US colleges are overrated and overpriced

By April Norhanian On July 2, 2009 · 28 Comments

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Like famous fast food brands, the American university is quickly becoming just another junk-filled, hype-inflated product being sold to consumers worldwide.

This year, over half-a-million students will flock from all over the world to attend the most expensive colleges on earth. But why?

It doesn’t matter to foreigners that the cost of our colleges is outrageous or that the quality of education in the United States is, and has long been, questionable. Regardless of the diploma, an American education carries worldwide prestige. Saying that you studied in America is like saying you winter in Hawaii or that you drive a Bentley.

Photo: joebeone

To start with, the level of education in American high schools is generally considered lower compared to many other countries. The skills needed to pass the BAC, a national exam required to graduate from French high school, are equivalent to two years of college in the United States. For many foreign students, our colleges are easy because they’ve studied the stuff in high school already! Maybe that is part of the appeal.

American college is a product being sold to consumers. It is marketed aggressively and internationally. American colleges have more money to spend on marketing than any other country– and they should for what they charge in tuition! But that doesn’t mean they are better. It just means they can offer fancier amenities and accommodations.

In France, they have Club Med. In America, we have “Club Ed.”

As a former international college recruiter, I passed out plenty of colorful glossy brochures to starry-eyed Europeans. Here is what I would tell American and foreign students today who are interested in attending an American college:

1. Generally speaking, it’s very easy to get accepted into American colleges. You just need money and decent grades.

2. It is fairly easy to get good grades in college due to the “dumbing down” of classes and grade inflation.

3. Do not be fooled by college rankings. One of the criteria used by US News & World Report to rank colleges is the total amount of money a college spends. This could include anything from a president’s salary to a new stadium or campus entertainment. Colleges are also rated based on how much money they receive from alumni.

4. Know what kind of degree you are after and figure out if your degree will actually translate into a job (something many American students do not do).

5. Consider going to college in a country outside the U.S. and maybe visit during Spring Break.

If you’re an American who loves to travel, why not get your degree abroad? One major benefit to enrolling in an offshore college is that you can get a quality education that may be dirt cheap or perhaps even free. Whenever you can get a quality education without going into debt, you win! Because of rising tuition costs and a lagging economy, many savvy Americans have opted to study overseas.

“Why not get your degree abroad?”

For Americans, there are other advantages to studying abroad. First, you can check off becoming well-rounded from your to-do list. That begins the minute you get your passport stamped! If you are in a country where you will be learning and speaking a second language that’s a huge bonus.

Secondly, you may finish your program or field of study sooner. In England, for example, you begin studying your major during your first year.

Book cover image courtesy of the author

Finally, if you want an international career, studying overseas will allow you to make contacts with students from all over the world. Americans should be aware that admission into a foreign university can be tougher than getting into an American school. But if you manage to get accepted to a college overseas, it would be foolish not to pursue it.

College in the United States has become one of the most over-exploited and over-priced products in the world.

The American university is being marketed to the world as a glitzy luxury product complete with first class accommodations that rival Disney World or Vegas.

When you peel back the brand names, the perfectly manicured lawns, and learn about the quality of education, you may find that American colleges are not worthy of all the hype.

Community Connection:

If you’re persuaded by April Norhanian’s argument that pursuing a college degree abroad is smarter than studying for one in the US, Matador Abroad contributing editor Sarah Menkedick offers advice about 7 Countries Where Graduate School Is a Fraction of US Costs.

Wondering whether you need a degree to become a professional writer? The Traveler’s Notebook contributing editor Teresa Ponikvar ponders the question in this article.

About The Author

April Norhanian

April Norhanian is the author of the controversial College is for Suckers: The First College Guide You Should Read, which provides the information necessary to understand the true costs and benefits of a university education in America including graduate degrees. The text also provides data on the many alternative educational opportunities available to students. For more information visit her web site.

http://exilelifestyle.com Colin Wright

Though there are some things that American schools do quite well, I generally agree with your premise and think that four year colleges in the US are overpriced and underwhelming.

That being said, why not consider self-education as a legitimate alternative? More and more, schools are posting lectures online, tutorials are made available for every subject you can think of, and the world’s information is all available online, ready to be consumed by the even moderately-tech-savvy surfer.

Projects like the Personal MBA (http://personalMBA.com) which provide guidance on what to read in order to educate yourself outside of the traditional school system are becoming more common, as well, which opens up entirely new avenues and possibilities.

