- personal betterment -> college is no longer necessary - academic career and scientific research -> applies only to the best of the best. - as a professional i

- personal betterment -> college is no longer necessary - academic career and scientific research -> applies only to the best of the best. - as a professional investment -> the return on investment has to be considered. Is degree X for University of Y increase individual's earnings potential sufficiently to justify investing 4 years and $50-200K? For significant chunk of people, certainly not all, the answer is no. If you're not getting a degree that is in demand, attending an elite university, chances are investment in college does not make commercial sense, and as Bloomberg states, may be better of learning a trade. Food for thought: If 3 high school graduates pooled their financial resources they would be investing into private college education, they'd have ~$360K seed money (from tuition), and 4 years living expenses to come up with a viable business. I bet they'd learn a ton as well. Better yet, if they had first learned a trade and worked a couple of years, they may actually build some useful things instead of yet another social network.