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[The Albatross]

Yes. It was expensive, but well worth it for me. I don't fault someone who feels that it isn't worth it for them, though. If I were going back today I would look at a state school, though I personally don't regret going to a private college, but I paid for it for the 10 years after. I hope that my kids want to go to a state school.

On average, attaining a higher degree (bachelors +) is the single best investment you can make in your entire life. Incredibly lucrative returns, and that's only financial returns.

 

[Wafflecakes]

Yes. Impossible to get a job in my field without one.

 

[Fox Mulder]

No.

Graduated in 2007 with an expensive piece of paper that has nothing to do with what I do now.

 

[echoshifting]

Yes

And it was an English degree. I loved college.

 

[Jakten]

Nope. Definitely not. I went to school for Animation and aside from the friends I met; school was for the most part a waste of money. If I had have spent that time perfecting my craft on my own I would have probably been in the same spot generally as they didn't teach me anything I didn't already know or could have easily found on the internet. Some of my teachers were unqualified for their job as well. The most valuable things I learned were things I taught myself for the most part (especially pixel art) and I've never had to prove I went to college to get a job.

 

[Tevious]

No.

Graduated in 2007 with an expensive piece of paper that has nothing to do with what I do now.

This, but different year. I only paid like $16k for my university, but knowing what I know now I wouldn't have spent more than $1k for what I got.

 

[nhlducks35]

Paid $20K for my degree and got a job paying $60K in the field I majored in

So yes

 

[Hypron]

I want to become an engineer so I need the degree for that.

I'm not sure if going for a PhD after finishing my bachelor's was worth it though. But I guess it's giving me more time to figure out what I wanna do exactly and the hours are flexible so it's fairly relaxed.

I'm on a scholarship and do some tutoring on the side though, so it's kinda like having a job that pays about two thirds of what an engineer earns right out of uni.

 

[dcelw540]

So far almost done community college (college) in Canada and planning to go to university to get into teaching but dreading it due to the amount I'll owe and scared I won't be able to handle it.

 

[WiiredShawn]

Not one post in this thread about how "college expanded my perspective/enriched my mind/deepened my sense of humanity/helped me see the world for all its good and ill." I mean, I understand the financial aspect of college, but as a former instructor, it'd be nice to see a little "my growth as an individual was invaluable."

Granted, I understand it's a hard thing to appreciate when you're staring down substantial debt and a lack of opportunities. Been there, done that. I still deeply value those experiences that deepened my sense of reality and allowed me to connect with the expanse of human knowledge. College can be a great place to realize just how dumb you are and how much remains to be learned. I wasn't terribly social in college, or capitalized on alumni networks, but the existential pivot, the feeling of being winded by my own ignorance, was powerful and irreplaceable. And looking back, I regret that I didn't take some of my classes even more seriously; there were stretches of knowledge and discourse I didn't even begin to touch.

I still don't believe college is for everyone; it's certainly not the only path to eudaimonia. If you do go, my only advice is to embrace learning for all it's worth. Use the time to sculpt not only your resume, but your character, and maybe even your place in a civic society. Education is at the heart of a well-functioning democracy, and as such, one of the first targets of those who would dismantle our future for their own gain.

(Dual English/Psychology bachelor's degree + English master's degree)

 

[RumblingRosco]

Yes. I wanted to get a PhD to move towards a career in academia, so my BS was obviously necessary. Overalls, my BS and PhD was a massive hit to me in terms of opportunity cost, but I think they were overall with it.

 

[GamerJM]

My parents are paying for it, so the only thing I've lost from it is the mental health-related problems it's caused me which honestly were probably going to come up anyways.

 

[trixx]

Yeah seems like I've grown quite a bit. Attitude is worst though, more complacent. Otherwise not bad. One thing I would say is that the professors I've had were good but the university itself is shit because there is a lack of study space.

I enjoy what I study but it's arts so I look forward to not having a job o well. No way I'm getting into graduate school. Philosophy+Psychology

I prefer philosophy a lot more, seems like a great choice to study for where I am currently in life, my grades in it are bad though lol

 

[Fantastical]

Went to in state school and studied CS. Yep.

 

[Bronx-Man]

I'm at a regional school, so I'm only paying about $11K for it. Worth it? Eh, probably not. But at least I'm having fun before I spend the next 40 years of my life getting beaten down by capitalism and manual labor.

 

[mhayes86]

Very much so. I went to a local Community College and then transferred to a state STEM university. It provided the tools and the means that I probably wouldn't have been able to do on my own in order to get into my career and the job I have now.

