Is College Worth It? | 5 Minute Video

Is college a good investment? It’s getting harder and harder to make that case -- for students and their parents. Today students often graduate weighed down by debt and free of practical wisdom. Before starting down the path to college, some sober, common sense reflection is more necessary than ever. Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA provides some much needed tutoring.

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Script:

Hey—I’ve got a great investment idea for you: You give me $100,000 and four years of your life, and I give you... hmm… pretty much… nothing.

No, I’m not the devil. I’m Mr. College. And I’m here to help you finance this wonderful opportunity. I have a whole package of government loans and impressive-sounding scholarships to make it all possible.

Of course, you’ll have to pay interest on the loans, which will double the cost over time…but that’s a problem for “future you” and need not concern us now.

Do we have a deal?

Of course, we do! You want to succeed in life, don’t you? How can you do that without a college degree?

But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a good time. Are you a movie fan? We’ve got a degree for that. How about criminal justice? Be like one of the cool people on the TV detective shows. And, we offer a whole selection of minority and gender studies programs. Learn why you’re a victim and deserve to be angry all the time.

What are you waiting for? Sign on the dotted line. Classes begin in the fall. Don’t miss orientation—especially if you’re male. You don’t want to be parading your toxic masculinity around the campus. Definitely not cool…

Sound crazy?

I don’t know why it should. Millions of college students make that deal every year, usually with their parents’ encouragement and financial support.

Now, don’t get me wrong—I have nothing against going to college. I sincerely believe it can be a worthwhile pursuit under the right circumstances. If you want to be a doctor or an architect, for example, it’s obviously a necessity. But look through the typical college syllabus and it’s clear that most of the majors, not to mention classes, are a waste of time—and money.

So why do responsible adults, who only want the best for their children and are usually cautious with their hard-earned money, squander it on such a bad investment? Worse, why would they send their son or daughter to a school to learn to reject the values they—the parents—hold dear? On what planet does that make sense?

It doesn’t. It’s an old paradigm, and we need to break it. Before it breaks us.

How do we do that?

Here are two solutions that would go a long way to solving the problem.

One:

Ask yourself if you really need to go to college.

Most of us go to college because it’s simply expected that we do so. Our parents expect it. Our friends expect it. Plus, it sounds like fun—a rite of passage; an escape from Mom and Dad and all their rules.

But none of that actually has anything to do with getting an education or earning a living after you leave college. Maybe you’re not the academic type. What’s wrong with that? Nothing.

According to a Georgetown University study, there are 30 million jobs paying over $55,000 a year that don’t require a college degree.

Learn a skill like welding or plumbing or a dozen other trades and you’ll never be looking for a job. The jobs will be looking for you. We’re talking $50 an hour or more. Six figure income after five years and no debt. Consider the military. You learn essential skills and, again, no debt. Or go into sales. You don’t need a sociology degree for that.

If you are going to college, then have a goal and a plan to achieve it. Your college journey will cost you and/or your parents a boatload of money. What are you going to get in return? Choose your courses with a practical mindset. Stay away from the silly stuff. And if you don’t really know why you’re going to college, consider answer…

[recordrabbit]

3. End federally insured student loans! Watch tuition drop overnight!

[Kevan]

Spot on. I put my 1st child under unnecessary grief with the pressure of college. It's going to be different with my 2nd.

[MyThoughtzAndOpinionz]

The majority of the classes you take, have nothing to do with the program you’re majoring in.

[tylerhumphreys]

Of course they upload this on the day I start college

[lancep]

This should be played in every high school in america

[rpierce]

I have been preaching this for years as college tuition gets higher. My son makes more doing plumbing work than I do as a school teacher with a Masters.

[mrdog]

I live in the UK, but the same still applies. I wanted a job in Computer Science, I asked myself "What can university teach me, that the internet could not?". In the end, I get an apprenticeship, where I MAKE MONEY, not lose it.

[johnfitbyfaithnet]

My son didn't go to college but is getting married this week debt free with money saved, excellent job son

[ivankuleshov]

Employer before College: "you needed degree"
Employer after college: "I couldn't care less about your degree"

[truckshackley]

I wish people promoted trade schools with the same enthusiasm as they do for colleges and universities

[josephcalabrese]

There is also a third option: Community College. A two-year school is WAY more cheaper than the big name four-year universities.

[chronicbullets]

I dropped out of high school and got my GED. Didn't go to college got into a trade. I can't complain.

[Raymond]

My son started attending college recently, where leftist professors ask students to identify their "gender identity" and their "preferred pronouns"

[OrionRayet]

The best lesson a gender studies graduate will get is that gender studies is a scam.

[lawrencekeenan]

He nailed it with plumbing 😉 over $90 an hour and as much work as you want and the price goes ☝️

[MrTerminator]

I went both to a community college and a university. I learned more from the community college than the university.

[Gman]

If you're going to be in STEM go for it. Otherwise, it's not worth it.

[muskreality]

My friend spent 120k for a piece of paper with a help of a loan and two years later she's still looking for a job.

[RJT]

If you are going to be an engineer or doctor it might be. Other than that, there are plenty of jobs that will pay you to learn on the job and earn you six figures within a decade. Some will get you to six figures before your friends graduate. And often those jobs are really interesting. My cousin is a marine welder who travels all over the world for work. Mostly oil rigs. He made over $250, 000 last year and has had a total of two to four months of downtime each year since 2013.

Also important: his expenses are less than a third of his earnings. He has a nice truck and a nice home but he has also made sure he can retire very comfortably before he is broken-down, and that his kids are taken care of through early adulthood. Then it is largely on them. He and his wife plan on living after retirement and not coddling grown children.

[EtherSword]

"Learn why you're a victim and deserve to be angry all the time." lol