I'll have to admit, this was really a bit of a TLDR for me. I've heard the arguments before (and by scanning this one it seems generally an economic argument).

I'll have to admit, this was really a bit of a TLDR for me. I've heard the arguments before (and by scanning this one it seems generally an economic argument). I feel that it's a fair point if your sole measure of lifetime value is an economic one... unfortunately I disagree that money and Debt are the only things to measure your life by. I found University opened my mind in ways that I don't think I could have found on my own. It was very little things for me in terms of a way of thinking, but "correlation does not equal causation" fell upon me like a 10 megaton bomb. That's the most significant one that I can recall but there were thousands of little things that I'd never really have tracked down on my own. Plus the fun and friends and University girls :) Debt is one way to measure your decision to attend University, richness of life experience is another. Undoubtedly there are other cheaper ways to experience life... but I think University is a damned good one. EDIT: Arguably, there's probably quite a bit of post-hoc decision making going on in that argument as well. "I came out of uni with debt and without a job - so I would have been better off without it" does not mean "people in general are better off without university" And so on.