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If these people are Freepers, they would get some good advice from the comments on this article. Probably not, but just saying.

Nowadays, you should consider something other than going immediately to college after high school and taking on debt.

There’s the option of community college for two years, then transferring to finish out your bachelor’s degree.

There’s the military option. Serve your country, then have that educational benefit later. The intangible bonus could be that you have much more maturity and life experience after the military, and will apply yourself and get more out of college then.

There’s the option of working for a year or more after high school but before college, to save up money for school.

There’s the option of going to college part time, and working while in school, to defray the costs. Admittedly this way it takes more than the standard four years to graduate. But if you can’t pay for it otherwise, this is an example of people weighing factors and making life choices as to how to reach a goal.

There’s the option of living with mom and dad and not doing the whole “going away to college” experience.

I’m sure there are other choices for young people to consider. But just off the top of my head, these are some things for people to consider.

And overall, college is a major life decision, and there is no one size fits all plan which you have to submit too.

I would also add, that once you are out of college a few years and working, nobody cares what college you went to.

Employers and colleagues will certainly care that you have training and a degree in some field, but where you got that degree just doesn’t matter when you are in the “real world” and working. So the idea that you should go to some “prestige” school is something that just doesn’t benefit you longer term.

Of course, I was lucky to go to college in NYC. That town is much more than a lousy campus - it’s life, writ large. It more than made up for returning to boring old mom and dad after school. My schoolmates taught me how to eat, go to concerts and deal with the subways and mean streets. What a double education!

I do recommend culinary school - I’m paying about 1,000 dollars per semester. Not everyone has to go to the CIA which is now about 40- 60 thousand a year. There’s only one way to teach people how to bake bread. And it’s pretty hard to lecture against Republicans when you’re making ice sculptures. Plus, it’s now a very hot industry thanks to the Food Network.