 

[Starphoenix]

Was worth it for the networking and internship opportunities that led to the job I have now, but not necessarily the education itself. I've learned more through my internships and hands-on work than almost all of my classes.

 

[Yawnier]

I finished college a year and a half ago and haven't found it to be nearly worth the time and money that I put into it, even though I did learn some things there that I probably wouldn't have learned otherwise.

You could ask me this again in like 5 years and I might not be as sour though. Sometimes I think back that I should have just entered the workforce for a year or two after high school before going to college, or that I should have studied something else better suited to my strengths.

 

[N.Domixis]

Breh, my degree got me an internship that pays more than what a lot of people make. It was worth it and this is only the beginning.

 

[Hazmat]

Yes, both professionally and personally. I think more people need to look at it as an investment and seriously weigh the costs against the long-term financial benefits. Unless you're rich or are swimming in scholarships I just can't make financial sense out of someone going to an out-of-state public school.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

Yes and no. I majored in English (bachelor of science in writing), and there ain't much of a market for that. I do have a job where I get to do some technical writing about 25% of the time, but my degree didn't help me get the job, it was just a added bonus.

"Oh shit, you can help with work instructions too? Awesome. But you still gotta do all the paperwork and filing and menial shit we need you to first."

Still, better than nothing.

That being said, the degree has helped me work on my hobby horse projects. I've written three books since I graduated with no signs of stopping. I don't think I'd be doing that had I not gotten the degree.

Not one post in this thread about how "college expanded my perspective/enriched my mind/deepened my sense of humanity/helped me see the world for all its good and ill." I mean, I understand the financial aspect of college, but as a former instructor, it'd be nice to see a little "my growth as an individual was invaluable."

If it helps, all of the philosophy classes I took for shiggles turned me into an atheist

 

[Advocatus Diaboli]

Yes.

At University, I majored in IT and French. (Spoiler: The French degree has been more financially lucrative thus far.)

Afterwards, I went to law school and tried to go the IP route, leveraging the compsci background. It didn't work, because I joined the military. Now, years later, I added a Master's in National Security Law from a prestigious institution, which expanded my network exponentially and -- along with the .mil connections -- landed me the job I have now.

All in all, was University worth it? No, but grad school definitely was.

 

[iqubal]

No. It wasted many years and money. Left me depressed and broken too. Not the norm for most people but its what it is with me.

 

[Pau]

Is there a better way to get the same skills and networks that I did while paying my tuition? Maybe. But I got out of it what I put in. I just graduated though so my answer might be different depending on if I find a job. One major and minor in STEM fields, one major in the social sciences.

 

[theepicoftyler]

I wanted to pursue my passion in science, so yes. No way I'd get a job in my field without it, and the learning experience was way beyond anything I could've accomplished any other way. Can't wait to go back to grad school eventually.

 

[Ishan]

Yes comp sci need the degree.

 

[burn this down]

Absolutely. I want to teach, possibly at the university level, which I can't really do without a degree. I'm going to a major state university (UGA) with a good program for what I want to do for around $20k a year. Plus, nothing could replace the friends and connections I've made or the experiences I've had. College is more than classes, degrees, and salaries.

 

[ZackieChan]

OP, wtf were you thinking getting a history degree with no plan? I have one from UCLA, but I never would have done it if I wasn't planning to go to law school afterwards.

I did get a lot of personal enrichment out of studying history. Unfortunately, I've forgotten a lot after years of studying law, but it helps me to at least have an intelligent conversation about many topics related to the world, and especially religion (was kind of my focus).

Law school gave me the education to start my own law practice out of school, so that was worth it. However, if I could go back and do it again, I would have spent that time developing an internet based business that didn't require a specialized degree. I could probably be making the same money and living the same nomadic life now.

 

[davidwhangchoi]

OP, wtf were you thinking getting a history degree with no plan? I have one from UCLA, but I never would have done it if I wasn't planning to go to law school afterwards.

you went to UCLA? damn smart =)

 

[shawnbuddy]

Yes, absolutely. Although I actually learned most of my trade working on the student newspaper and in internships and not in the classroom, those opportunities wouldn't have been available to me without college. And I had a job right after graduation thanks to the networking and the portfolio I'd built up in college and at my internship.

 

[missile]

Not one post in this thread about how "college expanded my perspective/enriched my mind/deepened my sense of humanity/helped me see the world for all its good and ill." I mean, I understand the financial aspect of college, but as a former instructor, it'd be nice to see a little "my growth as an individual was invaluable." ...