Great post! I’ll have to pick up a copy of your book!
http://wayworded.blogspot.com/ Hal

When I go back to school for graduate studies, it will NOT be in the U.S. The more I read on the subject, the more it seems like I’d have to be crazy to do so.
http://matadorabroad.com Tim Patterson

Excellent article. There’s no monopoly on education.
tj

I teach at an undergraduate US institution and agree with this article. But I do not think it holds for most US graduate schools, which are still high quality. The graduate schools feed off the income from the undergrads, who, for the most part, would be better off if they spent their time and money elsewhere.
http://scottworldtour.com Scott

I’m looking into a Computer Science MS at Delft, but for more reasons than money or quality of education. However, the tuition is a big factor. You don’t even need to take the GRE!

If someone can afford to support themselves during their Master’s studies I would suggest going to school in Scandinavia. Tuition is free. Unfortunately, the cost of living there is anything but.
Chris

No offense, but it sounds like you’ve had a bad experience and are jaded. I’m sorry to hear that as I work for a stateside Uni these past six years after graduation and found the experience to both frustrating and validating.

If you elect to pay the price then you have little room to complain. If your family pays, then even less room. Short and simple, as with most things in life, you get out of College what you put in. The institution offers opportunities and you create them.
http://themoleskineblog.wordpress.com/ Melissa Andrada

What I find problematic about this article is that generalizes the entire American higher education system.

I was very satisfied with the price and quality of my undergraduate education. I received my bachelor’s degree at the University of Washington in Seattle. Since I was an in-state student, I paid about $6,000 (not including scholarships/financial aid) for access to fantastic libraries, inspiring and supportive professors, research opportunities and conference presentations, on-campus jobs, study abroad, and so much more.

While many American universities are over priced, there are still good, affordable options, such as studying in-state or going to community college the first two years — both of which I did. Or, as one user commented, pursuing self-education.

The author of this post advocates studying abroad. While I am a huge proponent of study abroad, there are many things you should consider before pursuing a degree in a different country. I am currently a master’s student at the University of Edinburgh, and if you decide to pursue a degree in UK, you should think about: cost of living and tuition, preferred level of coursework and instruction (in the UK, there is less of both), job opportunities, and many other factors.

Ultimately, university is what you make of it. Whether you study at home or abroad.
http://www.theroadforks.com Akila

I agree with Melissa. I dislike the generalizations of this article and the lack of reference to any statistics or documentation showing why the author believes that an American education is overpriced and overrated. For example, in India, a university education is, comparatively speaking, far more expensive than a university education in the United States. I know several Indians who had to put two mortgages on their homes to send their children to college in India and very, very few schools there offer scholarships (or free education). In addition, this article fails to account for scholarships and tuition grants which many U.S. schools offer — for example, in Georgia, any high school student with a certain GPA receives free education at a Georgia state university (including the very good University of Georgia). I went to two private schools for my undergraduate and graduate education but, because of scholarships, I felt that they were an excellent value given the many opportunities I have received from my schooling.
I know that this is a teaser article obviously meant to stir up interest in her book, but the lack of statistics and blatant generalizations makes me less interested in reading it. I hope that she considers re-writing this article so it seems less conclusion-driven and more fact-driven.
Alan

I’m with the poster above. It’s definitely what you make of it. You can go and party your head off, or study and learn a lot of things.

It’s main purpose is to serve students as a key to opportunity. Mainly in the way of internships and connections.
http://www.keepingpaceinjapan.com Turner

“…you dropped a 150 grand on a fuckin’ education you could have gotten for a dollar fifty in late charges at the public library.”
Jerry

Received my copy in one day from Amazon, and I’m so glad I did!! Someone above points out lack of specifics in the article. Buy the book–its full of them. Lot’s of studies and references to back it up. Although the title is confrontational, the book is as much to do about alternate paths to education, and better yet–to get a good job as the outcome! Which come on folks, is really the goal here… Bravo to the author..
http://www.evaholland.com Eva

“4. Know what kind of degree you are after and figure out if your degree will actually translate into a job (something many American students do not do).”

I don’t know much about the US post-secondary education system, but I have to disagree with this so strongly no matter what country you study in. I think exploring your options, and even changing majors a time or two if need be, can be an important part of the educational experience. I also think education is worthwhile as an end in itself, not just as a means to a job, and it always saddened me to see my Humanities classmates under pressure to study something more “practical” or (supposedly) conducive to higher earnings. Study what you love, I say!

