Today, I would say that college isn't as important as it once was. I think kids today have greatly benefited by the internet and the vast avenues there are now to make money and social network. Back in the day, if you wanted a good job college was a must for the contacts alone. That doesn't make college obsolete but it does greatly lower its value. But for those that think 'I'm smarter because I didn't rank a mount of debt' just realize that the internet of today wasn't available even 10 years ago. What I am saying is that realize that you have had advantages that people even 10 years ago didn't have.
While I don't think it's necessarily overrated, I do think there's been too much of a shift to create a college-bound instead of a career-bound culture. Not everyone is meant to go to college, and that should be ok. And you can still make a decent living without a degree. I would love, and I suppose this is similar to education systems in other countries, to see a shift toward creating career pathways in schools. Would be interesting to see how effective it'd be if schools and feeder patterns focus on a specific career or group of careers. I think there are elements of that in place now but it's pretty dysfunctional.
Higher education is overrated, as in PhD's, but certainly not college. The way I see it, the opposite is true than what most people have said on this board. If you are dumb, mediocre, or modestly above average, go to college. You need that time and assistance to mature and grow into a position that society has made available for you. If you are outstanding at something, however, like top 2-3% of people, then don't go to college. At least, not a normal one. If you are exceptional at an art, go to Juilliard or another top notch school for the arts. If you are exceptional in business, then become an entrepreneur. A good number of entrepreneurs dropped out of college halfway through their econ majors to follow through on their business models that had already been started during college. If you are exceptional in writing, go to college and keep taking English classes until one of your works gets submitted, either a script or a novel or whatever it is that you have a passion for writing. Then you can drop out. If you are exceptional but have no security, as in your parents are not well-off and capable of supporting you should you fail utterly in what you believe you are good at, then go to college. Your generation doesn't have time for this Mickey Mouse bulls**t, and maybe it's your kids who will get that chance to be the next great director, musician, entrepreneur.
If you aren't an academic, you should probably look into becoming a craftsman or skilled labor of some sort (electrician, plumbing, carpentry, metal working, etc.) instead of sinking a crapton of money into a degree.
I dont understand when people say, "Im not academically smart"...whats that supposed to mean? Nobody is saying you have to go to college and pull a 4.0. Anyone can at least read a book and be able to pull a bunch of Cs and an occasional B...that doesnt require one to be academically smart. Agree with what was said above...if youre an idiot, go to college so that you can have a path paved for you.