This.

Money was never a driving factor going to university for me. That's just
stupid. The only thing that counted for me at university was literally all the
time you got at your hands for thinking about your profession, the world, you,
and the girl(s) next door.

Met lots of cool people and esp. some cool/very good professors and learned so
much from them. I'm very thankful they took the time teaching me. (Some would
say they got paid teaching me, but we had courses in math with only me and a
friend of mine being the only survivors a few weeks later. The professor could
have canceled the lecture, but took it through the end (only the three of us)
with the two of us getting to know one of the finest piece of math (non-linear
functional analysis) taught by one of the masters in the field, Klaus Deimling.
He gave me that razor-sharp thinking in math like no one could have ever done.
I mean, we were already quite good at math, be he taught us a real lesson!
I'm so thankful having met him and a couple of other professors.)

I would do it all over again, again, and again.

 

[ZackieChan]

you went to UCLA? damn smart =)

Full scholarship for the latter 2 years, since I was a community college transfer student with a 4.0GPA. They actually gave me more grant money than it cost to go. Iwon.gif

 

[daffy]

The real question is how long did it take you to fully recoup the costs of college. I'm thinking about selling drugs tbh cause i still haven't made any money years later. Thinking about doing graduate school but is it even worth slipping further into debt.

 

[Lemaitre]

The real question is how long did it take you to fully recoup the costs of college. I'm thinking about selling drugs tbh cause i still haven't made any money years later. Thinking about doing graduate school but is it even worth slipping further into debt.

Well

A) Don't turn to illegal activities

B) Don't attend grad school just for the sake of it.

Have a game plan, and stay smart. You went to college for god sakes so act like it.

OP I went to college and am in massive debt. No regrets. No price on education for me.

 

[GYODX]

I'd say so. I'm in an engineering program in Puerto Rico, where tuition is already dirt-cheap compared to what you guys pay in the States. I'm also exempt from having to pay a dime of that tuition, due to being in the top 5% of all students in my major who enrolled in the same year as I. That combined with the federal and state gov. grants and another private grant I receive, college has been a $20k+ profit thus far.

 

[ZackieChan]

The real question is how long did it take you to fully recoup the costs of college. I'm thinking about selling drugs tbh cause i still haven't made any money years later. Thinking about doing graduate school but is it even worth slipping further into debt.

What is your degree in? What was your plan when you decided to major in that? What's stopping you from generating income with it? What other plans (besides selling drugs) have you come up with to change things?

 

[1st Course]

It got me a job so you could say yes I guess, but honestly I don't think I learned much from it.

I learned most things in the job from experience.

 

[bman94]

Yes because:

1. Having a degree and the experience associated with my job (middle school band director) was extremely essential for me to do what I do.

2. Because of scholarships and grants I only have 4K in loans. My girlfriend had none.

3. I gain experiences and established life long friendships and relatioships and are things that I would have never experienced if I stayed home.

4. I really matured being in college. I learn a lot not only in my field but myself. How to be a man. How to interact with people. How to focus and work hard. Hell, what hard work really is. How to sacrifice. How to be an adult. How to be responsible. I see people I knew from high school all the time doing nothing with their lives. Either just scraping by, doing the same shit from high school or working lowly jobs not getting "out". It's sad for me and my friends to be 22 with some of them still acting like 18 year olds from high school with no ambition in life.

edit: fuck, reading some of you guys' replies makes me think your university has failed you in terms of education. 4 years and you didn't learn anything in undergrad? That fucking sucks.

 

[ZackieChan]

edit: fuck, reading some of you guys' replies makes me think your university has failed you in terms of education. 4 years and you didn't learn anything in undergrad? That fucking sucks.

The ones who complain about taking non-major courses are the curious ones to me. There's so much cool shit you can learn in undergrad - take advantage of it! It makes you a well-rounded person with a broader education than just STEM (for example). You may even learn things to talk about in job interviews

 

[daffy]

Well

A) Don't turn to illegal activities

B) Don't attend grad school just for the sake of it.

Have a game plan, and stay smart. You went to college for god sakes so act like it.

Well I primarily went to college in order to get to America because it was essentially the easiest route for me at the time as i was living in a foreign country. I uhhh well lets just say I did things to get enough money to move. I love my liberal arts major but i hesistate to pursue grad school for that very reason (B). I learned a good amount on the field.