I’m also curious about the repeated references to “first-class accommodations” — are US college dorms slicker than the norm?
Paul Sholar

One of the more remarkably fact-free postings I’ve seen lately on the Web.
http://www.al-jamiat.com Wassan

I couldn’t disagree with this more, especially at the undergraduate level. Maybe at some of the lower ranked, expensive schools, but there are many excellent top ranked universities in the US that give you a much more diverse experience than that you will receive in other countries.

Give me a break, you’re painting more than 3000 schools with the same brush. There IS a different between a no name school charging $35,000 per year for undergrad and University of Michigan or Berkley.
http://matadorlife.com admin

It seems what really touched a nerve with so many commenters here is not that the article is “fact-free”; it’s that the author is raising a basic question about the hard currency value of an undergraduate or graduate degree *in the United States.*

Personally, I think the $30,000 a year my parents spent on my undergraduate and graduate education was worth every penny, above all, because college was about so much more than what tangible work skills I walked away with. I learned how to think critically, how to listen to people different from my own background, how to decide what was important to me.

But in retrospect, I wonder if I might well have learned those same skills–tangible and otherwise–at a university in another country. I don’t regret getting a BA or an MSW, and I don’t regret attending some of the best universities in the US. But it’s not at all threatening to me to think about how my experiences might have been different had I pursued a degree abroad instead.

http://www.evaholland.com Eva

I don’t think that’s what “touched a nerve” at all. Your comment has nuance and balance, and allows room for people’s diverse experiences — whereas phrases like “junk-filled, hype-inflated product” leave much less room for some people to claim value from their choices. I think that lack of balance is prompting some negative reactions.

Danny Boy

This article does not seem practical or realistic for those that can’t afford to go overseas. I may be able to go overseas because of the grades that I got in high school, but my brothers can’t. When you don’t come from a family that can’t afford expensive colleges going to in state college is the best option(colleges wise) to take if you want a decent job.
Lee

I am currently a student at Dartmouth College. It’s 5:00 AM and I’m stressed out of my mind, but you know what? That proves that some places in the US aren’t just grade-inflating commercial centres. Your argument is very solidly rooted in stereotype. College in the US is indeed very expensive, but it provides a lot of options that schools outside of the States just can’t offer. For instance, my girlfriend lives in Italy, and she had to seek out housing, grocery stores, and modes of financing herself ON HER OWN while studying. Her parents were able to help her out with these costs (seeing as jobs are scarce everywhere recently), but many people just would not be able to do this, neither by themselves nor with parental assistance. I am studying because of a fantastic financial aid package that has given me plenty of work-study (a Godsend), a place to live, food to eat, all given under loans that I have plenty of time to pay.

Before you start enumerating all of those reasons why the US college education system falters in comparison to others, you need to assess the grievous faults of those to whom you are comparing it to.
Ryan

I graduated a year ago from a state school and I could lean both ways on this subject. I did have a chance to study abroad and get a taste of a different style of education but that’s not to say it was any better. The experience is exactly what the student makes it. I may bea good person to use in the author’s argument–I procrastinated, consumed an absurd amount of drugs and would go snowboarding the day before an exam. However, that was my choice and that shouldn’t reflect badly on my Uni.

At the same time, I was an employee in my school’s international programs office and had constant interaction with foreign students. I can’t seem to recall even one of those students who said their classes were more challenging than what they were used to at home. Regardless, they were in the US and not at home so once again, it comes down to personal choice.
http://olgakhazan.com Olga

Although the nominal price of college abroad is often less expensive than college in the States, universities in other countries often charge Americans and other foreign students more than they would citizens of their own country. That is because Americans and foreigners don’t pay the taxes that support the reduced prices of public universities abroad. Conversely, an American attending a community or state college in America could get a better deal, since those institutions typically offer reduced rates due to the availability of public funding. And let’s not forget the price of relocating and of flying to and from home for breaks, wedding, holidays, etc…when one goes to school in Trier but hails from Toledo.
Sam

I might be mistaken, but is the United States not the leader in Nobel Prize laureates, all earned by people who studied at the undergraduate and graduate levels IN the United States?
El

I am amused by the rack of Princeton sweatshirts you put atop your article. Princeton happens to be one of only a handful of universities in the US that offers need-blind admissions to international as well as American students, and then a financial aid program that covers all demonstrated need. For example, they pay more than half of my tuition, and this summer they are also completely funding my internship in Egypt. Princeton’s generous financial aid also follows students who choose to study abroad for a semester or a year, but only at overseas universities who can demonstrate comparable rigor. I would never have been able to visit Egypt without their support.

