The $10K Undergrad Degree
Arthur C. Brooks, now prez of the American Enterprise Institute, did this in 1994 (and maybe it's somewhat more or quite a bit more now), but he had to be creative about getting an affordable education -- so he was. As would I have been if my parents weren't paying my then-reasonable in-state tuition for three years at the University of Michigan, where they'd both gone.
I almost quit school, but realized people have a prejudice against people who don't graduate, so I finished at NYU -- did one year there -- and wrote my way to a scholarship to pay for some of it, and worked nights and weekends to pay my living expenses in New York.
Had my parents not paid, I might have done what I advise kids who come from poor families to do (when I talk at a school) -- go to a good community college like Santa Monica college for two years, gotten great grades (which I always have, or at least good grades, because I'm a nerd) and then transferred to a better, four-year school.
Brooks writes in The New York Times of his more radical and more creative solution for keeping college costs down:
Fortunately, there was a solution -- an institution called Thomas Edison State College in Trenton, N.J. This is a virtual college with no residence requirements. It banks credits acquired through inexpensive correspondence courses from any accredited college or university in America.I took classes by mail from the University of Washington, the University of Wyoming, and other schools with the lowest-priced correspondence courses I could find. My degree required the same number of credits and type of classes that any student at a traditional university would take. I took the same exams (proctored at local libraries and graded by graduate students) as in-person students. But I never met a teacher, never sat in a classroom, and to this day have never laid eyes on my beloved alma mater.
And the whole degree, including the third-hand books and a sticker for the car, cost me about $10,000 in today's dollars.
Now living back in the United States, I followed the 10K-B.A. with a 5K-M.A. at a local university while working full time, and then endured the standard penury of being a full-time doctoral fellow in a residential Ph.D. program. The final tally for a guy in his 30s supporting a family: three degrees, zero debt.
Did I earn a worthless degree? Hardly. My undergraduate years may have been bereft of frissons, but I wound up with a career as a tenured professor at Syracuse University, a traditional university. I am now the president of a Washington research organization.
Not surprisingly, my college experience has occasionally been the target of ridicule. It is true that I am no Harvard Man. But I can say with full confidence that my 10K-B.A. is what made higher education possible for me, and it changed the course of my life. More people should have this opportunity, in a society that is suffering from falling economic and social mobility.
The 10K-B.A. is exactly the kind of innovation we would expect in an industry that is showing every indication of a bubble that is about to burst, as Thomas K. Lindsay of the Texas Public Policy Foundation shows in a new report titled, "Anatomy of a Revolution? The Rise of the $10,000 Bachelor's Degree." When tuition skyrockets and returns on education stagnate, we can expect a flight to value, especially by people who can least afford to ride the bubble, and who have no choice but to make a cost-effective college investment.
In the end, however, the case for the 10K-B.A. is primarily moral, not financial. The entrepreneurs who see a way for millions to go to college affordably are the ones who understand the American dream. That dream is the opportunity to build a life through earned success. That starts with education.
Of course, what makes college much more expensive now is the college loan craziness. The more government is willing to shell out in wild loans, the more wildly colleges jack up their prices -- and the salaries of their administrators. Who isn't getting the bucks? A good many of the teachers.
Golden topic.
Among the many faults with contemporary ed, people have forgotten that it's supposed to be rigorous.
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at February 1, 2013 5:15 AM
I am getting my RN through a community college with a well recognized RN program. The entire degree with be about $6k for tuition and fees. I could get an RN through any of the 5 or so 4 year universities around here, for about $30k. Um, no. I'll still be paying off my first 4 year degree when my kids start college.
DH and I will encourage our kids to be very practical when planning for their futures. If it's college, it will be with a practical degree and known career options if they want our money. If they have a full ride scholarship, we'll still encourage practicality. Joining up and letting the military pay is great too.
momof4 at February 1, 2013 5:44 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2013/02/01/the_10k_undergr.html#comment-3589005">comment from momof4Smart, momof4. That designer label just isn't worth $26K, in my opinion. Of all the conversations I've had with nurses -- and I've had quite a few, because I really appreciate them, and often get talking to them when I find out what they do -- I have never once asked (or had any interest in) where any of them went to school.
Amy Alkon at February 1, 2013 5:52 AM
The thing is...
I'm amused by the numbers presently listed on this page. I realize you ladies (and the item cited) are discussing solutions to the problem, but we need to keep our eyes focused on how huge a burden education has become for our country... How many tentacled interests have latched onto the idea that government can never do enough to encourage education.
