The College Tuition Bubble

[ICantSpellDawg]

I take some offense to this statement, since I got my GED and also this year received my LL.B. (Bachelors of Law) and will now be working on my Masters very soon. I believe your pay grade should be given based on skill, and not merit. I've met a lot of people who have gotten college degrees and couldn't tell you the first thing about what they've studied. Serves em' right, if the guy with the GED is more intelligent... The United State's High School system is a laughable at best, and depressingly dumbed down at worst. Real world experience and how you handle whatever adversity comes your way, its what separates the truly talented human beings, and the not-so-much. Not a piece of paper, as someone like Richard Branson might tell you..

You didn't stop at the GED. I'm referring to those who barely eked out of High School and stayed in the doldrums.

I'm sorry that you take offense, but are you arguing that people who receive their GED's and do nothing beyond that tend to be brighter than people who go on to college?

There are exceptions to every rule.


Marshal. the only conversations that anyone is capable of having regarding their educational experiences seem to revolve around getting mangled beyond belief. Believe me, When I'm dragged to a bar I try to talk about the same things that we talk about here. Whoever masterminded out higher educational system should be dragged into the street and bludgeoned.

[Strike For The South]

I like being crushed by debt. Makes me feel warm.

[DemonArchangel]

I've been keeping careful track of how much colleges and universities spend. It takes a great deal of money, most of which goes towards fairly basic things like educating, feeding, housing and keeping healthy the students, all of which cost money. Then you have the professors and faculty, who need to be paid salaries, health insurance, dental, and money to conduct research and subscribe to academic journals. Then you need to have facility and facility maintenance. You have to make sure all the buildings used by thousands of people each day don't just fall apart.

For example, I attend the University of Maryland, College Park. It has an operating budget of $1.5 billion a year and around 36,000 students. That means that per student spending in FY 2009 will be $41,666.67 per student. However, the University charges only $8,000 per student for in state tuition and $23,000 a year for out of state tuition. That means that the University is operating at a sharp loss, just by tuition revenues. However, the state of Maryland funds the University, so that state taxpayers keep the University financially afloat. A private institution, say Georgetown University, which is a short metro ride away from UMD, does not have the option of having state taxpayers fund its operations. It must thus charge $48,000 in tuition per year in order to maintain fiscal health. Most private universities still operate at a slight loss and depend on alumni donations to cover the shortfall. However, those are drying up, as job markets become more and more uncertain, and people are more careful with their money, so tuition thus has to go higher.

As for athletics, they are mostly a for profit enterprise engaged in by the school. They bring in revenue (at least for Division I schools)

http://money.cnn.com/2006/11/10/comm...sbiz/index.htm

[Samurai Waki]

You didn't stop at the GED. I'm referring to those who barely eked out of High School and stayed in the doldrums.

I'm sorry that you take offense, but are you arguing that people who receive their GED's and do nothing beyond that tend to be brighter than people who go on to college?

Absolutely Not!

However, I am of the opinion that High School (or maybe it was just my experience) teaches you subjects that bare no resemblance to things you'll learn in the outside world. If somebody wants to be a mathematician or Rocket Scientist, then by all means they should take classes that relate to their fields of interest. Having that said, the average Joe that just wants to know how to manage his finances shouldn't have to take a course in calculus. The education system in the US pretty much stunts people's educational growth (and interest in education), opposed to enabling them to go further.

Learning life's lessons the hard way usually makes for more determined people, however, if you don't learn how to swim in a hurry, you drown. I think this is true for anyone, and explains why so many High School grads drop college, since for the most part, they aren't taught how the real world functions.

But the same could be said of High School dropouts who don't stick by their aspirations, and aren't determined to make their lot better in life.

[Hosakawa Tito]

Here's a thought provoking article. Kinda long but worth the read. The Case for Working With Your Hands.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Here's a thought provoking article. Kinda long but worth the read. The Case for Working With Your Hands.

Keyboards require hands.

[Vladimir]

Here's a thought provoking article. Kinda long but worth the read. The Case for Working With Your Hands.

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