

Friends Don’t Let Friends Take Education Advice From Peter Thiel - cshenoy
http://techcrunch.com/2011/04/12/friends-don%E2%80%99t-let-friends-take-education-advice-from-peter-thiel/

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rmason
What price is too much for a degree? If there's a good return on that $50K
liberal arts degree, what if it cost $500K or $5 million?

College costs are rising at a much higher rate than inflation. I've received
an excellent ROI on my liberal arts degree but its total cost was less than
$10K.

Without changes we are rapidly approaching the point where its a poor
investment. Those disagree are like those who said your house would always be
the best investment you could ever make ;<(.

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rdl
I actually went to the 20 Under 20 selection event (I'm one of the "100+
mentors"), after hearing the director of 20 Under 20 speak at an event at
Sunfire.

I think they are "stacking the deck" by picking 40 students (from which they
will pick 20) who are going to succeed regardless, and who they can then point
at as examples of dropping out being worthwhile.

It's clear that the biggest harm from effectively compulsory higher education
is to those on the margin -- high school only students who fail to get a solid
education in high school (because it is assumed that college will provide
this), and students who either fail to graduate from college, or who are
relying upon a degree program to prepare them for a career and who either
can't or don't get a degree which leads to a suitable career. (if you're a
smart computer person, a degree in philosophy is probably fine, if that is
your interest; if you're barely able to make it through college, and want your
degree to get you a job after, you should take a degree which directly
prepares you for a job). Plus, the crippling debt of anyone in the middle or
upper middle class who goes to an expensive school.

20 Under 20 doesn't necessarily solve these directly, but will probably
provide a useful but not really applicable example which students, parents,
and teachers can use in discussing whether college is appropriate for a
marginal student.

What would be more useful is improved K-12 education, improved non-school
educational resources (wikipedia, khan, ocw, etc., maybe combined with online
study groups or some kind of testing/certification?), non-college schools and
training, and not using a degree credential as an artificial employment
barrier.

