls.gov/emp/ep_table_education_summary.htm)</a>). Meanwhile, “66.2 percent of 2012 high school graduates were enrolled in colleges or universities” as of last October ([Source](<a href=“http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/hsgec_04172013.htm]Source[/url]”>College Enrollment and Work Activity of High School Graduates News Release)</a>). Not all of those students are going to end up with ‘college-level jobs’.</p>
<p>I think students need to know that up-front, but colleges have no incentive to be honest when doing so could reduce enrollment. Should high schools require students to study education and labor market trends before graduation?</p>
<p>“require” and “benefit” are not the same. Many jobs may not “require” a college degree, but many people with a college degree will do better in those jobs.</p>
<p>In some respects, the college degree is not what you know, but demonstrates a minimum level of intellectual ability. Just like a High School degree did 50 years ago.</p>
<p>^ Yes, credential inflation means that a college degree may ‘pay off’ even for students who end up working retail - at least they are not unemployed. But I don’t think that is what students are expecting, and I want to understand where those expectations come from.</p>
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<p>The entitlement mentality. I’m entitled to what I want. If I want to major in Ancient History, then I am entitled to an Ancient History job. Seems to be very little thought by a lot of kids about what they are going to do with their major. I’m not saying that everyone who gets a STEM degree has a job. But, some fields are more in demand than others.</p>
<p>I think these ROI discussions are problematic because a college education is a hybrid between a necessity and a luxury–and a luxury doesn’t really have a financial ROI. My ability to appreciate the music of Charles Ives, or the poetry of HD, as a result of my college education, has never earned me a cent, nor will it. So what’s it worth? On the other hand, my law degree has been worth plenty financially. In terms of my own sense of value, they’re both worth it.</p>
<p>What the country needs, and what the projections show as greatest need into the future, are Walmart clerks and CNAs.</p>
<p>I agree Hunt. I find it difficult, from my own perspective, to do an ROI on college.</p>
<p>And, yet, I’m positive it’s not worth the kind of debt some people are taking on.</p>
<p>I think it’s kind of like the definition of pornography. When is a college too expensive? “You know it when you see it.”</p>
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Sure–people shouldn’t take on excessive debt for luxuries. But people frequently take on at least some debt for lots of luxuries, and there isn’t so much hand-wringing about it.</p>
<p>"It depends on who you are, where you come from, where you think you’re going, where you really are capable of going, and what might derail or propel you along the way. "</p>
<p>I agree with this statement in the article, particularly the implied concern that some students/parents do not have a realistic assessment of their true abilities.</p>
<p>I think that taking on “some debt” is markedly different than taking on massive debt. I also think the concern is that, to some extent, it is a racket being perpetrated on kids and, at certain levels, a lot like indentured servitude, which I see, as well.</p>
<p>It’s easy for me to ignore it, really. But, I’m not sure it’s in the best interest of any of us to ignore it. JMO</p>
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This “luxury” is funded with federal student loans, while elected officials and the public education system contribute to social perceptions regarding the supply of and demand for college graduates.</p>