Opportunity Cost of Attending College

College Search & Selection
1

I am considering applying to start college in the Fall of 2020. I started my own small business two years ago, and I’ve also created a few passive income streams that will be more than sufficient to self-fund a college experience. Determining whether it’s a good investment, (not only of financial resources but also several productive years,) to attend college is proving to be a tenuous decision. Does the value of networking, classes, experience and diploma gained through attending college outweigh the value of other investments I could make with the resources consumed by doing so?

I recently completed the IBM Data Science Professional Certificate and if I attend college it would be to pursue a career in Statistics/Data Science. I was homeschooled,(unschooled specifically,) my entire life. I enjoy reading and I’ve entertained myself in many ways that would be beneficial to a mathematician/computer scientist my whole life. I do not have a transcript, GPA, or any traditional schoolwork that I can display; however, I believe I do have enough other experiences to present a compelling case for admission. I have taken SAT and two subject tests to confirm that I would be a candidate, (scores: SAT 1420, SAT Math Level 2 800, SAT Chemistry 780).

My grandparents are STRONGLY encouraging me to attend college. My parents are neither encouraging nor discouraging this choice. They both attended college,(electronics engineer/computer programmer and actuary), and do not feel it is a necessary component for my future success, but would support my decision if I choose to pursue college.

The crux of this all is for your opinion on whether college is worth the opportunity cost. Please let me know your thoughts in order to assist me in weighing the pros and cons.

Also, I put together a preliminary list of schools I am interested in if you would like to weigh on these as well: Bucknell, Colgate, Davidson, Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, Hamilton, Haverford, Lafayette, Florida, UNC Chapel Hill, Unuion College, University of Virginia, Vassar and Wofford. This list was composed purely based on statistics as I have no actual experience with any of these schools, so your input will be very valuable in my early assessments.

I would like to acknowledge in advance the value of your time and information. Thank you for taking the time to read and respond.

2

No-one can properly answer your question without knowing factors such as your actual and future income stream, the cost of college and which college you would go to (not just where you would want to go to). Even then, there are subjective factors beyond a purely quantitative cost/benefit analysis to take into account. A bunch of internet strangers are not going to be able to make your decision for you. It may be worth you spending a couple more years pursuing your own business etc, to see how viable it is and make a more informed decision down the line. It’s not unusual for people to take a year or two or five after school before deciding to go to college.

3

Since you are interested in statistics, I’ll give you a statistic. You are a sample size of one. You are an individual with unique experiences and capabilities. You’ve figured out how to make some money. You are excited by living. If you didn’t go to college you could entertain yourself with productive ventures. You’ve already figured out that you don’t fit anybody’s mold. You’ve already figured out how to teach yourself things that you want to learn. You sound fearless, which I think is terrific and healthy. You probably won’t need an employer, you will be the employer.

Honestly, you have to ask yourself whether you are looking forward to or are even open to a formal education and a college experience given your un-schooling background or do you just want the degree.

Personally, I think there is wealth in the personal interactions with your classmates. There is value in the social life. There is value in the intellectual stimulation and in challenging yourself to get out of your comfort zone and figure out who you are and where you fit into a bigger global picture. There is even value in the humility and self-discipline of struggling to meet deadlines and expectations for your coursework. Each of these things can contribute to the you that you want to be. Or not.

I’m not you. If you don’t value these things, then maybe you should just skip college and do what you want to do. This is a very personal decision and is also a decision that you can change later. If you do go, I think you should be excited about the possibilities. If you decide to postpone, then you can go later. Maybe go visit some colleges and determine if you can see yourself growing at college or if there is something that you are more excited to do beforehand.

4

SJ2727 - Thank you for your response. Part of my process for making an informed decision was to reach out to see if there may be some benefits that I am overlooking in quantitative assessment. Essentially, I’m looking at a $250,000 investment. I have a lot of ideas of how to invest a quarter of a million dollars that would provide returns starting in the near term and could compound exponentially in due time. I could also play the long game in other ways, and one of those ways, that seems to have a high risk profile, is to invest in higher education. While the personal development aspects seem to be the primary justification for choosing a college education, my suspicion is that this growth can be attained by less costly means; even while acknowledging that the networking opportunity may be difficult to reasonably replicate. From my personal experience, which does not include formal education, finding the value of the degree (given it’s enumerated price) is confounding. A more clear request I could have made, would have been “Tell me what you see as the value proposition for attending college, that I cannot see in the numbers. Please contribute what you see as the value of choosing college over other available opportunities.” There has to be grounds for why so many strive for this opportunity.

ClassicRockerDad - Thank you for the feel good response. You hit a lot of the right “notes” with me. You are completely on point. I surmise my reason for pursuing a formal education is partially due to not knowing if I have been deprived by not attending school, and partially the opportunity to make connections, as well as to learn new skills, (although there are plenty of means to acquire skills that don’t involve schooling.) I am looking at this as an investment in myself that may ultimately pay off in some nebulous way at some nebulous time in the future. I do see value in the social climate, intellectual stimulation and potential challenges, but as a 16 year old it’s complicated for me to known how to assign worth to these intangibles for the purpose of comparison to quantifiable assets.

I appreciate both of your feedback and this correspondence is assisting me to develop a more nuanced perspective. I welcome more input and voices in this conversation.

5

There are less expensive ways to attend college. For example, an in-state public university should cost much less than that. And it could be even less expensive if you start at a community college and transfer there, if you live in a state and locality where the community colleges are good for transfer preparation. Note that community colleges are suitable for part time attendance, in case you want to keep running your business while you start college, or if you decide that you just want to take a course or few here and there instead of working toward a degree (which could be a possibility, since it seems like you like to self-educate, though you may find it helpful to have an instructor for some subjects).

Without any kind of academic record (or even a large number of SAT subject or AP scores that show content knowledge in typical high school subjects), some selective colleges may be hesitant to admit you. If that ends up being a problem, then the community college and transfer pathway may be your most accessible means of attending college, should you decide to do so.

In terms of the monetary return on investment, it looks like the following apply to you:

  • You are motivated enough to self-educate as needed and desired.
  • You are successfully self-employed.

If the above is what you want to continue doing through your career, the value of a college education and degree are rather lower for you than for most other people, who need more structure to effectively learn, and would find the degree as a credential more useful in the job market. In your line of business, do potential customers care whether you have a college degree (and if so, do major and college name matter?)?

As far as the value of making connections goes, it depends on whether your business is one where making additional connections (beyond those acquired from the normal course of doing business) is highly important or not.