Oftentimes, I find myself sitting in class wondering, “Is college really worth it?”
Okay, hear me out.
I know the education that I am receiving is a huge blessing, and the friends I’ve made at the University of South Carolina will be my friends for a lifetime. I’ve joined clubs, extracurricular activities and intramural sports teams, and I've even had the opportunity to write for The Daily Gamecock.
But then I sit in class listening to a teacher read off of PowerPoint slides, and I question whether all of that is worth the $30,298 of tuition per year, the $6,832 for housing, $3,566 for meals and the $1,016 for books — a total cost of $41,712 for nonresident students. (The estimated price per year is $22,896 if you are a resident student.)
Surely I could get the same education for — excuse the "Good Will Hunting" reference — “a dollar fifty in late charges at the public library.” And ever more prominent are the online courseware systems offered by Yale, Harvard, UC Berkeley and many others. While most of these free offerings don’t offer credentials, the material covered is the same as in the physical, introductory level classes offered at the aforementioned institutions.
In a report by The Institute for College Access and Success, “69 (percent of students) who graduated from public and nonprofit colleges in 2014 had student loan debt, with an average of $28,950 per borrower.” And the average amount of student debt (for the 69 percent of students who graduate with debt) for a South Carolina graduate is $27,464.
Putting aside college prestige — the idea of being more qualified after learning supposedly the same material at one school rather than another — $28,950 seems like an awfully high price for obtaining a piece of paper saying that a student has sufficiently learned the material presented to them, which brings us to the intangible aspects of a college education.
Many times, when I present this argument to family, friends and acquaintances, I get the immediate response of, “But think of all the experiences college has offered you.” I will be the first to say that the experiences I’ve had at the University of South Carolina wouldn’t have happened if I had not attended college. I’ve done humanitarian and military work in Africa, I’ve studied abroad in Italy, I’ve lived in Disney World for six months through the Disney College Program and I have interned on 48th Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City.
In hindsight, however, I could very well have taken a mission trip to a different country, accepted an unpaid internship with a company and networked through community events and meetings, all while teaching myself important educational and real-world skills without having attended college. Granted, it would’ve taken a little willpower and self-accountability, but at the very least I would have broken even on costs and “graduated” debt-free after my four-year escapade.
Then again, it wouldn’t be guaranteed that I had learned all of the information equivalent to that of a college degree.
Even still, as I end my daydream in class, I cannot help but feel as though I could have received the same education, equivalent experiences and just as many networking opportunities without the burden of $28,950 over my head.
So go ahead and call me an idealist, a student who’s frustrated with the price of college; write me off as someone who doesn’t know what he is talking about or is ungrateful for what he’s been given — although I am not.
Realize, however, that this article is not about failing to appreciate education, experiences, the institution of college or networking opportunities (all of which are important). It is about the exorbitant cost and perceived image of a system of institutions that has its students' best interests at its heart and their incomes in its wallet.