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...Says the man who went to school when the opportunity cost wasn't a decade in debt (at the very least). If you succeed, then you didn't need school. If you f
by ebiester 13y ago
...Says the man who went to school when the opportunity cost wasn't a decade in debt (at the very least).
If you succeed, then you didn't need school. If you fail, then you can always go back to school afterwards. I don't see the downside of the Thiel fellowship, at least on its surface.
- C1D 13y agoAgreed. It's at the least worth a try and if you fail not only can you go back to school but the fact that Peter Thiel, Co-Founder of Paypal believed in you will at least do you some good, reputation wise.
- jeffasinger 13y agoThere are plenty of school options that involve much lower debt than that. You don't need to go to a school that costs $50k a year, there are plenty of alternatives.
- enraged_camel 13y agoThere are plenty of alternatives, but do they provide the same quality of education for your degree of choice?
- Fomite 13y agoWith very, very rare exceptions, yes. Most flagship state schools will give you an excellent education at a much, much better value.
- zalzane 13y agoWhy wouldn't they? It's not like MIT/whatever uses special books that no other uni can use. It's not like prestigious universities follow some special program that makes it so their students gain a much better insight into the subject than people who go to other universities. The perks of attending a prestigious university typically has nothing to do with your education. It has to do with rubbing shoulders with blue bloods, creating a powerful social network, and being able to woo people with the pedigree associated with the words "MIT graduate" on your resume.
- chasing 13y agoMany do, yes.
- jmduke 13y ago...Says the man who went to school when the opportunity cost wasn't a decade in debt (at the very least). I got a great college education and graduated with a level of debt that I paid off in less than a year, through a mix of need-based grants, merit-based scholarships, working 15 hrs/wk, and a lower overall tuition because it was a public school. (There's also the growing trend of 2&2 programs, which in retrospect seems like an even better choice.) I'm not necessarily arguing that the value of college outweighs its costs (for me, though, it certainly did), but to say that the opportunity cost is at least a decade in debt is invalid.
- enraged_camel 13y agoPerhaps it has not occurred to you that you were an outlier who was able to qualify for grants and scholarships and also had a (presumably decent-paying) part-time job. Not to mention living in a state with a decent school for your degree of choice. But, I mean, let's get real. Take a good public school like University of Washington. 4-year tuition comes to $160,000 - if you life with parents [1]. Are you telling me that this is not a crippling amount of debt for a lot of people? [1]http://admit.washington.edu/Paying/Cost#freshmen-transfer http://admit.washington.edu/Paying/Cost#freshmen-transfer
- saryant 13y agoThat's for non-residents. At least look at the in-state number which is less than half the one you quoted.
- enraged_camel 13y agoMost of the resident students live on or around campus, as opposed to with their parents. For them, total cost comes down to around $110,000. That's still a six-digit number.
- jessaustin 13y agoSo it's the non-resident students who live with their parents? That seems impractical. b^)
- chasing 13y agoHi! Five years as an undergrad! No debt!