I've got friends from law school that are 250K in debt right now.
The problem is that a college degree used to be a symbol of achievement and everybody wanted one and you needed one to make that jump from pretty good job to really great job.
Then the government decided to help support that dream and made college attainable for those for whom it wasn't previously. Then colleges realized that they could raise tuition and people would keep going and paying because it was so easy to get loan money.
I've got friends from law school that are 250K in debt right now.
When I was looking at programs for next year I got into NYU, Georgetown, and UF. They're the top 3 programs for what I want and all things being equal I would probably be going to Georgetown. But, I qualify for in-state tuition at UF so that's where I'm going. The price difference is just way too much.
That is what I did when going back to get my MBA. I figured since I live in the triangle, I should take advantage of the good MBA programs if I'm ever going to do it.
When it came time to make a decision, since it was my own dime, I went to NC State because it was much cheaper for me to go there as a part time MBA student than UNC or Duke. I know the latter two have better reps, but I just never thought I would recoup the difference in price between the two when NCSU would work fine for me.
Also, NCSU's MBA program is very good and I recommend it! :thumbsup:
I couldn't justify telling anybody to go to Wake if they could get into UNC.
I can. I got into UNC-law with a gpa at Wake that would have led me to be rejected if I went to UNC undergrad.
Your point is a still valid, however.
The problem with all of this is that people need certain environments to succeed. I would not have done well at UNC- it was too big a school, and I had way to many people from my high school class going. College is a time to re-invent yourself (or at least grow and mature into a different person). Some people need a small school to do that. Some people need an enormous school to do that.
Smartest thing Wake could do is this: start a capital campaign with the express purpose of growing the endowment to the point that tuition was cut back to the $30,000 a year range (that is still high, but probably as low as it can go) with the understanding that tuition can't rise faster than the rate of inflation for a decade or more.
I would dig deep to give to a campaign like that, because it would allow Wake to have some change of remaining (going back to?) the school I attended.
The problem is that a college degree used to be a symbol of achievement and everybody wanted one and you needed one to make that jump from pretty good job to really great job.
Then the government decided to help support that dream and made college attainable for those for whom it wasn't previously. Then colleges realized that they could raise tuition and people would keep going and paying because it was so easy to get loan money.
I've got friends from law school that are 250K in debt right now.
I wasn't aware they had a businessin' program at State.
Indeed they do! It has certainly served me well.
I started in the summer of 2005 and finished in December of 2007 and took a job in the summer of 2007 (contingent upon finishing my MBA within a year) making 25 percent more than I did when I started the program.
Four years after finishing the program I now make 92 percent more than when I started the program.
I've already recouped my investment.
Raleigh, I have a similar experience (not with NCSU). My MBA is going to end up costing, with books and tuition and evereything, about 17-18K. My company has paid for it, so it doesn't really matter to me, but the total cost of the program is much less than the amount my income has increased in the last three years (i'll be done in december) so even if I had to pay out of my own pocket it seems like a pretty good deal.
Of course who knows how much my schoolin' has contributed to my pay increases (as I'm still fairly young, especially for most people in my industry) but it's free (other than effort) so there's that
Obviously I think experience trumps education, but for me I moved from a marketing position where I was doing fine and progressing nicely to a marketing position where I had to have an MBA to be considered. It was a prerequisite for my move.
Worked out well for me, but I understand how it could backfire for others.
Also, as Willis mentioned it is certainly possible to increase your pay wildly without having to go get another degree.