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> But I do know I won't be sending my kids to a university in its current form, I'm hoping Khan Academy becomes the model for replacement.

IMHO, that's foolish. Education is too important to rely on unproven stuff Khan Academy.

It's totally their call, but I'm going to do what I can to encourage my kids to go to a reasonably good, but low cost state school.

In the mean time, I'm going to make it known to my state legislators that affordable public college education is my main priority from them.

I strongly disagree. If you judge an education by three factors you can see there are opportunities to receive great ROIs from a college degree.

1) Which degree you receive.

2) Which institution you receive it from.

3) Your total out of pocket expenses for four years. (Tuition + Fees + Living Expenses + Interest - Scholarships - Salaries)

My $55,000 out of pocket degree payed for itself and all opportunity costs in 5 years, and I fully enjoyed my college experience.

I'm glad it worked out for you. Didn't for me. Going to college is probably the worst decision I ever made.

Going to college is more then just being at a place.

I know what going to college is. Save your platitudes.

Parent didn't define college that way, you did.

When did you get your degree ? I recently looked at some college prices out of curiosity my alma matter is now 50,000 per year with 16,000 in other expenses.

I would never have gone there if I had to pay those prices.

Don't look too closely at sticker prices, almost no one pays that.

If you're a high earner, your kids may well pay full sticker price. The whole point of price discrimination is to let poor kids in for less while soaking as much as possible from rich kids.

After doing research I am finding that grants and scholarships are less common than I originally believed.

I did not go to the most prestigious school I was accepted to. I went to a less prestigious school that offered a much better deal. I suspect many students can receive merit based aid by selecting a lower tier school.

What degree did you get? Were there any other things that made you attractive to employers? (Extra-curricular activities, previous experience, leadership ability?)

A science degree. I had an internship my senior year.

What were some of the tasks you did during your internship?

Engineering tasks.

Was there ever a return on investment? The rate of postsecondary attainment has increased substantially over the last 50 years, but incomes have remained essentially stagnant through it all. For there to be return on investment, incomes need to be increasing above the baseline. That does not seem to be happening. The data indicates that people are making about the same amount as they did when they didn't have postsecondary schooling.

Statistically, those who make more than others within a given year are more likely to have degrees, but that is not the same thing as the degree providing a return on investment. People who make more within a given year also tend to drink more alcohol, but that does not mean alcohol provides return on investment either.

The data do not support the claim that "The cost of tuition is simply far too high for the real value...."

From the article:

"People with bachelor’s degrees earn 56 percent more, on average, than people with only high-school educations, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York."

I have seen many variants of this number, but all are in this same ballpark result. People who get bachelor's degrees make a lot more than those without.

Over the course of a lifetime, that really adds up.

I don't think this tells the full story.

There are of course examples of individuals who do very well without a post-high-school degree.

A big part of it, in my view, is how driven the person is. Some people are not very driven. If you're not driven enough to go to (and get through) college, you're probably not driven enough to do much more than low-skill, low-paid work. So taking for argument's sake that statistic is true, it doesn't say anything about cause and effect.

If you're driven to succeed, you'll find a route to success, whether it's college, military, vocational/trade school, self-teaching, or other non-traditional paths.

Be careful with that. "People with bachelor's degrees earn 56% more" does not say the same thing as "People who get a bachelor's degree will earn 56% more." The first is undoubtedly true, but I'm not sure the data supports the latter statement. Incomes have not been rising with increasing college attainment rates. Incomes are quite stagnant.

The knowledge might not be worth the price but a college education tells employers that you are intelligent, hardworking, and willing to conform to expectations - all qualities that employers are very interested in. And that third is really hard to show off in particular by doing something different than what everybody else does.

Maybe don't go to college if you're planning on being an entrepreneur but otherwise I'd recommend it.

> And that third is really hard to show off in particular by doing something different than what everybody else does.

Is this not a little contradictory? According to several sources on the internet, 40% of working-aged Americans have 2+-year college degrees and only 33% have 4+-year college degrees. Going to college is the one that is doing something different than what everyone else does. Not going to college is the norm.

If you look at career earnings for those with just a high school degree compared to those with a 4 year degree, I think it is pretty clear that college does pay off if you pick a decent degree.

Is there any data comparing those with a 4 year degree vs those with a 2 year degree? I'd be interested in seeing that comparison.