To many variables to this question for a yes or no answer.

Not at all. I have met some brilliant people with only an Associates Degree or no college at all that are more intelligent than many of those with their doctorate. State college is just another government scam where it is not difficult in the least to get a degree and basically all you are doing is paying the state an exorbitant fee for a piece of paper in order to get a higher paying job. I would venture to say that you really only use about 10% of what you learn in college in your career and the rest is taught to you by your employer. All college teaches you is how to teach yourself.

Not in the least. College is just a time for spoiled brats to party on their parents’ dime, lose what little morals they have left, and become further indoctrinated by loons. If college was really worth the price then more of our youth would be paying for it themselves with student loans and money from jobs instead of expecting mommy and daddy to feed them with a silver spoon. I am really tired of the sense of entitlement our youth of today has. What would our founding fathers think of the Nanny State we have become?

I think it's a bit sad that we have to pose a question like this. Yes, college education is worth the cost but in a perfect world it wouldn't cost so much to educate yourself.

So, if a college education is not worth the cost, then the colleges would eventally close due to market forces. Colleges have failed in the past when they were no longer relevant. This is holds more at for-profit colleges than state chartered schools. See http://www2.westminster-mo.edu/wc_users/homepages/staff/brownr/ClosedCollegeIndex.htm

No. Education, like health care, should be publicly funded. Universities are elitist organizations that provide lousy formal education because professors sub to TAs to teach. Colleges are better in this regard.
OTOH, universities/colleges provide real-world training for those who leave home. Those who remain with Mommy and Daddy completely miss the boat.
Finally, US society places too much emphasis on higher degrees, and we are bleeding trades skills. This is consistent with the US losing it's industrial capacity and it's morphing into a paper tiger.

NO. From what I have seen from recent graduates, it is apparent that one can learn all one needs to know by watching South Park, The Simpsons and Oprah...after all, they are a microcosm of all that is important today. And if a TV is not available for higher education, all one needs to learn to do is say "Baa, baa."

How can anyone say no? Do you even know the stats for income disparity between college grads and those without diplomas?

Sure, maybe it's not worth it to have a $200k debt after school, but there are plenty of worthwhile and affordable public options. People who think college is not worth the money are obviously dwelling on personal circumstance, reflexively anti-anything, or just plain stupid.

@ Common Kevin - Re your drivel: "you really only use about 10% of what you learn in college"
Really. I use the skill sets taught at my university almost daily. I know my sustainable alcohol intake rate; my overall alcohol tolerance level; the price of ramen noodles; which teams have snowball's chance at the Final Four; how much alcohol she needs before your pickup line will work; how much sleep during a weekend I really don't need; and how far away you need to be when you are at the gate and tell her you left the tickets at home.

Most definitely - what is the alternative?

Good lord, I actually agree with STR on an issue! This is a sure sign of the Apocalypse! Prepare yourselves, people!!!

Now where were we? Oh yes, the high cost of college tuition. Statistically speaking, a university education continues to be worth the price, given graduates' earning power vis-a-vis their less educated cohorts. But would I send my child to a cash-guzzling elitist snobotorium like GW when UVA is just as good at 1/6 the price? OH, H-E-L-L NO!!!

Much depends upon which school and what one does while there. An outrageously priced bachelor's degree is not worth more than a more reasonably priced education. But over a high school diploma alone? Well, no education at all is hove we got all of those teabaggers over the summer.

I don't think anything is worth the exorbitant price that some universities are charging these days. But what's the alternative? Backpacking across Europe may yield some great stories to tell at cocktail parties, but it doesn't hold up on a resume.

If the point is to receive an education, yes it's worth it.

If the point is to get a better paying job, find a mate or put off working for five (or more) years, then no your money could be better spent elsewhere.

Nope. Didn't finish my AA, but I make more, a lot more, than either of my parents, who have BA's and are teachers with 35+ years experience. Is that sad? Or the truth about the value of teachers in this world?

This is such a dumb question. Which college? What kind of degree? Are the parents able to help financially?

Considering that people with college educations are now a dime a dozen and are prerequisites for a lot of jobs, then I think they are absolutely necessary. If you have a problem with the cost, then go to a state school. There are many great ones out there.

