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

On average, skipping college and investing tuition costs nets a higher return

erikrood.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 669 posts

Re: On average, skipping college and investing tuition costs nets a higher return

#91

Post by ecnal »

ma2rten wrote: post #83
staticelf wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about... offering college for free like the rest of the modern world? Then you would only have to worry about living costs and those loans are pretty small. I could pay off mine in like 4-5 years if I really wanted to. Plus, then people still could get an education even if their parents didn't save up for you. What about as a society/culture you start telling people that the country should offer education for fr…

like the rest of the modern world Many countries outside of Europe have tuition fees. Do we really have to label those countries as not part of the modern world?

Many countries in Europe, even. Tuition in the UK is actually higher than it is in the US, though the terms of the repayment are quite a bit more forgiving.

Re: On average, skipping college and investing tuition costs nets a higher return

#92

Post by SPBesui »

aaron-lebo wrote: post #80
vowelless wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand, one should wonder why college is so expensive in the US in the first place. Even without any subsidies, non-American tuition is a fraction of the cost of the big universities in the US. Why? Why are book so expensive here? Why is so much money spent on buildings, stadiums and hiring football coaches? The highest paid public employee in 39 states in the US is a college sports coach! [1] Throwing mor…

The top paid coach there is Nick Saban; Alabama football made over $100 million in revenue last year. https://www.seccountry.com/alabama/alabama-football-reported...

That's a common misconception. Very few college athletic departments are in the black. And even among those, usually only football and men's basketball make any money at all. Sorry no link...should be easy to google statistics.

Re: On average, skipping college and investing tuition costs nets a higher return

#93

Post by ThrustVectoring »

5706906c06c wrote: post #72

What about entering the workforce, make enough to cover cost of living, and then go back to college?

If you're in the workforce and making enough to save for college at a decent clip, why go back to college?

It's even worse after joining the workforce, since the opportunity cost of not working is higher. Plus you're older, so there's less time to make back the investment.

Re: On average, skipping college and investing tuition costs nets a higher return

#94

Post by brohoolio »

vowelless wrote: post #68
staticelf wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about... offering college for free like the rest of the modern world? Then you would only have to worry about living costs and those loans are pretty small. I could pay off mine in like 4-5 years if I really wanted to. Plus, then people still could get an education even if their parents didn't save up for you. What about as a society/culture you start telling people that the country should offer education for fr…

On the other hand, one should wonder why college is so expensive in the US in the first place. Even without any subsidies, non-American tuition is a fraction of the cost of the big universities in the US. Why? Why are book so expensive here? Why is so much money spent on buildings, stadiums and hiring football coaches? The highest paid public employee in 39 states in the US is a college sports coach! [1] Throwing mor…

Sports often generate enough revenue to cover the costs for the top tier schools. Top ranked universities use sports to build donations from alumni, brand awareness, etc.

If you want to tackle a good portion of the high cost of higher education tackle medical costs. It influences the cost of everything in the US. If you earn $50,000 a year the university is paying another $10,000 - 20,000 for insurance.

Re: On average, skipping college and investing tuition costs nets a higher return

#95

Post by smt88 »

waspear wrote: post #14

Some experiences in college is priceless.

Yes. College teaches learning skills, social skills, and time management. Sometimes it teaches skepticism, open-mindedness, and intellectual humility.

Also, societal knowledge is underrated. People need to know how dictatorships start, how to vet facts, etc. Populist dictators rely on both ignorance of history and economic desperation.

Re: On average, skipping college and investing tuition costs nets a higher return

#96

Post by aaron-lebo »

SPBesui wrote: post #92
aaron-lebo wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The top paid coach there is Nick Saban; Alabama football made over $100 million in revenue last year. https://www.seccountry.com/alabama/alabama-football-reported...

That's a common misconception. Very few college athletic departments are in the black. And even among those, usually only football and men's basketball make any money at all. Sorry no link...should be easy to google statistics.

Every single one of those programs listed is making money, though. That's also easily Googleable and you can see that above link.

It might be wise to not link to an article in which every single sports program is massively profitable as an example of how college sports are causing financial issues. There's an argument to be made for that, but that link isn't it.

Re: On average, skipping college and investing tuition costs nets a higher return

#97

Post by randomdata »

ma2rten wrote: post #65
imesh wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Education in America is cheap, the problem is people don't go to their local school, they see college as an experience where they travel halfway across the country and stay in student housing.

No, education in America is expensive. If tuition was free or cheap, you could work part-time to pay living expenses and take more time to finish your degree as many students in Europe do.

So long as you consider your time worthless, education is free. You are but a Google search away from learning about anything you want. If you want to go to school, that can be expensive, but that is quite different to education.

Re: On average, skipping college and investing tuition costs nets a higher return

#98

Post by pmiller2 »

SPBesui wrote: post #79
vowelless wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand, one should wonder why college is so expensive in the US in the first place. Even without any subsidies, non-American tuition is a fraction of the cost of the big universities in the US. Why? Why are book so expensive here? Why is so much money spent on buildings, stadiums and hiring football coaches? The highest paid public employee in 39 states in the US is a college sports coach! [1] Throwing mor…

But all you're really saying with sports coach comment is that, among people in a sector that is not profit-oriented or known for high wages, the highest paid employee is the biggest differentiator of success ("amateur" participants notwithstanding) for a lucrative entertainment business. That's not really surprising on its face.

Except that college sports aren't really a "lucrative entertainment business." See http://www.politifact.com/virginia/statements/2014/dec/22/ji...

Re: On average, skipping college and investing tuition costs nets a higher return

#99

Post by HarryHirsch »

ma2rten wrote: post #65
imesh wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Education in America is cheap, the problem is people don't go to their local school, they see college as an experience where they travel halfway across the country and stay in student housing.

No, education in America is expensive. If tuition was free or cheap, you could work part-time to pay living expenses and take more time to finish your degree as many students in Europe do.

More important: if tuition were free you could fail your students. With the present model there is a perverse incentive to pass everyone no matter what because they pay the salary.

Re: On average, skipping college and investing tuition costs nets a higher return

#100

Post by meric »

pmiller2 wrote: post #37
ReverseCold wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah yes, the old "finding a dollar on the street gives you infinite ROI, much better than __________"

That would be true if you could just reliably find money on the street.

Pretty reliable. Sit on the sidewalk with a bowl in front of you for a day.
Post reply on HN