Exactly 10 years ago, I was in the final weeks of grade 12, anxious for school to be over so I could be done with high school for good. Like many of us at that age, I was excited at the almost limitless possibilities that lay ahead of me. I could go to college, enter into some sort of apprenticeship program, or just go out and get a job somewhere. I could take a year off and then go back to school, which is what I publicly told people I was doing, even though I knew that college wasn’t right for me, especially at that point in my life.
Plus, I couldn’t talk to girls. What? They have boobs. Those can get distracting.
I don’t regret missing out on college. In fact, I think one of the biggest failings of our educational system is pushing the college or bust mentality. Here’s why:
It’s Not For Everyone
A well quoted statistic about college is the dropout rate. When I took the mortgage broker’s course, half the class dropped out before the course was completed, matching the average everyone hears about. And that was an easy 3 week course.
Naturally, people assume they’ll beat the odds. They won’t drop out, because they’re more dedicated, smart, attractive, or nice smelling than everyone else. People tend to overestimate their own abilities and underestimate everyone else’s. This overconfidence is the downfall of many of us.
So many people are pushed into college who have absolutely no business being there. People who are hoping general studies will inspire them into a major and a career would be better off staying home and working. So would those people who have problems with math or reading. It’s the same with the people who go to major in partying. Stay at home, live in your parent’s basement, and get drunk there.
If someone knows they want to be a teacher, nurse, architect or lawyer, then they should go to college. College is an awful expensive way to find one’s calling.
Debt Can Cripple A Graduate
Countless PF blogs have wrote about either the evils of student loan debt or ways to dig out of it. This blog won’t spend time on either, with the exception of noting that graduating college without student loan debt is becoming more and more unlikely.
In Canada, the average university grad has over $16,000 in student loans when they graduate, which has been growing at 4% a year since the beginning of the century. Interest rates are either prime + 2.5% (on a floating rate) or prime + 5% (on a fixed rate).
If a student got a 16,000 loan today and prime remained at 3%, they would have to pay back $305 every month for 5 years (ignoring the grace period to keep things simple). If the degree works out for the grad, this is all fine and good. But what if it doesn’t?
Here’s another scenario: what if the person who didn’t go to college saved $300 every month for 9 years- 4 college years and 5 years to pay back the loan. They would have $32,400, not including a nickel of interest. If they managed to earn the 5.5% interest rate the college grad would pay, they’d end up with savings of $41,677.
The college grad would have to save $794 every month after they graduated to end up with the same size of nest egg at the same age. They’d have to do this on top of paying back a student loan.
I Don’t Buy The Higher Wage Argument
I’m sure you’ve all got the same argument on the tip of your tongue. But Uproar, don’t you know? College graduates make more money than non-grads. Any moron knows that.
That may be true, but those studies don’t tell the whole story. Do college graduates make more than dropouts because they went to college? Or do they make more money because they’re smarter/more ambitious/harder working than non-grads? It’s a chicken vs. egg argument.
Just how much value does attending college add? We will never know, unless you find a way to clone yourself.
When Krystal made her impassioned argument for her communications degree, it got me thinking. Is she (or any college graduate who has a degree that some consider, shall we say, flaky) successful because of that degree? Or is the degree a result of the good qualities that were already there long before they stepped on a college campus?
The Entitlement Of College
There are all sorts of whiny, self indulgent, snot nosed douchebag kids at college.
These are the kids who are there just putting in time until they get their degree. They whine about the amount of reading they have to do. They whine if they get a C on an assignment. They either get the smart kids to do their papers or download them on the internet.
Once these kids get their degree, they go out and finance a new car, buy a bunch of other crap on credit, and become good little consumers. Then guys like me can lend them money. Is this really what we want to encourage?
An Alternate Plan
Here’s what I did when I younger. And since I’m the man, you should rush out and do exactly what I did.
I worked, lived in my parents basement, and put away every spare dollar I could. I worked nights intentionally, so I would have no life and no excuse to spend money. I had no car, I walked to and from work every day. I had only one purpose in mind- to save money.
I probably saved 80% of my income for the first few working years. It took a lot of sacrifice, but I did it.
Yes, my example is extreme. I don’t expect most people to save that much right out of school. Then again, I don’t expect most people will ever get wealthy either.
Hey Uproar!
You make some great points. How can we isolate variables? Does the college kid excel because they’re more ambitious and potentially more connected, or do they excel because they went to college?
I’m 12 years older than you are, and it sounds like we had very similar experiences/motivations. I have no doubt that you’re going to grow wealthy, and you’ll laugh and enjoy yourself along the way!
Seriously, is there a nicer guy in the entire world than Andrew Hallam? I’m saying no.
Oh man is college not for everyone! Especially not right out of high school. Half the students I teach (at least) are not ready for college life and would do well to take a few years off until they are ready for it. They are just wasting their money. Truly.
And that’s coming from a college professor kids! Word!
Well this should be good for creating an uproar
Just to be clear, you didn’t go to college at all but you think it’s full of whiny people? What is this based on?