It should be free....Obama take over the colleges and give free degrees to all the people. Wake up America, the big bad college CEO's are making billions, we need to stop them. A 4 year degree is a right of all Americans and only the rich should have to foot the bill.

For those who may not know, this was written as a joke.

NO.
Fed Manager,
That is great, but how much of your drivel is actually used for your JOB? Seems like you have other issues in your life and maybe there is a reason that you are alone and looking for "love." You sound like a real winner. Probably in your 50's and never been with a woman.
Diogenes,
You have to find a woman who can tolerate you first in order to have a child unless you are looking to have a test-tube baby like yourself in which case you need to find an egg donor.
MildlyMisanthropic,
"Well, no education at all is hove we got all of those tea baggers over the summer."
Looks like you could use some schooling yourself. You are right. I am so uneducated with a Masters Degree. Maybe you could learn something from "tea baggers" like learn how to think for yourself instead of constantly looking to the government to provide for your every need because you are too lazy to do it for yourself.

There may be two variables here that might not be dependent on each other. The education (or lack of it) is on the kid, while the tuition may be attached to the work of the parent. Therefore, the kid may or may not deem it "worth it" but could really care less. And the parent might care less about the kid's education, and be more concerned with the bragging rights of how great their kid is, or how they attended an elite school, or even just to lay the guilt trip on the kid and/or other family about the struggle to put the kid through.

In the case of a young couple, the soon-to-be-divorced wife may or may not deem it worth it to get her PHT (putting hubby through) degree while she worked her butt off and put her own education on hold for him and the baby. (Then again, some women may feel that finding out he is an egocentric loser within four years and for less than 50K is a great bargain over her lifetime.)

In the case of former/retired military using some form of G.I. Bill (depends on dates of service, and disability) may deem education invaluable, but might figure that the personal cost of PTSD and injuries not worth sitting in a class next to the punks described by LOL, V, Jeff and Edward in the blogs above.

Universities and colleges charge exorbitant tuition because they know they can. A degree is required to become anything in this country. Common sense and life experience don't mean anything if you can't prove willingness to go into serious debt for a piece of paper.

I'm not going to say I use everything I learned in college, but I certainly wouldn't have any of the jobs I've had without it. Anyone who says no has clearly never worked in human resources or even applied for any high-paying job. Unless you invent something in your garage, you cannot get a good job without a college degree. End of story.

Absolutely!

It is vital for our young people to become totally immersed in the latest progressive thoughts, and to become comfortable with the wonderful new world that I, along with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Rahm Emmanuel, and others are building for them and their children.

We simply must break down the old ideas and ways of thinking that cause Americans to believe that they are somehow "exceptional". Americans of the future must realize that America is, and has been, the source of most of the world's evil over the past centuries. Young Americans must be made to feel guilty about being Americans. Young Americans must realize that their Hope is in their Masters within the Government. Young Americans must come to understand "compassion" not as something they do, but something the Government does in their name.

Intellectuals within the Academy get this. They willingly teach this new way of thought to our children, and gradually the young people of America are comng around to a correct view of America and of their place in society.

Is the cost for such education worth it? It certainly is! Because we need future Americans to be compliant as we work to Change and remold America into a society more like Germany -- a society that feels guilty about its past, and a society that, instead of being truly free, relies and depends upon its government

Investing in personal skills will always be important. However, colleges and universities have rendered a bachelor's degree useless by lowering standards and issuing ridiculuous degrees. Tuitions are too high. The credit crunch will fix this, as families will not be able to afford this type of debt. I suspect you will see a few major universities close in five years.

It's very expensive! Some college students are dropping out from school because most of them are failing their classes, and if you fail it's like you just wasting your money.

No. The bottom line for me: I graduated in '99 with a BS in electrical engineering from one of those state colleges (GO TIGERS!!), but there is no way I could afford to go there now if I was 17-19 y/o. If you take the parents out of the equation you would need a full time job and a partial scholarship (not sure that would be enough) or you would need a full ride (which would mean researching scholarships starting sophmore year in HS).

It also depends on the degree. US has such low scholastic standings, that even the few who do get technical degrees have a hard time competing in the global market.

Our colleges are too expensive AND we are not producing graduates that have the right skill set for 21st centuary economy.

