Original Cin

Serial entrepreneur Micheal Robertson takes the college board to task on the return to investment of college:

I am writing in regards to the “Education Pays” report that you co-authored for the College Board. I appreciate the College Board attempting to get information distributed about the financial value of a college education. I think this is necessary and valuable that young people and their parents have accurate and objective information so they can make informed choices about their future. Your report concludes that “[Higher education] yields a high rate of return for students from all racial/ethnic groups, for men and for women, and for those from all family backgrounds.” My belief after analyzing your report is that several critical errors were made in the data used to arrive at that conclusion. These errors and assumptions mean that the report does not represent the true financial picture for the average student.

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According to your chart, the net difference in income after 40 years between a high school and college graduate is under $250,000. If one is to adjust the numbers using the changes listed above (-$421,441) then the financial benefit of a college education goes negative. Thus it would make more financial sense for the average young person to bypass college and simply graduate from high school and enter the workforce.

I regret going to college. This is for a lot of reasons, most of all because I failed to recognize that college is primarily social signaling and networking* rather than merely “taking classes.” There is probably no better way to waste time and destroy financial resources than to go to a private college (Ripon College**) without recognizing this. Over and over again, I was told that “classes come first” — in fact, I now think that classes should come “last” for the typical college student — making sure you “get into” your field and develop a portfolio of accomplishments (not “experience” as it is typically understood) is far more important.

As far as classes go, however, I wish I had audited more classes that were “difficult but interesting.” Just auditing rather than taking for credit 2 or 3 classes would have significantly boosted my GPA, which is an issue now that I’m considering grad school, and also when applying to federal jobs. The potential cost for a typical student if they follow my advice? Possibly being required to retake the classes for credit if they decide to continue in the field; if they paid attention the first time around, it should be an easy “A.”

*I was also completely shocked my freshman year to find out what most college students were actually like. I somehow expected a bit more sophistication and/or INTPness.

**Excellent professors, terrible location, administration, and support. I would NOT recommend it to anyone. And the way they call asking for money makes me feel less like a member of a community and more like I’ve been put on sucker list.