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I often wonder if some people would be better off with a degree from a lower price state school and a condo vs. a high price Ivy League education only for the same total cost.
This is a much better question.
I saw one study which reported that kids who were admitted to Ivy League schools but chose instead to attend a good state U did as well in life (materially) as their Ivy League graduate counterparts. The key is that the former were actually of the same calibre (they didn't just think that they were) -- actually admitted to the top schools -- but chose voluntarily to go elsewhere, perhaps for financial reasons (or perhaps not).
Condo. College? been there, done that. Was so-so clever, but I would have shamed my family if I hadn't harvested an university degree - any degree. So as I was not able to get a science degree , I lost 4 years of my life doing a BA in liberal arts- which landed me nowhere -except I'm able now to hold a conversation on USCityData and sound "cultured", it's a positive-a small one ...
If it's something like philosophy then maybe you should just buy the condo and get an hourly job somewhere.
Why pick on philosophy? There is something to be said for becoming an educated person apart from earning money, and philosophy is probably the strongest major in terms of true learning. Philosophy is one of the few curricula that actually teach people how to think, apart from learning some kind of a trade.
Birdwatching it's not. Rather, philosophy is the guide to life
Philosophy (in my country at least) is akin to brainwashing (Marx ...Freud...Freud...Marx).
As a 20 year old I had understood that, that's wy I majored in History (still fraught with ideology, but slightly less because historians can't say the Civil War didn't happen 1861-65 but in the 18th century, philosophers on the other hand can play with facts they call it "dialectic"...)
i don't like condos. its not exactly free either, even after the mortgage is done since you have the HOA and all. however if you're not college material i guess you're better off with the condo
Why pick on philosophy? There is something to be said for becoming an educated person apart from earning money, and philosophy is probably the strongest major in terms of true learning. Philosophy is one of the few curricula that actually teach people how to think, apart from learning some kind of a trade.
Birdwatching it's not. Rather, philosophy is the guide to life
You're right, the way I phrased it was a little harsh. I didn't mean to imply a philosophy degree is a waste of time. The OP seemed to be focusing on earning money though, in comparing the benefits of spending money on a degree vs investing it. So in that regard I think a philosophy degree would fall well short compared to your more technical degrees(accounting, engineering, computer science, etc). That's all I was saying. Although the OP should definitely choose philosophy over bird watching IMO.
Much of the discussion about college degrees these days focuses on the fact that a lot of folks with degrees are having a difficult time in the job market. However, the reality is relative. Those with college degrees are still doing better than those without.
Secondly, while an immediate, high-paying career may be the objective of many young college students, that's not the only benefit of a college degree. One thing a degree gives one is the 'option' of doing something else later-on when they have a family and bills ... and discover that going to college at that point, is about ten-times more difficult than when they were 18. College also 'connects one' with a more focused, directed group of people and attitudes, leading to greater 'possibility thinking.'
The Condo question seems to presume that one can afford to pay cash for a condo now(?). If not, 'buying' a condo at a young age, with no education will likely 'saddle' one with high monthly bills, a low-end condo and more responsibility than one is equipped to deal with. (Of course, if the OP is older, with significant savings and a good job, this scenario changes.
Actually, the real question is more one of: Should I buy a condo now and hope I can keep it?; .... or should I go to college now ... so that I can buy a better condo/home later, with a high degree of assurance that I will be able to afford it ... along with the other things I'm going to want later? (A condo is only a temporary place to live; ... a college degree is a lifetime investment).
College degrees don't send you special assessments.
How true... but, then, it's not the college degree itself that costs people money. It's borrowing money to pay for it, … just like borrowing money to pay for anything else in life (houses, cars, boats, vacations, etc). However, one does not have to pay for not having a condo or those other things, .... while not having a college degree will cost you plenty.
If you had the money, would you go to college and get the degree of your choice or buy a condo in a location you desire?
I think this question should not be a monetary one. College is great if you're of the "learning" mindset and you have a passion or talent for specific field. A person would be very hard-pressed to learn things like physics or engineering on their own.
But if you're going to college just for the sake of getting ahead in life, mmmm well I don't know if that's a good idea. You can probably achieve the same by just doing what you have a knack for and getting the appropriate training in whatever the standard way is for that. Mechanics and woodworkers don't need to go to college, they should go to a trade school.
If you're of a business mindset, you definitely don't need education. You just need startup capital.
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