Government is a mess.
Society should encourage people to become useful to each other. Rigorously.
That's how wealth is generated.
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at February 1, 2013 7:01 AM
I mean...
Getting educated yourself for $10,000 will be a tremendous pain in the ass.
But if you're doing it right, it will be a tremendous pain in the ass at ANY price.
No reason not to save money.
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at February 1, 2013 7:03 AM
In our state, successful completion of an Associates degree at the community college guarantees you admission to one of the state universities. Middle daughter is a high school junior this year, so issues like the one here are very much on our minds. To her credit, middle daughter is thinking seriously about the community college route.
I'm not sure if all her classmates have gotten the memo yet. To hear her say it, lots of her classmates are still trying to get into places like Barnard or Cornell, but maybe that's just for bragging rights; once admitted to a top-of-the-line joint, they'll wind up actually enrolling in less costly places.
Old RPM Daddy (OldRPMDaddy at GMail dot com) at February 1, 2013 9:19 AM
Getting into a top-of-the-line school is more than about bragging rights. These schools have two main advantages over community and state colleges: Networking and resume bumps.
You can be perfectly productive with a community college degree or through self-education. But the boost that comes from effective networking can turn a good career into a fantastic one, and we suffer when only rich people can afford these sorts of opportunities. And when two people are competing for an entry- or mid-level position, the candidate with Harvard on his resume is going to have an edge over the candidate who graduated from East Bumblefuck College.
Part of the problem is funding post-graduate research on the backs of undergrads. Research makes a college look good, and that research costs money.
MonicaP at February 1, 2013 9:44 AM
"My undergraduate years may have been bereft of frissons, but I wound up with a career as a tenured professor at Syracuse University, a traditional university"
I cannot think of any profession more worthless than that of a college prof. At least if this guy had worked at some factory or office and worked his way up, I would have had some respect, but ending up as a college prof just reinforced the fact that his education was worthless
Redrajesh at February 1, 2013 9:49 AM
C'mon, Reddy, the world needs teachers. Maybe the guy's contribution has been mispriced... I don't know that the American Enterprise Institute ever did much that was good for my own life....
But "worthless" is over the top.
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at February 1, 2013 10:11 AM
@MonicaP: "Getting into a top-of-the-line school is more than about bragging rights. These schools have two main advantages over community and state colleges: Networking and resume bumps."
I agree with you, up to a point. If you want to move directly to Wall Street or Foggy Bottom, Harvard or Georgetown are probably good places to be, although at huge expense and questionable return on investment (and that much worse if other people aren't paying for it).
But eventually you're faced with diminishing returns: Is the added debt load really offset by the potential extra earnings? And is there a point where a gold-plated degree might work against you, when an employer figures out that the kid from Schmuckley State might cost less than the kid from Princeton?
Old RPM Daddy (OldRPMDaddy at GMail dot com) at February 1, 2013 10:47 AM
momof4, the question is are you going to go for the BS in nursing too? I admire people who go and get just the ticket they need and then go to work. I have a DIL who did that and after a few years shuffling around, got just the gig she wanted, day shifts as head nurse in an orthopedic ward.
When it starts to drag out into bachelor's and then master's degrees, I suspect the person does not really want to do the job and prefers to hide out in academia.
Not that you couldn't do both, I guess.
carol at February 1, 2013 12:44 PM
"Getting into a top-of-the-line school is more than about bragging rights. These schools have two main advantages over community and state colleges: Networking and resume bumps. "
Exactly, and that's why I automatically reject Ivy League job applicants. They're expecting to rise to CEO and they detest doing the tactical work required to make a project or program work.
As far as I'm concerned they can claw their way up someone else's back. I've got deadlines to meet and no time to waste on Chip LaCrossesticks and Biffy Moneybags-Toothwhitener.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at February 1, 2013 2:29 PM
I already have a 4 year degree, one is enough for me. RN and out into the money earning world, for me! I would like either hospice or geriatric care.
momof4 at February 1, 2013 6:26 PM
m4,
There are many nursing homes out there that have very well paid positions for competent RNs.
Drop me a line at my blog when you get to that point, and I can probably get you a list of homes in your area.
Jim P. at February 1, 2013 7:10 PM
Thanks!!
momof4 at February 3, 2013 11:25 AM
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