Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Is College Really Worth It?

fastcompany.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 68 posts

Re: Is College Really Worth It?

#21

Post by nostrademons »

So, I'm not certain that college is really worth it, but there're a lot of misleading statistics in the infographic:

1. The cost of attending a private vs. public university does not include financial aid. For many middle-income kids, the actual price of attending a private university is often less than that of attending a state school, because the private university may give you a full ride based on need, while the state school has much less resources to spend on financial aid.

2. The "17 years to make up the difference" figure is based on starting salaries, but it doesn't account for raises that occur soon afterwards. Many of college friends went into financial, software or consulting businesses at around $55K/year - 4 years later, they're now making well over 6 figures. Many of my high school friends went into local or boutique businesses at around $50k/year - 4 years later, they are still making $50k/year, or worse, they've lost their jobs because of the economic crash.

3. "1 out of 2 students fail to correctly analyze prose" - ironic, because of the inaccuracies in the infographic...

The numbers spent partying/drinking/videogaming seem about right though. I think it's pretty likely that college is a bubble, but I don't like to see some of the financial myths repeated. If you get into Yale and you get decent financial aid, you should probably go, because that degree is worth a lot more than one from UConn, and the people who write for FastCompany often have no idea about the inner workings of the financial aid system.

Re: Is College Really Worth It?

#22

Post by alain94040 »

It's going to sound condescending but I'll say it anyway: if you enjoy hanging out on HN (and you do since you are reading this), then you'll enjoy attending college because it's the only place on earth where everyone is college-level smart.

Obvious of course, but kind of true. Everywhere else (except maybe at Google), you have to deal with the uneducated masses :-)

Re: Is College Really Worth It?

#23

Post by jrp »

jey wrote: post #19
nearestneighbor wrote: post #17

Excellent question. For coders trying to maximize their probability of getting rich enough not to worry about money by the time they are 25 or 30, I'm sure going to college is an awful bet, especially in the US, where college education is expensive. And the more education you get, the worse of a bet it is (I have a PhD from an Ivy League school, BTW, as does pg, I think) However, some important work and innovation ab…

> you are extremely unlikely to learn linear algebra and matrix theory "on the job" Why? All of the information is available in books and on Wikipedia. Nowadays you can learn nearly anything for free with just an internet connection and some dedication. The biggest potential impediment is be a self-defeating attitude that prevents you from trying. On the other hand, don't expect learning "on the job" to mean that you…

> Why?

Because of laziness. You are right that you can learn by just investing time, and the grandparent is right that almost nobody will bother when they can play videogames with that time.

Re: Is College Really Worth It?

#24

Post by nearestneighbor »

jey wrote: post #19
nearestneighbor wrote: post #17

Excellent question. For coders trying to maximize their probability of getting rich enough not to worry about money by the time they are 25 or 30, I'm sure going to college is an awful bet, especially in the US, where college education is expensive. And the more education you get, the worse of a bet it is (I have a PhD from an Ivy League school, BTW, as does pg, I think) However, some important work and innovation ab…

> you are extremely unlikely to learn linear algebra and matrix theory "on the job" Why? All of the information is available in books and on Wikipedia. Nowadays you can learn nearly anything for free with just an internet connection and some dedication. The biggest potential impediment is be a self-defeating attitude that prevents you from trying. On the other hand, don't expect learning "on the job" to mean that you…

> Nowadays you can learn nearly anything for free with just an internet connection and some dedication

It's no different from the situation before the internet, since books are cheap (compared to your time) and usually are still a better source of information on such structured subjects anyway.

In fact, when I was in college, I mostly read textbooks anyway instead of attending lectures (it's easier for me to learn this way).

This however is not the whole story. Even if you are motivated ("I'd like to learn math"), you are probably not motivated enough for some feats of cognition. If you know people who stayed home and studied math on their own for a few years, full-time, at college level (I don't), they are probably very rare.

Re: Is College Really Worth It?

#26

Post by biotech »

One out of two students fail to correctly analyze prose like a newspaper editorial

Okay, I don't know the source, but this statistic seems reasonable to me. In fact, I'd venture to add a couple more (based purely on my anecdotal experience):

- One out of two students can't structure a well-reasoned argument.

- One out of two students are unable to write a readable essay.

- One out of two students do not know how to prepare for and deliver a speech.

My problem is not the state of State Colleges. The problem is the state of highschools in America (although we are not unique with respect to some of these problems). These are all skills that can and should be learnt before college.

Re: Is College Really Worth It?

#27

Post by chrischen »

alain94040 wrote: post #22

It's going to sound condescending but I'll say it anyway: if you enjoy hanging out on HN (and you do since you are reading this), then you'll enjoy attending college because it's the only place on earth where everyone is college-level smart. Obvious of course, but kind of true. Everywhere else (except maybe at Google), you have to deal with the uneducated masses :-)

Depends on which college you go to. Not my college though. My college's motto is to provide education for the masses.

Re: Is College Really Worth It?

#28

Post by dylanz »

I love these types of posts. There seems to be "a ton" of them lately.

I'll say one thing... college is definitely worth it if you're planning on working in the Medical field. I think hospitals only hire people with a formal education now-a-days ;) The same probably goes for sending people to the moon, building nuclear reactors, etc. There is a reason for colleges to exist, as sometimes the human race "needs" to make sure you know your @#$%.

Re: Is College Really Worth It?

#29

Post by chrischen »

markpneyer wrote: post #2

Not if you're smart and motivated it's not. I went to High School with a guy named Chris. He dropped out of college to do programming work, and I stayed on, eventually going to grad school. Now he's the founder of GitHub and I'm some no-name programmer working for a financial company nobody's ever heard of.

In defense of the average guy, not everyone can go out and do great things, otherwise those things wouldn't be considered great anymore.

Re: Is College Really Worth It?

#30

Post by Dick_McGee »

chrischen wrote: post #16
markpneyer wrote: post #2

Not if you're smart and motivated it's not. I went to High School with a guy named Chris. He dropped out of college to do programming work, and I stayed on, eventually going to grad school. Now he's the founder of GitHub and I'm some no-name programmer working for a financial company nobody's ever heard of.

I don't think you even have to be smart, because college really just forces people who aren't really motivated to learn, to learn. I mean what's a better substitute for motivation than the threat of thousands of dollars going down the drain because you failed. EDIT: and really even with the forcing learning is not guaranteed.

Your mom is guaranteed.
Post reply on HN