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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It isn't a "scam", but it is certainly overpriced in the U.S.  [/quote]

https://www.thirdway.org/report/is-college-worth-it-going-beyond-averages

Is College Worth It? Going Beyond Averages

The evidence is strong that a college degree is worth the investment despite this risk. This is true even when lifetime earnings are “corrected” for factors like net present value (the fact that we value the same amount of money more today than in the future) and the reality that many people who attend college will not eventually graduate. While the value of a college degree may be quite high, it is still important for students, parents, and policymakers to be aware of the magnitude of the financial risks associated with attending college.
	•	The typical college graduate will earn roughly $900,000 more than the typical high school graduate over their working life.
	•	96% of college graduates will out earn the median high school graduate if they have no college costs, though this drops to 87% for those who pay $50,000 a year.
	•	74% of college graduates will make at least $500k more than the typical high school graduate if they have no college costs, though this drops to 56% for those who pay $50,000 a year.
	•	Even after controlling for potential biases and risks, it’s still worth it. The net present value of a college degree is $344,000 for the average person.
But the risk of an investment in higher education is heavily tied to completion.
	•	There is little payoff without a degree, and 6 in 10 students who start don’t ever finish.
	•	When you take into account the significant number of students who start but don’t complete, there is a 78% chance that attending college will “pay off” if there are no costs. But it is basically a coin flip if your annual costs are $50,000. 
What a student majors in can also make a big difference.
	•	STEM and Business majors are very likely to pay off, even with high college costs.
	•	An arts/humanities graduate who attended a private school (and had average costs of attendance) has roughly 50/50 odds that the net present value of their college investment will be positive.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/01/12/pay-gap-between-college-grads-and-everyone-else-record/96493348/

Americans with no more than a high school diploma have fallen so far behind college graduates in their economic lives that the earnings gap between college grads and everyone else has reached its widest point on record.

College graduates, on average, earned 56% more than high school grads in 2015, according to data compiled by the Economic Policy Institute. That was up from 51% in 1999 and is the largest such gap in EPI's figures dating to 1973.
Since the Great Recession ended in 2009, college-educated workers have captured most of the new jobs and enjoyed pay gains. Non-college grads, by contrast, have faced dwindling job opportunities and an overall 3% decline in income, EPI's data shows.
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