The government provides us with "free" public education until we graduate from high school, in which, all things considered, since that education is free, it would behoove those attending such, to take advantage of that zero cost and thereby acquired skills, a skill-set, good habits, good focus, and a plan for furthering that education whereby in all likelihood, they or their family members will be on the hook for a substantial amount of the cost of post-secondary education, for the thing about college, depending upon the institution, your location, and the actual college itself, is that the amount of money that has to be devoted to it can easily exceed $100,000 or even more, with absolute no guarantee that the student will receive a collegiate graduate degree, whatsoever, but in any event, successful or not, the bill will be due and payable, and cannot be discharged even by personal bankruptcy.
Since, a vast segment of the population, struggles with bills on a monthly basis, the taking on of any debt, especially substantial debt, should be carefully and thoughtfully considered, for to try and fail in the college realm, has lifelong financial consequences. In addition, the dumbing down of college curriculum, the addition of an endless amount of virtually useless college majors, along with for-profit colleges both online or in class that are deliberately inclusive because they are practically useless, makes maneuvering the roads of where to go for those desiring to attend college, much more hazardous and problematic.
Fundamentally, the thing that many students get wrong, is that the name of the institution that one does graduate from, while having a value, should be weighed against the cost of attending such an institution should one be accepted, so that, colleges of great reputation, may not have the utilitarian value that makes it really worthwhile for a given student. So too, the two most important things about attending college are actually graduating with the degree and preferably graduating with a degree which has real relevancy to the actual job that you apply for and receive, for if you end up working in a field which has little or nothing to do with your major, it would imply rather strongly that the practical purposes of that major were misstated.
Further to the point of majors that are never activated, is that the sheer number of college graduates, from whatever colleges, cheapens the value of such an education in the real world of jobs, which is especially troubling for those that owe the money for such an education. That is to say, for example, the more people that have liberal arts degrees, would mean that there are more people applying for the same positions, which not only would result in a downward pressure of salary requirements or offers, but would, as a matter of course, mean a lower and lower percentage of those receiving such a degree finding successful employment in that field. Education is not like a "Field of Dreams", in which it is, get the education, and they will hire you in that field, but instead it is more akin to a calculated gamble, in which many people don't recognize it as such, believing that the degree itself solves all, but alas, it doesn't.
The above signifies that college attendees should be motivated to seek our majors in fields in which there is not already an oversupply or anticipated oversupply of graduates in such fields, as well as being value conscious, so that a prudent student would shop for the best college deal that they can get, in recognition, that in most instances, a degree from one college is basically of the same worth of another, and that therefore shopping for luxury brands as opposed to practical, should be consciously thought through.