Honestly it’s hard for me to say either way since it showed me how low the bar was more than teaching me anything. I will say it’s lucky for me that I started a business after graduating instead of getting a job since that forced me to develop a lot faster. Running a business during those college years wouldn’t have been a bad thing.
I had to talk to those people when they came back to town after a year or two of college. Some came back just the same as when they left. Others turned into whiners.
First let me say that there is a hot chick showing up in the ad at the top of your post, which automatically told me this was going to be a must read.
I agree with most of your points. I think that a small percentage of University grads can do extremely well for themselves (the top 10% maybe). The rest of them see how well the other ones are doing, that they were being recruited by top companies before they graduated, and the other 90% think that will happen to them.
But the truth is that they will find some entry-level job making $30kper year and they will have to EARN their way up the ladder like we all do. You don’t need a degree to do that.
I have all kinds of entitled management students meeting with me throughout the year running their “business and marketing” ideas by me that they think we need to implement in order to improve attendance at our sports games or to increase sponsorship revenues. But the truth is they have no practical experience in the real world (oh, we can just find a sponsor for that) and will have to learn the hard way that their naive eagerness is not practical for getting things done.
I couldn’t get the girl to show up on the top of the post. Too bad.
What?! You mean going to school to get a degree in film isn’t the smartest economic choice?
What?! You mean going to school to get a degree in film isn’t the smartest economic choice?
I know! Shocking, right?
I agree with many of your arguments. People certainly can be wasting their time in college. But are those in that category that are non-motivated people going to do any better trying to make it in life without one? Probably not.
People who have “it” are going to find a way to be successful whether they go to college or not.
That being said, as long as businesses expect to see what degree you got and where you got it from on your resume, a person with a college degree will always have an easier time getting that interview than a person without one. Maybe the person that doesn’t have the degree is totally a better person for the job…but because there weren’t words on a page, they don’t get the opportunity to even fight for the job.
I’m a software engineer…..and companies that I would want to work for wouldn’t even look at me without a 4 year degree.
There is way too much emphasis on the college degree by the corporate world.
I understand needing the education for a specific job. I’d encourage students to pursue that path, if that’s what they want to do. I don’t encourage going to take general studies or to figure out someone’s calling.
I agree, university or college is overrated. I can’t regret the time I spent there, since I worked my butt off to stay debt free, and learned a lot about myself and how to engage with the world, but in my industry, it doesn’t matter if you have a university education or a high school diploma. In fact, if I had applied the time I had spent in university to my career instead, I’d probably be way further along.
However, I did earn $7000 in exit reward money for my role in my department (various academic awards), AND I had an amazing experience.
But it’s case by case, and many CEOs or prominent business people are high school dropouts even. My grandfather is one of the smartest people I know and e left school at 16, retired debt free with numerous lucrative investments at age 55.
Just about everybody who goes to college raves about the experience, something I’ve never experienced. So perhaps I’m discounting it.
I’m pro college if it’s a stepping stone to where someone wants to be. Like I said in the post, if you wanna be a teacher, nurse, etc., then by all means go. If not, then maybe it should be rethunk. (Is that even a word?)
[...] Financial Uproar made a case against going to college. Not a bad one, considering he saved a crazy percentage of his income during his first few working years. [...]
I just found your blog and spent the last hour “working” while reading some of your posts. This I found to be my favorite to date because I have this discussion with my sister-in-law all the time regarding my teenage niece. She is pushing her daughter over the edge with so much focus on school/college and my niece just isn’t there. I can’t support this thought because I am a 33 year old female manager in the IT industry making close to six figures with no degree. And I have done it while balancing family (I am married with two boys), volunteering in my community and doing other things I like. Yes I agree it MIGHT help you get your foot in the door, but working hard is what will keep you there and moving up!
We as a society have spent so many years focusing on “keeping up with the Joneses” and shoving the ideal white collar thinking (college/corporate career/big house/spouse/kids) down everyone’s throats that we now look down upon those that want to succeed at other options (example: my friend’s husband went to vocational school to become a mechanic, he now owns three shops locally and is very successful at something he loves).
Thanks for showing up and liking me!
There are all sorts of success stories of people who never went to college. Why educators (and society in general) continue to ignore them will never cease to amaze me.
[...] used responsibly, debt has the potential to raise your income. Even though I think college isn’t for everyone, the fact remains that college grads make more than high school grads. As long as you don’t [...]
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I’m a bit late for the show but I’m going to comment anyway…. Great post. College is overrater, and half the world doesn’t realize it or give a shit.
I never had the fabulous experience others mention when talking about their education, it mostly sucked. I haven’t needed my degree yet, I’m self-employed and doing alright. I’m 6 courses short of graduating and it seems silly to stop now? at least I’m paying cash as I go (justifiable business expense too)
[...] they were looking for someone a little more mature than me, like college guys. Anyway, go check out the case against college. It would be delightfully ironic if you read it during class at [...]