A college degree is not what it used to be.  I am fifty years old.  In my grandfather’s day few had college degrees and joining that elite club guaranteed success.  In my father’s day that reality had not changed appreciably.  I think the depreciation of a college education began in my generation and can be traced to the advent of the “community college” systems.  Like any commodity, which education became, its value is affected by supply and demand.  As colleges proliferated, competition for students increased, and the value decreased. 

 

In my day, colleges did not market themselves.  Students sought them out and they only had to sort through the applicants to select those most deserving of selection.  Today, any major metropolitan area has many schools from which the student can choose.  The great majority of these schools offer substandard educations (compared to my generation) and are more concerned with recruitment and revenue than with teaching.

 

Still, there are elite schools that do offer a solid and highly valued education.  Here in Texas , Rice University tops the list.  On the second rung are the University of Texas , and Texas A&M.  A degree from any of these schools would enhance a resume.

 

On the third rung are a number of private universities that also offer a very solid education.  The most prominent and well endowed (important statistic) are Baylor, SMU, TCU, Southwestern, and the University of St. Thomas .  These are liberal arts schools where students receive a very diverse education.  The cliché description is that liberal arts schools “teach you how to think, not what to think.”  While private schools are considerably more expensive, those with sufficient endowments are generous with scholarships to deserving students.  Most have a very diverse student population.  Thus, even though Southwestern has an annual cost of about $30,000, it was ranked #7 on Princeton Review’s list of Top Ten Best Value Colleges in America; compared to the University of Texas, at about half the cost, which was ranked #8.  Interestingly, another Texas schools made the top ten – Rice University at #4, a private school costing approximately the same as Southwestern.  (two-year-old statistics)

 

 

The next rung is the last offering a quality education.  In Texas , these schools include other very large public schools, like the University of Houston , strictly because of their access to resources.  It will largely be up to the student to drag a great education from this kind of school.  Also at this level are the private schools with less endowment.  In Texas , that list would include St. Edwards, Austin College , and Trinity University .

 

If you cannot get accepted into one of these schools, or cannot afford their tuition, there are dozens of others schools that are clamoring to get your money.  I believe however, that you should carefully consider that investment.  I would opt for whichever was the cheapest, and not just tuition costs.  Consider your personal expenses for housing and transportation.  It is very likely that an online university, such as the University of Phoenix , offers the best value.

 

If these lesser schools are your only option, consider why you believe you need the education.  The single greatest factor determining your financial success is not education.  It is personal motivation.  I would point to my stepbrother as an example.  He has a high school diploma and enlisted in the Marines after that.  He then became an electrician.  Ten years ago, he was working as a journeyman electrician wiring new homes under construction.  Today, his electrical company employs over 100 people full time and many more than that as subcontractors on any job.  He made over $2m each of the last five years. 

 

If you lack motivation, a college degree at any except top rung schools is not going to do much for you.  Yes, with a bit of salesmanship, an unmotivated person can parlay an undergraduate degree from Harvard or Rice University into a lifetime of employment.  At the same time, even a top rung education will do the extremely unmotivated person any good – a frequent U-K contributor with a degree from an elite West Coast school is an example.

 

I am an example of the next rung – I’m not very motivated, but I have an above average sales ability.  Combined with my degree from a second rung school, I have done well at times, and struggled at others.  If I were more motivated, with my sales ability I would not have needed the upper school education.

 

What about grad school, you ask?  With a graduate degree from top rung schools, you can subtract the salesmanship requirement.  You will be able to parlay that education into a career.  Get that graduate degree from a third or fourth rung school and you will have to add salesmanship to promote your career.

 

I would not waste money on a graduate degree from the lower ranked schools – unless you want to become a professor at a low ranked school.  Not necessarily a bad decision long term, if you eventually attain tenure, but from a financial perspective, it will be decades before you will recoup that investment.  You could accomplish just as much if you were motivated, which you’d have to be to get the graduate degree as well.

 

But maybe financial success is not your goal.  Maybe you just have a thirst for knowledge.  If that were the case, I would recommend that you simply purchase the textbooks used in those courses and save the tuition.

 

There is one more personality type that pursues a college education.  That is the person with low self-esteem who erroneously believes the college education elevates them above others.  Obviously, if this person is accepted into, and graduates from, a top rung school, they are elevated – the self-esteem crisis is over.  If they succeed at a third or fourth rung school, they should still be proud of themselves, but they should not believe themselves smarter than others.

 

Some jerks graduate from low ranked schools and try to act like it was some great accomplishment.  The worst of this group are those who get a graduate degree from some hokey school and act like they are now an intellectual.  I’ve even had to tolerate obnoxious egotism from jerks with graduate degrees from online schools.

 

If you are considering investing in a college education because you believe it is going to transform you into an intellectual, do yourself and the world a favor, spend your money on a good psychiatrist instead.  Intellectuals are born, not made.

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About the author Tom Pain: Just an American boy with so much common sense, it hurts.

Email: thomas.pain@hughes.net

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