Gail Ford

I wasn’t trying to imply that music education at the college level is a zero-sum game, merely to think about what colleges are selling through music degrees and where that puts the student.

I have many friends crippled by student debt. I think that for colleges to ignore the economic implications of their products and sell students/families on the idea of self-discovery for the cost of modest house is a bit short-sighted.

No doubt this is an oversimplification, but I think it deserves being talked about, especially with great educators such as Alex and yourself!

Yes there needs to be practicality in education. People need to eat! But college is also a place to explore (no matter the degree path), and tread down paths that one might not get to explore “in the real world”.

Our education (which we hopefully continue throughout life) is not a zero sum game. If it was, life would suck! Our education is the continued process of bettering ourselves. Not just in our chosen field but in any and every facet of our humanity.

School is the right path for some and the wrong path for others. (and that sometimes even depends on the period of life one is in)

We shouldn’t try to make some qualitative judgement between going to school or not going to school. They are BOTH beautiful paths! We each just need to find the right path for us, and at the right time.

Kind of simple really. And when we grasp this simple concept, we stop trying to compare and we realize that we can learn and grow in both paths (or maybe there is even a THIRD path). We can gain things from either path and learn from people who have taken either path. THAT is beautiful!

That is how I want to look at it because I don’t want to miss a single moment of inspiration I can glean from people I meet, regardless of the path they have taken!

Therefore if college is the right path for someone the money is worth it. If college is not the right path for someone, the money is not worth it.

Unrelated note – nothing on the Forbes list is surprising, but it should be noted that “History” is the most common undergrad degree to go into Law School. Literature is a big pre-law degree too. Basically, at this point none of those degrees is going to make you much without going on to graduate school and enslaving yourself to debt even further. There is no doubt that the system is broken when it comes to the cost of education.