Waste of My Money

College is a waste of money. Now don't tell me, "Oh but you make it up with the extra money you make after you graduate." Bullshit. Only if you are in a specialized field. We need to realize as a culture that we are pricing our educational institutions so high in this country that soon only the elite will be able to afford it without incurring a massive debt. I mean the average 4-year college student graduates with something like $20,000-30,000 of debt. Now I'm sorry, but you can't tell me that a teacher or the average accountant or whatever can pay that off quickly enough to really enjoy the benefits.

These numbers also fail to take into account two other very important factors. First, many college students are taking longer than 4 years to get through college. I myself will have at least $25,000 of debt if I graduate in my fifth year--and I'm at one of the more affordably priced colleges in the state. Second, many people continue higher education beyond just a bachelor's degree. How much more debt do these people (which includes would-be teachers and professors) incur? And after a bachelor's degree it can be much harder to get federal or state aid to help pay for education costs, thus they must resort to loans from bank and credit institutions with higher interest rates and stricter payment plans.

You might think that I'm bitter or jaded because of my situation at college. Maybe you're right, maybe you're not. But the better question that you should be asking yourself is: Is your education worth what you're paying for it?