BiggerPockets

I went to a community college and lived at home for the first 2 years. That was about $4500 per year, minus books.

Overall when I look at how much it would have cost me to attend the local university, the $4500 for the entire year was about half the amoun of 1 semester at the university.

My answer is a short no. I did that with 1 of my 6 kids. Most degrees are no longer cost efficient imo. Make them pay for it and they'll do a better job of deciding to study...Rich

Because of my education and my degree, I'll be able to afford my children's education...for that reason alone, I'm happy to pay for them to go to whatever school they want to go to...

College may not provide them all the answers, but as long as my kids are serious about getting an education, I'd hate for them not to have the opportunity.

As for using the $$$ for real estate instead, the most successful real estate investors I know got college degrees (and MBAs), so if my kids want to go into real estate, I think college is a perfect opportunity to hone those skills.

And before anyone jumps on me about not needing to go to college to learn everything you can learn in an MBA program (or any program for that matter), I agree with that statement. But, 99% of the people who tell me that they can learn all that stuff on their own never bother to do so.

Let me give you my perspective from renting to college kids for over two decades.

The ones who have some skin in the game, as in _having_ to work to pay for some or all of their education get 'centered' real quick -- either realizing that college is not for them or buckling down and working their asses off to reach their goals.

Unfortunately, the majority of students I've come into contact with are getting a degree in 'party' and are simply squandering their time and their parents' money.

Years later I've seen some of my ex college tenants working at car lots, selling yellow page ads or, most recently, moving back home to work in daddy's Cold Stone Creamery.

As a father of 6 and grand father of a few more, I'll still stick to my previous post. A little more info.
J Scott- I have no degree and have been quite successful. I also know TONS of grads that aren't successful or didn't use their degree to their benefit, and ended up in an unrelated field that in many cases did't even require a degree. For those, the money spent , might have been better spent on buying or starting a business.

Jon H- what about all the other grads that get a degree, go to work for a company(like Shell), take their 9 week boot camp and discover they hate it? Then what do they do with that degree?

NCMark- I've rented to those same types and I agree. There are many books written on the fallacy of providing too much for your kids. Edelman, one of my faves even covers it with stats in a book.

Tom K-your post has many arguable points-beginning with your first line "a college education is worth every penney". Baloney!! We all know grads where their education turned out to NOT be worth every penney. You can't make an absolute statement like that. Here are a few that don't qualify under your absolute.
1. Person starts his education anticipating a certain field, and by the time his 10 years of education is done, the field is no longer ripe to enter.
2. The professionals (lawyers, dentists etc) that determine they just don't like what they're doing, and change to a non-professional field and love it. Their 100's of thousands in costs and loans for the degree weren't worth it.
3. The medical person that is just coming into field and finds new regs turning it upside down and changing what it was when they started their education.. (I have a daughter finding
that at present.)

Your comment that college educated people are more successful and make more money is also dubious.
First, if you're saying that the money is apt to be more, maybe so. Those #'s aren't as clear cut as decades before when that was written. Do you know what an auto worker makes compared to a school teacher? Take out the expenses of college for 8 years and give the auto worker the 8 year head start and see where the teacher catches up, if ever, in money earned.
"Being successful" also differs depending on your definition, imo. A teacher would have to love the job to compensate for low pay. They are underpaid, imo. Yet, they might be considered VERY successful.

I've always felt that college does a good job of teaching someone to go to work for someone else. Only a few years ago, during my lifetime, USC was one of the few schools that EVEN taught an Entrepreneurship degree. Now, many have them. Before, it might have been very beneficial to not have gone to college and not to have spent 4-8 yrs, in college if you wanted to go into business for yourself.

I have a Trust set up for my grand kids to draw from for their choice of things. IT will help them get a start, but they'll have to have skin in the game. Upon certain conditions, they may use it for any of the following up to a certain amount.
1. Start college
2. Enuff to help them buy a house
3. Enuff to start a business
4. Funds to go on a mission for their church.

In none of these, do they get enuff $$ to do it all without having their own $ invested. I want to know they want it bad enuff to pay part.

The social part and intermingling may be beneficial in College, but the costs are outlandish , just to make friends. You can be successful with or without college. I know lots of both. You can also be a failure with or without college. I know lots of both.
Success may be defined in many ways, but an all encompassing comment like "college is worth every penney" is just plain incorrect. Look around, talk to others and you'll find that out, imo. Good luck to all the Students and better luck to all the Entrepreneurs. Rich in FL.

If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't go to college this time 'round. Right now I'm feeling like I'm 20 years late to an education in basic business and entrepreneurial skills and trying to catch up fast.

If my kid was in high school, a dedicated student, and they had a dream to pursue a certain course of study in college, then I'd cough up the dough as long as they maintained their GPA.

For most, I think it's a waste of $ to go right from high school to college. There are other ways to socialize and get some life experience.

I think I'd be light years ahead of where I am today, financially, if I'd had a good mentor years ago instead of a college education.

First of all, they should learn how to pay for it. You can help them but I will never just send my kids to college.

As to the value of college, on face value I actually made more money before I went to college than after.

However, I do credit my degree in English heavily for my success in real estate as my dad credits his Music degree. I can research what I need to know fast. By reading/researching historical information I've figured out a lot about the nature of people and how to make money from their nature. I can write killer marketing for renting and selling property (my dad still has me write his). I'm sure there's other things too I haven't thought of.

There's value to all of it as an accessory to your core nature of being a dedicated investor. You will not be successful BECAUSE of a college degree. I don't care who you are.

In the words of Shakespeare's Hamlet, "Aye, there's the rub."

The mention of this "future earning potential" again comes up and I have to say something. Do any of you buy a cash flowing property based on the proforma or it's performance? Do you buy on the potential or the reality? Do you really want to teach your kids the principle to invest based upon the hope of "future earning potential" or the reality that W-2 income DOES NOT keep pace with inflation or commodities pricing, is the hardest earned, highest taxed income available to a person and beholds you to 1 supplier of income?

Aside from that - Does anyone go to college for what they love and have a passion about anymore?

For a real comparison, I'd like to see a comparison between college graduates actually using their degree for income generation and non college graduates who are NOT living on government assistance but are making their own money. Wishful thinking probably....

Ralph Scott - well said!!!