[quote=walterwhite]Maybe burst is the wrong word. How about balk? Or at least hesitate, question and think before enrolling.[/quote]
I was considering an MBA last year, even applying to a few top schools for technology (Stanford, MIT, Berkeley). After getting rejected from all three, I thought about casting a wider net, then saw this article about law school debt: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/business/09law.html
Now rethinking the whole MBA thing–at least with law school you come out with a more concrete skill–with business programs I feel like I’m paying for a name on a resume and possibly a network, less so an education.
As for undergrad programs, I don’t see it letting up anytime soon. There’s a perception that more expensive is better (I remember reading an article about a school that raised tuition and got MORE applications the subsequent year). If you read college guidebooks that compare different schools, they talk as much about the campus, food, dorms, and athletic facilities as they do the classes–these things seem important to a 17 year old. Looking back, I wasn’t nearly mature enough to get the most out of all the opportunities there were at my school–I had too much fum living with 300 people my age unsupervised.
A teacher friend of mine told me that if she got back into the classroom (she manages after school programs now) she would do an exercise with her high school students working backwards: say you want to live in a nice house one day. Maybe in a nice San Diego neighborhood. Look at the cost of a house, how much payments are. Add in other expenses and taxes, how much do you need to make to afford that (don’t forget saving for retirement)? What kind of jobs would pay that much? How much education do you need to do that job (most science fields, you need a PhD, for example, an undergrad degree won’t cut it)? How much does all that cost? Make sure to add it to your list of expenses. I think every student should do this–gets students thinking about the future in a realistic way and picking a major that gets them where they want, and also realizing how expensive being an adult is!