We’ve also had a grade deflation policy in place since 2004, which gives all seniors enormous headaches when they graduate.

It is of course possible to waste a truckload of money on a mediocre university in America, but you could do that in most countries. It would be foolish to think of all universities in the US as having the same level of academics and cachet, and to choose one’s university based on its country, rather than the specifics of its programs and offerings. It is equally misguided to reject all universities in a country as being overpriced without a single word as to financial aid, which in the top-end, brand-name universities tends to be extraordinarily generous.

Even for an internet opinion piece, I would have preferred a little more research and knowledge, and less demagoguery and generalization.
piggy_2010

EU universities are underfunded by government and because of free tuition fees. USA attracts more talents and takes the name as the country with most NOBEL winners. The colleges there are indeed very good. For example, only USA has money to teach astronomical physics with good equipments and Nasa is g8 too
Blooper

I studied in the Netherlands, the UK and the US. All I can say it really depends on the school you are going.
In the Netherlands I paid around 2000EUR a year and had a well structured, hands-on and practical experience over four years obtaining my BBA. The course allowed us to go on internships, twice, and gave us the opportunity to go abroad. Honestly, when I look back at my Bachelor studies I see how valuable this experience was for so little money. It comes to no surprise that the Netherlands is the most popular destination for students. Some 80% of all Unis teach in English too!

I also studied one semester in the States (ASU) and well, its very different. Amongst the 3000 colleges the US has, I’d say ASU is somewhere in the middle, not being very elite but a ‘typical’ American college. With lots of drinking and hot chicks. Anyway, the time I had there was awesome, facilities where out of this world (compared to NL) and the whole campus was just really nice. Luckily I didn’t have t pay the 15k USD fees. For an European, fees out of this world. Having said that, and having graduated from BAC, the courses I took were beyond low level. World studies, advanced media studies, film studies. Christ, the 300-400′s levels were at some level between high-school and my first year of Uni back home. I’m not saying American colleges are low educated, but if ASU would somehow represent the average American college, well good night economy. All in all, the overall college experience in the US is much better than in Europe.

Also, I made my MA in the UK (London). Expensive (BA’s now triple price from September 2011 on), facilities are average, buildings are old, teaching methods are crap. But I guess its the same stamp the UK gives out just like ‘Educated in the U.S.A.” kinda degree.

Whatever you do and wherever you are, its you as an individual who makes the most out of the college experience. Don’t let yourself fool you into rankings and that sorta stuff, it’s all a lot of BS. Fancy a proper college experience? I’d def. say the US. Fancy ‘intelectual’, critical-thinking BS, go to the UK. Want to learn something for a reasonable price (and in English) AND smoke as much weed as you want, Netherlands.

Last words: I really don’t want to generalize, I’m speaking out of my own experience
Poopdog888

The college system is disgustingly overrated and overpriced, not to mention research oriented with PHDs who expect fat salaries no matter how useless they are at actually training the students.

Americans believe many stupid social myths (such as Reagan being a great president, or feminism being self-justifying) so of course I am going to question their idiotic “perfect college” theory

That said, I didn’t think this book was very good.
Poopdog888

The college system is disgustingly overrated and overpriced, not to mention research oriented with PHDs who expect fat salaries no matter how useless they are at actually training the students.

Americans believe many stupid social myths (such as Reagan being a great president, or feminism being self-justifying) so of course I am going to question their idiotic “perfect college” theory

That said, I didn’t think this book was very good.
Poopdog888

The college system is disgustingly overrated and overpriced, not to mention research oriented with PHDs who expect fat salaries no matter how useless they are at actually training the students.

Americans believe many stupid social myths (such as Reagan being a great president, or feminism being self-justifying) so of course I am going to question their idiotic “perfect college” theory

That said, I didn’t think this book was very good.
Poopdog888

The college system is disgustingly overrated and overpriced, not to mention research oriented with PHDs who expect fat salaries no matter how useless they are at actually training the students.

Americans believe many stupid social myths (such as Reagan being a great president, or feminism being self-justifying) so of course I am going to question their idiotic “perfect college” theory

That said, I didn’t think this book was very good.

US colleges are overrated and overpriced

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