> It's access to the upper crust of society that you're paying for, not an education.
Generic college degree does not get into the upper crust. It’s a basic signal that someone is able to follow a program, stick with something for a few years, and complete some work. Sounds basic but when you’re hiring people it’s a valuable signal.
For most people trying to send that signal, getting scholarships plus in-state tuition is the right answer. A good enough college education doesn’t have to be expensive.
To get into “upper crust of society” range you can’t treat college like a checkbox where any college will do. The education does actually matter. The cynical hot takes about college being only about networking and a piece of paper are wrong at the upper end. The educational programs at the upper end are hard. They’re demanding. You’re going to have to learn something to graduate. People do actually fail out or give up, which is rare at the generic programs.
Even if you don’t use much of the education of one of those top programs (like if you study computer science and then take a finance job) you’ve learned how to learn, how to get hard things done, how to manage yourself and your time, and how to follow through on something hard that most people cannot do. That is the real signal of a top education program if you’re going to discount the education part.
There’s always sneering about how someone knew an Ivy League grad who was actually the dumbest person they know, or anecdotes about how the smartest programmer I ever met had no college degree, or other anecdotes they try to disprove this. They’re missing the point that it’s not a 100% perfect signal nor the only way to be good at something, but it is a strong heuristic that someone is at least equipped to set goals and accomplish hard things.
Generic college degree does not get into the upper crust. It’s a basic signal that someone is able to follow a program, stick with something for a few years, and complete some work. Sounds basic but when you’re hiring people it’s a valuable signal.
For most people trying to send that signal, getting scholarships plus in-state tuition is the right answer. A good enough college education doesn’t have to be expensive.
To get into “upper crust of society” range you can’t treat college like a checkbox where any college will do. The education does actually matter. The cynical hot takes about college being only about networking and a piece of paper are wrong at the upper end. The educational programs at the upper end are hard. They’re demanding. You’re going to have to learn something to graduate. People do actually fail out or give up, which is rare at the generic programs.
Even if you don’t use much of the education of one of those top programs (like if you study computer science and then take a finance job) you’ve learned how to learn, how to get hard things done, how to manage yourself and your time, and how to follow through on something hard that most people cannot do. That is the real signal of a top education program if you’re going to discount the education part.
There’s always sneering about how someone knew an Ivy League grad who was actually the dumbest person they know, or anecdotes about how the smartest programmer I ever met had no college degree, or other anecdotes they try to disprove this. They’re missing the point that it’s not a 100% perfect signal nor the only way to be good at something, but it is a strong heuristic that someone is at least equipped to set goals and accomplish hard things.