No, in the sense that my knowledge of European History, Astronomy, and Latin have not added an additional $100k to my earning power. However, considering I immediately toss any resumes that don't include at least a Bachelor's, I'd have to say it is.

@ Citizen J, 12:46 p.m.: How can you say that "we are not producing graduates that have the right skill set for the 21st century economy"!

I'll have you know that students graduate college knowing:

1. That Christopher Columbus was a vicious racist

2. That the CIA developed crack cocaine in order to introduce it into da hood.

3. The Global Warming will kill all of us, after all the Polar Bears die!

4. That Karl Marx was the only dead white man that we should revere and honor, because he was so smart.

5. That "learning", as it used to be understood, is merely a social construct developed by rich white guys in order to retain their positions of power. Learning is best done by trusting your feelings, because you are the only valid measure of truth.

Recent graduates cannot find work in typical starter positions because all the more experienced people pick them up. Living with 100k in student loan debt and not being able to find any position in your field is pretty hard.

A community college degree delivers better value for the money spent. After all, employers just want to know you have the skills to do a job, not whether you graduated from an Ivy League university. There's no need to take out costly student loans to get the education you want.

The colleges are getting a lot of money, however when the graduates go out into the work force they are not truly equipped with the necessary skills to land the jobs they have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for in a college education. So do I think that the rate should be increased for any reason...HELL NO!!!

Citizen J,
Same degree here, but in '04. Yes on the full-time job PLUS student loans. My parent's could not afford to send me, but I did so on my own accord with no financial aid and after a brief hiatus after HS (Fear the Turtle!). ANYONE can do it if they are properly motivated.

I have 20 years experience in my field and work for the Fed. Govt. I took on a degree because everyone kept saying it will promote career growth. So I did. 5 years later I am in the same office and same job, did not even get a raise for getting the degree. Only difference now is that I am $40k more in debt.

How Can You Say That?!,
Either you are joking or are a severe racist yourself.
Philimus,
Very true.

@anon 10:54 you said that "Unless you invent something in your garage, you cannot get a good job without a college degree. End of story."

Are you serious? I didn't go to college or invent anything. However, I am skilled and I am intelligent and I bet I make more money then you!

I know plenty of folks who have no college degree and do just fine in life... buddy of mine for example: no degree but good job as a project manager 85K + per year. Sibling of mine, no degree but owns his own business (has about 40 employees) as well as 3 houses in two states. The list goes on and on. Honestly, I for one, as a manager would rather have someone that knows what the hell they are doing then someone who thinks that just because they bought a piece of paper I should give them the job. Not knocking education, just saying that it isn't the "be all, end all" and I would have to argue that it is most certainly NOT worth it.

I agree with simple pig farmer.

I know many non-degreed, skilled trades people with good business sense who make WAAAAY MORE than any college chancellor and Fed worker, including the President.

Actually, this is a plug to tell more people to go into the trades and learn a real skill rather than hammering away at a computer, attending meetings and doing...what? FA-zero! The US has too many do-nothing paper-pushers and service people. Look around your office - Everything (except the office furniture if it is more than 20 years old) was made overseas.

Get real. Get building. Get to work.

Really, let's be serious about this. Higher education has been FREE in Europe for over half a century, and their students far surpass ours in test scores and aptitude. How much value do you think we have now?

Often times I feel the high cost of getting an education is not worth the education itself. For most students, you go into debt just for an education and once you find a career position, you are working just to pay off that student loan debt. Right now I owe $35,000 worth of undergraduate student loans, and let's not talk about graduate school, and I look back and think it wasn't worth it.

Frank,
If you like socialist Europe so much maybe you should move there and give us all a break. There is only so much the government can do. At least the way college is now; those who are properly motivated to study will go and receive their diploma. The other losers will flunk out on their parent's dime or have high loans with no results to show for it. I have lived in Europe and prefer the U.S. the way it was BEFORE the Great Depression when the Nanny State started with the Ponzi scheme known as Social Security instead of making people save their own money. You only get about a 1% to 1.5% return on your money for SS. You could do even better than that by taking that money and putting it in the bank and letting it grow without touching it. The government is terrible at running anything they touch and I would rather have my own money to invest rather than Uncle Sam squandering it away and giving me a fraction of what I gave them when I am old and decrepit.