What is your degree in? What was your plan when you decided to major in that? What's stopping you from generating income with it? What other plans (besides selling drugs) have you come up with to change things?

Film & Marketing. I worked for three news stations over the course of getting my degree and afterwards. I've also done some light theatre/film production and crew work. I planned on working for a film studio or production company but ultimately i want to make documentaries. I make very little money from my degree right now (i work in news television but nearly entry level tbh). I moved to Hollywood recently to have a better chance but its so difficult and expensive. I'm probably gonna bail soon and move back to Florida... Idk ZackieChan I don't have many other plans besides moving up the news ladder or going back to school. halp

 

[old]

If I had to to do it again I would do it this way:

1. Decide on the city I want to live in. For example NYC, LA, SF, AUS, SEA, POR..etc. And then apply to and go to a school in that city. Use college as a 4 year buffer to find affordable housing and jobs in that city while living in the dorms. Many of my high school classmates did just this and yet it never occurred to me in high school. Some went to Chicago for college and stayed there. Others went to New York and stayed there. Brilliant way to relocate out the of the midwest.

2. Unless it's a targeted and recruited school there is no need to pay more than 10K a year in tuition. It's either A-Tier or C-Tier. No B-Tier schools. B-tier is a waste of money. You're not being recruited like the A-tier but you're paying like you are.

3. Internships, internships, and internships. My GPA has meant fuck all since graduating. But those who fixated on internships during their college years did very well after graduating. Some didtn't even need to stay around to graduate. They already had their careers going strong by Junior year and quit school to work full time.

4. Work the goddam system. Get in the social networks and find out the easy A professors. Keep that GPA high so you can qualify for internships. Nobody cares about your high GPA despite taking "hard professors" classes. It's a badge of honor only you care about.

5. Live in the dorms. Do not commute to school no matter how much money it saves. Live among your peers. Sex, partying and hedonism will never be this easy again.

6. Pick a major that pays well. Don't necessarily think you have to major in something you love. Most people who I've met who are doing well in their 30's and 40's chose boring majors that paid very well. They may not enjoy their jobs. But they enjoy living in the best parts of the city, driving impressive cars, boating on the weekends, and taking numerous vacations to the Bahamas each year.

If I go to school in the destination city I wish to live in and major in a field that pays very well...then college is definitely worth it. If not, perhaps I'd go to vocational school instead.

 

[Grazzt]

I have mixed feelings. I didn't learn a thing from my undergraduate study, and my first job had nothing to do with my bachelor degree.
However, I just finished my masters, and I learned a lot from it. But I'm still looking for jobs :/

 

[MGrant]

Yes, but more for the connections I made and the professors I had, rather than strictly the class content. It was a good school and all, but the people I met were what made it worth it.

 

[Makai]

I got kicked out but hell yeah.

 

[GamerJM]

5. Live in the dorms. Do not commute to school no matter how much money it saves. Live among your peers. Sex, partying and hedonism will never be this easy again.

I'm assuming you commuted? Living in the dorms isn't all sex, partying, and hedonism necessarily. I was basically bullied/teased by my roommates and spent free time dicking around on the internet and playing video games, and I was never really able to make any friends in the dorms.

 

[John Kowalski]

I better not be wasting my fucking money

 

[nekkid]

It's an interesting question. In terms of moving away from home, making new friends, being independent - yes, absolutely. It's an easy way to do that, although travelling with some work would probably be better and cheaper.

In terms of education, I guess I have to say "yes". My qualifications allowed me to get my first job, but after that my degree means diddly squat compared to my employment history.

 

[1upsuper]

I'm in my last year of undergrad and I think it's absolutely been worth it. My school pushes its students to their limits and I've grown a lot and learned so much. I've made valuable connections with faculty, I've learned a lot about independence, and I'm proud of the work I've produced. I intend to go straight into grad school and I don't regret my experience one bit. The only disappinting thing for me has been dorm living. It can be very frustrating to deal with solipsistic students.

 

[Dougald]

Worth it because I landed jobs I wouldn't have without a degree, not worth it in the sense that I learned more on the job than I ever would have at university.

With British tuition fees what they are now, I'd seriously reconsider blindly recommending it to anyone. Heck, I still owe on my student loan and the fees were 1/10 the current rate.

 

[solomon]

I did the community college/commute state school route, so tuition was very affordable.
Was it worth it? yeah because most market research firms in Miami don't really post on Indeed or Monster when it comes to jobs/interships, if it wasn't for my research groups/professor I would of been completely in the dark on where to look.